Quick Doodh Peda (Milk Fudge)

As a part of my Sankranthi cooking Saga I have done this quick Doodhpeda. I know Pedas are associated more with Diwali but hey what's wrong with making em for Pongal/Sankranthi. These cute little ball of milk fudges are perfect to celebrate any special occasion.

Last two days I have been cooking a lot. For Bhogi, the first day of Sankranthi I made Sesame Rice and Eggplant curry, our traditional food, also my favorite. Then for Sankranthi, the second day I made Chanadal vada and quick rice kheer. So finally by day 3 I wore out with all the cooking and festive prep and not in a mood to make anything special. But then I changed my mind and made these delicious Milk Pedas since it takes only few minutes.

I made Pedas from scratch long time ago. I remember stirring milk for a really long time. They did come out good finally but I have decided not to go thru the painful process again.So since then I started making these quick Pedas.

I love to make Semi home made recipe as I mentioned before. They save lot of time, stress. At the end you will still have a tasty dish. Also these dishes are perfect for a big party or potlock. Especially I like these Pedas for a party as I can figure out the quantity to be made :-).

Quick Doodhpeda or milk fudge is made from condensed milk (MILK MAID)  and milk powder.You can find these in Walmart or American grocery stores. Condensed milk is available in Indian stores too. You can make these Pedas stove top or microwave. But I like to do it in microwave as they can be timed better.Grrrrrr! Saying that my new microwave is powerful than the old one and my Pedas are little over cooked.Still they were good but not perfect like last few times.Then I made another batch which came out soooooo good.  Anyway I will explain when to stop microwaving, in the recipe.

Servings:
Yields 30 pieces
Total time:
10 minutes
Category:
Desserts/sweets
Author:
Praveena Gudipati

Ingredients: (I use US standard measuring; 1cup=8oz=250ml)
1.5 cups Milk powder
1 can/400 grams condensed milk (Milkmaid) 
4 tablespoon Ghee (Clarified butter)
Dry fruits(Almonds and pistachios) for garnish

Quick Doodhpeda (Milk Fudge) step-by-step Recipe 

1. Take a big microwave safe bowl. Add milk powder,condensed milk, 2 tbsp ghee to the bowl.Keep rest of the ghee aside which will be used to roll pedas. Mix with a silicone spatula.You can add Elaichi/ Cardmom powder optionally.I did not add it and they are still perfect.
   
   
   
2. Microwave for 1 minute-stir-1 minute-stir- 15 sec-stir-15 sec-stir-15 sec. Stir in between each time interval. The total time can vary  depending on microwaves.

When to stop Cooking: When you see the mixture is not sticking to the bowl and coming together you can stop microwaving even if it is only after 2 min.It has to look like wet dough.Keep in mind the mixture, once cooled gets thicker.Also no color change. If it turns brown, it's over cooked.

And frankly there is nothing complicated for it to go wrong. If it's over cooked you can add little milk and heat it for few seconds and the mixture will become soft again. If it's under cooked you can heat it little more.

3.Take the bowl out of microwave.Wait for a minute for mixture to cool down and rub ghee to your hands. Start making ball out of the mixture. Knead slightly while making Pedas. This will smoothen the Peda. Keep rubbing hands with Ghee when ever it dries out or for every pedi  Then flatten it little bit, press in the middle with your finger to make a tiny dip. Decorate them with dry fruits of your liking. 

4.If you want to escape handling the warm mixture and making balls- Take a big plate and apply ghee generously. Then spread the mixture in the plate.Now take a cookie cutter and cut out your favorite shapes. Since it's Sankranthi I made some flower shapes;-).

5.Enjoy the delicious milk Pedas. Refrigerate the Pedas in an airtight container. We enjoyed them for a week before they were gone.