Sarika tells us about various Indian sweets and shows us how to make delicious pedas at home.

Throughout the Asia, (especially southern part) Indian sweets are in very high demand and very popular too.

As India, amalgamates many cuisines, cultures, religion, castes, traditions, so cooking methods and ingredients also vary from one to another. This is how Indian sweets are classified into a different variety. Indian mithai (sweets) such as, rasgulla, halwa, burfi, jalebi, sondesh, etc are available in different colours, shapes, flavours and in sometimes in different names in different parts of the country. Indian sweets are famous for its irresistible taste.

In India, sweets have their own significance. In every festival, sweets are mandatory as part of meal. Whether it is the birth of a child, buying a new vehicle or wedding, sweets will always be there. It also believed that festivals are incomplete without Indian sweets. Sweets symbolise prosperity, fortune and happiness. It is a symbol of expressing love towards near and dear ones.

No Indian festivals or occasions are complete without sweets. It is mostly eaten after meal as desserts.

India has 29 states and almost every state has popular for at least one type of sweet, like Qubani ka Meetha made of Apricots from Andhra Pradesh/Telangana. It is a royal dessert from Hyderabad India.

Shufta is loaded with dry fruits, spices and sugar from Jammu and Kashmir.

Pukhleni is sweet prepared with rice and jaggery from Meghalaya.

Koat pith is this dessert is prepared by deep frying rolls of dough or banana fritters from Nagaland.

Anarsa is prepared with sesame seeds and cashew nuts popular in Jharkhand.

Pinni is prepared with black gram, ghee, mawa, sugar very popular in Punjab.

Ghevar or mawa misri and milk cakes are amazing in taste from Rajasthan.

Pongal is rice cooked with jaggery. It’s an exotic dish from Tamil Nadu.

Chenna poda is a very famous sweet dish prepared with cheese from Odisha.

Modak is coconut stuffed delicious dumplings from Maharashtra.

Mysore-pak is a sweet dish prepared with butter and gram flour from Karnataka.

Balushahi is deep fried and soaked in sugar syrup very famous in Uttar Pradesh.

Now, I have to mention about rasgulla, a spongy, sweetness is a delicacy from West Bengal.

Today, Indian sweets are famous all over the world.

Today, I am sharing a very easy recipe of Peda. Before that let me tell you something about Peda.

Peda has its origin in Uttar Pradesh and Mathura ka Peda (available in Mathura, Holi Gate to be precise) is indeed the best one. The Laal (red) Peda of the Sankatmochan Temple, Varanasi, too is sought after. Simultaneously, another origin Peda might be traced to the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. In and around Rajkot it is known as Mawa Bati. It’s delicious.

Traditionally, Peda is made from sugar and khoya, kheer (in Bengal) and mawa (in Gujarat). It is prepared by reducing and solidifying milk gently.

The traditional method of cooking milk pedas are very complicated and time consuming. It requires hours to make. So one fine day, I decided to try my hands at making one of the favourite sweet, doodh (milk) peda in a microwave oven.

In this recipe we just need three main ingredients. It is very easy to satisfy everyone’s sweets tooth.

Doodh Peda

Around 20 to 22 pedas                                            

Recipe level: Easy

Preperation time: Three minutes

Cooking time: Three to four minutes

Serving suggestions: As dessert

Life: Up to a week (refrigerated)

Ingredients:

Half can condense milk (200 gm)

Half cup milk powder

One spoon ghee/butter

Saffron

A pinch nutmeg powder

Cardamom powder

Procedure

Mix condensed milk, milk powder and ghee in a microwave safe bowl. Now, mix properly.

Keep the bowl in a microwave for about one minute. Then add cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and saffron strands.

Stir the mixture and again keep the bowl in microwave for one more minute, remove and stir again, microwave for another one minute on high. If mixture looks runny than again keep the bowl in the microwave for 30 more seconds.

So, now it is ready for different shapes.

While shaping the balls apply some ghee on palms.

Once the balls are cooled, store the pedas in an air tight box in the refrigerator.

Note

It may be prepared on gas stove also. In that case, it will take 12 to 15 minutes.

Pix by author and Net

Sarika Sarkar Das

A teacher, day dreamer, random experimental cook and some hit and miss photography, and at last love to call myself a full time mother. ​

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