Kesar Peda

 
                                                                         

Coming out of a shop in town a few days back I saw a man selling what looked like khoya in the street. I was intrigued. Was it possible that khoya could be sold by a roadside hawker here in Dar es Salaam?? Seemed unlikely. I was sorely tempted to buy but held back not knowing what sort of quality it would be, if it was indeed  khoya. But the incident kept niggling at the back of my mind and I happened to mention this curious fact to the proprietor of the shop from where I regularly buy paneer, fresh cream, butter, etc. It is a tiny shop but the quality found there is the best. He told me that it was quite possible that what I had seen was khoya and that he himself stocked khoya! I gave him a  disgruntled look that said " Now you are telling me ?!!?? After five years of visiting your shop??!!?"

I haven't used khoya in ages! For the longest time I have been ignoring recipes that contained khoya as it was not available here in Dar es Salaam. Oh, I have made khoya from scratch a few times but it is a long, time taking process in which milk is stirred over low flame until it thickens and then dries up to form khoya. To be able to get ready khoya seemed like taking a leap from step one directly to step 5! I couldn't believe my luck!

Once I got the khoya  home and the excitement settled down a little  I  wondered what to make with this precious ingredient. This simple peda recipe seemed like a good idea.  Kesar Peda derives it's name from the use of saffron in the recipe which is called kesar in Hindi. It is a traditional sweet  and is easy and quick to make, ideal for festive or auspicious occasions.

Ingredients: 

250 gm khoya/ mawa  ( dried milk)
1/4 tsp kesar ( saffron)
Drop of yellow food colour
3 tbsp sugar, powdered
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 cup warm milk
1 tbsp almonds, chopped
1 tsp ghee

Method:  Crumble the khoya.  Soak kesar in warm milk for few minutes. Add the food colour also to the milk. Powder sugar with cardamom seeds. Chop almonds.

Stir khoya over low to medium heat in a heavy bottom pan. Keep stirring until the khoya  softens and melts. Add sugar and cardamom powder. Also add the kesar and milk. After a little while the mixture will begin to thicken and leave sides. Remove on to a greased plate. After it is cool enough to touch, knead the mixture lightly to form a smooth dough.  Pinch off a lemon sized portion and shape into a ball in your palms. Press lightly  to flatten. Using your thumb create a dent in the centre and place chopped almonds. Form all the pedas in a similar fashion. The pedas will firm up more as they cool down completely. Store in an airtight container and consume within few days.