Peda is the popular and very traditional mithai recipe from India.
Thabdi Penda is the popular and very traditional mithai recipe from Saurashtra region of Gujarat, India. Milk is cooked down until it’s caramelized and reduced in quantity and taste similar to flavor of caramel or dulce de leche.
It is made from very few ingredients like milk, milk powder, sugar, and cardamom powder. It is labor of love, as the stirring process takes a lot of time. I made it with slight shortcut, but taste is same, no compromise in it.
There are plenty of version of this sweet in different parts of India, with similar methods and different names. I came across a recipe of Gulab Halwa from Rajasthan, or Chainji Halwa. The taste is also similar to another sweet called milk cake.
Creamy peda is a mithai often compared to consistency of fudge. This mithai is not the easiest one to make at home. But if you follow through all the steps you can make it too. Once in a while, its fun to try something at home.
What is Peda or Penda?
Peda usually refers to variety of round spherical flat looking mithai. The simplest peda is made from only 3-4 ingredients. Milk solids known as khoya, sugar and spices like cardamom. The caramelly tasting khoya is cooked for long time on stove to reducing the water content and making thick fudgy consistency. After cooling it down, it is shaped into spherical rounds. Sometimes, people use stamps to make a design or pattern on the top part. They are garnished with nuts.
I will use Peda or Penda word interchangeably, as Gujaratis called it Penda. It’s the same thing.
Now, India is so beautiful that we have so many different varieties of same dish and that makes it so unique. Same way, peda could white/creamy looking, or kesar (saffron) peda with saffron added to it, then there is malai peda which is richer and creamier and there is ‘Duliram na peda from the city where I grew up’; these peda are dark brown in color because the milk is cooked until it turns into this dark caramelly color, and it has the most milky, nutty, caramel taste to it. They are then coated in sugar and have cardamom. These peda are also called dharwad pedas or Mathura pendas.
One such variation is Thabdi Penda which is very famous in Saurashtra region. By no means my recipe is authentic, but it is an attempt to make this humble sweet. Ofcourse, I took shortcut, in making caramel and adding it to get the color. Usually, milk is cooked and reduced until it gets this caramelized color and flavor.
Thabdi Penda
The authentic thabdi has crumbly texture, and lot of times difficult to shape them in a smooth round shape, unlike white or saffron penda which are very smooth in texture. I have tried both ways, round shape and a square burfi shape. Either way its perfect. You will have to wait for the penda to cool down, if you plan on shaping it in rounds.
If you go for square shape, its much easier- just empty it out in a cake tin, or any square shaped container (not plastic) and let it set for few hours. I let it cool down completely in a container at room temperature and then place it in the fridge to set properly. It will be easy to cut in squares and lift out.
Few tips to keep in mind
- Let milk and sugar boil, then add lemon juice or it will take some time to curdle. Have patience, it won’t happen immediately. Basically, do not add a lot of lemon juice. 1-2 tbsp is good. When you make caramel, please be careful. Even though its small quantity, it can burn easily or change very quickly. Caramel is temperamental.
- When you add caramel in the milk, it will create bubbles. So, add it carefully.
- Once the caramel is added, you can increase the flame and let the water evaporate but keep an eye on it. I cooked other things while water was evaporating.
- Make sure that you stir it when its closer to be done, Once the water evaporates it takes just few minutes, and it will start sticking to the pan. Make sure, all the water evaporates, and another visible sign is natural ghee releasing from the mixture.
- Thabdi Penda usually does not have nuts or edible gold or silver. It’s totally optional. Leftover pendas can be added in making ice cream or milk shake.
Storage
Peda can last for few weeks in the refrigerator. Because it’s made with milk and milk products storing them the refrigerator is important. You can freeze them too. Just make sure to thaw them at room temperature. Peda can be eaten at room temperature or cold.
Thabdi Penda
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Whole Milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 6 tbsp sugar white granulated
- 2 tbsp sugar to caramelize
- 1/3 cup milk powder whole milk powder
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- Dry nuts pistachios cashews or almond for garnish, optional
- Edible silver optional
Instructions
- Take whole milk in a deep pan at medium high heat, add 6 tbsp sugar. Boil it carefully without spilling for about 10 minutes.
- Add lemon juice and stir. The milk gradually will curdle because of lemon juice. Let it slowly separate like paneer. Let it boil.
- On another side of stove on medium high heat caramelize sugar. Add 2 tbsp sugar in a little pan/pot with few drops of water 4-5 droplets. Let it caramelize, without stirring. Do not be tempted to turn on high heat. It will happen. Do not leave it unattended.
- Once you get deep amber color, add that caramel (caramelized sugar into milk mixture).
- It will create bubbles and boil over, so be careful when you pour the caramel.
- Stir and let the milk mixture cook until all the water evaporates from this mixture. It will easily take 30 minutes to 40 minutes for all the water to evaporate.
- Make sure there is no water, natural fats will visibly separate out. At this point, stir or else the mixture will stick to the pan. Add cardamom powder and milk powder and mix everything well.
- Once its cooked, turn off the heat and immediately transfer mixture into a prepared dish/try lined with parchment paper. Parchment paper will help lift it easily.
- Let it cool off completely at room temperature and then place it in the fridge for few hours, it will give you cleaner squares.
- If you plan on making round peda shape, then remove the mixture in a container and once it slightly cool scoop out rounds and shape them I round shape and slightly flatten it.
- And, if you do not want to shape it either ways, just serve it as it is in a bowl.
If you like Indian sweets, there are more recipes here for your try!
