Peda – Neapolitan or Tri-color
Peda is the popular and very traditional mithai recipe from India. It’s usually made from Khoya but in States, I prefer it with milk powder. It’s made from very few ingredients like milk powder, milk, sugar, and cardamom powder. In the festive mood, I decided to try a tricolor peda recipe with rose, chocolate and plain flavors. The idea came from Neapolitan cookies.
Creamy peda is a mithai often compared to consistency of fudge. This mithai is the easiest one to make at home. You cannot go wrong if you follow through all the steps.
What is Peda?
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.
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.
Tricolor or Neapolitan Peda
Neapolitan Peda are not a commonly prepared pedas. I got inspired from cookies. I made a one batch of regular milk peda using milk powder, milk, sugar, cardamom and divided the peda mix into three parts. In one part I added cocoa powder, left one part as it is and the third portion, I added rose syrup rooh afza. Rooh Afza is pink colored sugar syrup with taste of rose of course. It gives it nice pink color that you don’t need to add any color. Rooh Afza is the syrup we use to make Falooda drink.
After dividing the peda mix, form round small spheres or balls. Place them together and push them towards inside and form a bigger ball. It’s super simple and easy. Practice with one or two and then you will get hang of it. Then press them gently and flatten them out in a way that you can see all three colors.
cocoa one 
rose syrup one 
all three flavors 
shaping 
round
Few tips to keep in mind
- If you peda mix feels sticky, you probably removed the mix too soon. Don’t worry, bring it back to stove top and cook it a little bit longer and then shape them.
- Use ghee to lightly grease your palms, it helps to form rounds and shaping them.
- If you do not like rose flavor, even though its not too heavy. Just use pink color or dried fruit like strawberry.
- You can also try a different color combination. Try saffron flavored yellow ones.
- Peda can be garnished with nuts or nuts can be added in the mix too.
- The recipe can be easily halved or doubled.
- Make sure the rounds of each color are same in shape for uniformity. Chocolate part will easily cover the other two colors.
Storage
Peda can last for few weeks in the refrigerator. Because its 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.
Peda – Neopolitan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 2 cups milk powder
- 1 cup milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tsp cardamom powder
- 1-2 tbsp rose syrup Rooh Afza
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- Edible Silver leaf and nuts optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix milk powder and milk. Stir it and leave it aside.
- In a pan on medium heat, add ghee and add milk powder mix and start stirring everything.
- Keep stirring for a few minutes and then add sugar and cardamom to the mix. Keep stirring and cooking until the milk has evaporated and the mixture starts leaving the sides of the pan.
- Once the mixture is cooked, it will look lumpy like pictures. Turn it off.
- Remove two equal portions in a two separate bowls.
- Add cocoa powder to the mixture in the pan and mix well. It will mix easily if the mixture is hot.
- Add rose syrup to the other mixture. Keep one mix as it is.
- Once all three mixes cool down, divide them into equal tiny portions and roll them into balls.
- Place each color in a circle and then push them inside towards each other and try to join them. Then roll them into one ball. Grease your palm with some ghee for easy rolling. Once you get that round shape, press them on top lightly to get all three colors showing.
- You can garnish the pedas with nuts or edible silver/gold leaf.
Notes
- If you peda mix feels sticky, you probably removed the mix too soon. Don’t worry, bring it back to stove top and cook it a little bit longer and then shape them.
- Use ghee to lightly grease your palms, it helps to form rounds and shaping them.
If you do not like rose flavor, even though its not too heavy. Just use pink color or dried fruit like strawberry. - You can also try a different color combination. Try saffron flavored yellow ones.
- Peda can be garnished with nuts or nuts can be added in the mix too.
- The recipe can be easily halved or doubled.
- Make sure the rounds of each color are same in shape for uniformity. Chocolate part will easily cover the other two colors.
- Storage –
Peda can last for few weeks in the refrigerator. Because its 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.
