Learn how to make simple and quick 15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda (Milk Peda) using Milk Powder and flavoured with cardamom
This Diwali is special in two ways… One it is Diwali, an Indian festival of lights, and the second being it marks our 7th wedding anniversary! After ‘saying yes’ and committing ourselves to lifetime some 8 years ago, it has been a wonderful seven years of blissful married life! In these seven years we have seen many ups, faced few lows, lot of laughter, few and far between tears, a handful of tantrums, spiced with few fights, peppered with handful of arguments and sweetened with joy!
Simple and easy to make ~ 15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda (Milk Peda)
Before you think this post is going to be all mushy and sugar coated, let me tell you that I will refrain from boring you to death with the story of our wedded life. Instead I will take you down a memory lane with the stories of my childhood, a beautiful memories gifted to me by my parents that still lingers, like a fragrance of heady jasmine flowers, long after the years that have passed by!
Melt-in-your-mouth treats ~ 15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda (Milk Peda)
Being away from home and our family at this time of the year means we feel terrible thinking about all the fun we are going to miss, especially the joy we get just spending time with them. For me Deepavali means three things; fun, family and food! The night before Diwali I was always wide awake while my whole family slept blissfully, thinking, planning and re-planning about the things I would do, things I would eat, and things I can get away doing without the fear of getting an earful from elders as it was Diwali! Just when I was about to fall in to deep sleep without dreams, I would be woken by my Amma’s hush words, immediately followed by shrieks of protests from my sister and brother objecting to the phase of torture, a vigorous oil massage from top of our head to the tip of our toes on a cold winter day. The early morning sunrays would kiss our oiled bodies gently and make us all warm and drowsy after what felt like hours of kneading and massaging every muscle of our body and there were time when I slept blissfully sitting in lotus position on wooden plank, wearing thin cotton petticoat, my head gently falling back on my sister’s shoulder who was happily dozing next to me :) After a hot shower, with another session of vigorous massage to remove the thick paint of oil on hair and body, we were ready to burst a first set of fire crackers donning a new, colourful silk dress bought specially for the occasion of Deepavali. Gobbling up few mouthfuls of sweet Indian Mithai and savouries for breakfast were not met with an earful of scolding, but with amused smiles and I guess as a kids, we took advantage of the occasion by eating more deep fried snacks and sweets than we would at any other day!
It can’t get simpler than this ~ 15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda (Milk Peda)
These beautiful memories of Deepavali are still fresh in my memory, courtesy of my parents who made it a point to make our childhood a beautiful and happy one by celebrating the festivals and special occasions. Most of the Indian festivals were given more importance not because of religious belief, but because they were the times when all the family members would gather and spend time together. The plans were made and letters were exchanged before our aunts and uncles staying away from hometown came home for a week or two weeks to celebrate the family time! The days were filled with laughter and joy and the nights were longer with a dose of gossips on family politics as who is fighting over the family inheritance, which boy or the girl has reached the marriage age, prospective bride/groom hunt and other amusing facts.
Indian Milk Fudge ~ 15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda (Milk Peda)
Like any festivals, the celebration is incomplete without the mention of food… and when it comes to festival meals, we Indians are pro at churning delicious delicacies one after the other ranging from sweets to savouries to deep fried sins to calorie high meals! For once no one was on diet and calories were not counted and tight competitions were held with one another as who managed to eat more Laddus or who won the title of Aloo Bonda king/queen :) The crunchies and munchies were relished with a piping hot glass of sweet milky Filter Kaapi and sweets were made in big batches to be distributed among the neighbors and relatives. Steady flow of friends and relatives, who came home to wish us, were treated like a royalty with a plate piled with sweets and savouries and sent home with colourful boxes of sweets and savouries to be enjoyed with their family members. The group of women folks in kitchen churned a dish after dish, matching the speed of their gossiping tongues, while the men folk enjoyed a game of cards or carrom or chess in the wide veranda. While the elders gossiped about the juicy pieces of information, we kids got busy trading the best pack of fire crackers to the box of favourite sweets or savouries! Ah… Those were the days…
15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda (Milk Peda)
Festivals are the biggest part of our growing up years, creating wonderful memories of colours, lights, laughter, joy, fun, food and family! Today when I hold a grand title of mother, for once I want to create same beautiful memories for my child who will grow up soaking up the love and laughter, discovering the joy of giving and sharing, learning the customs, traditions and stories of these beautiful festivals and enjoying the company of family and friends! Lil Dumpling’s memories of these festivals may be different from the memories I hold close to my heart, but I am hoping that one day he too will sit back and think about the times he spent creating these memories with his parents fondly! One day he may fondly remember the morning oil massage and bubble baths, the freedom to choose the food of his choice without his mother blowing her circuit when he chose puddings over other healthy options, the self admiring sessions of modelling in front of floor to ceiling height mirror after wearing new white kurta-pajama gifted by his maternal grandma, the delight of dancing with his best friend, who has self appointed herself as his big sister, who came home dressed up in her beautiful pink salwar kameez with her parents, eating four course meal cooked by his mother and relishing it, being a centre of attention of eight pair of eyes, being carried away on his dad’s shoulder to meet his favourite cat, watching his mother light up the whole house with candles and diyas, the fragrance of flowers around the house, and the thrills of lighting the sparkles and watch the little stars in the clear black sky! I hope that we are able to create some beautiful memories which he will fondly remember and smiling to himself softly when we are long gone…
Quick and simple ~ 15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda (Milk Peda)
For this Diwali, I took special care in planning my very grand and ambitious Diwali party menu. One of the sweets I made was this 15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda or Milk Peda. The traditional method of cooking these milk meats are very elaborate and time consuming which requires continuous stirring of milk for hours to make these melt in mouth, creamy delights! Since I had made a batch of Mysore Pak and I wanted to make two more sweet/desserts for the party. Instead of cooking something that will take long time, I decided to try my hands at making one of my favourite sweets from childhood, Doodh Peda or Milk Peda by cooking it in a microwave. As usual my Amma came to my rescue with this simple recipe which takes under 15 minutes from start to end and the result is one of the most satisfying melt-in-mouth treats! You will be surprised how delightful these 15 minutes Microwave Doodh Pedas or Milk Pedas are which are made using milk powder and a can of condensed milk, flavoured with heady aroma of cardamom powder and the most expensive spice in this planet, saffron! When you are short of time or have unexpected guests coming over or just want to satisfy your sweet tooth, then this 15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda or Milk Peda are sure to come to your rescue! Do give them a try this Diwali and see how your taste buds thank you :)
Happy Deepavali
Wishing all my friends and the readers of Monsoon Spice, who are celebrating this festival of lights, a very Happy Deepavali! May this Diwali lights up dreams, hopes, undiscovered avenues and everything bright!
Ingredients for Doodh Peda (Milk Peda)
A flaourful affair ~ Cardamoms and Saffron for Doodh Peda
Mix together melted butter, milk powder and condensed milk in a microwave safe bowl
After cooking for 1 minute
After cooking for 2 minutes ~ mix in cardamom powder, saffron and a pinch of salt
After cooking for 3 minutes ~ almost ready to be rolled in to Pedas
Ready to be rolled into Pedas
Roll them into thick disc
Cut them into desired shapes using a cookie cutter
Quick and easy 15 minutes Microwave Milk Peda or Doodh Peda
15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda/Milk Peda (A shortcut method to traditional Indian milk sweet meat cooked in a micorwave)
Prep Time: 2 mins
Cooking Time: 4-5 mins
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: N/A
Makes: Around 20-24 Pedas
Shelf Life: Up to a week when refrigerated
Serving Suggestion: As dessert
Ingredients:
1¾ cups Milk Powder (I used semi-skimmed)
1 Can (around 400 gms) Condensed Milk
2 tbsp Butter
6 Green Cardamoms, peeled and seeds crushed to fine powder
A small pinch of Saffron, dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water or milk
A small pinch of Salt (Optional but recommended)
Few Dry Nuts of your choice (cashews, almonds, pistachios etc)
15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda (Milk Peda)
Method:
- Take a microwave safe deep bowl and melt the butter by microwaving it for 20-30 seconds.
- Once the butter is melted, add milk powder and condensed milk and whisk them well. The mixture should resemble a thick Idli batter. Make sure that they are combined well without any lumps.
- Place the bowl back in the microwave and cook on 100% or high power for a minute.
- Remove the bowl and mix them well with a help of a sturdy spoon.
- Place the bowl back in the microwave and cook on high power for another minute.
- Again take it out of the microwave and mix in cardamom, a pinch of salt and saffron water/milk. Mix them well and place it back in a microwave for another 1 minute on high power.
- By now you should be able to form small balls of the mixture. Mix them well and microwave again for 30 seconds to a minute.
- Let it cool for a minute so that it becomes easy to handle without burning your hands!
- Grease the surface as well as the rolling pin generously with ghee. Lightly knead the peda mixture with hands or using a spoon to make a large ball and place it on the greased surface.
- With the help of a rolling pin, start rolling it into a circle of 1-1.5 cm thickness by applying gentle pressure. I used a cookie cutter to get even shaped pedas. If you don’t have a cookie cutter, you can just run through the knife and cut them into squares or diamonds or use any sharp edged small bowls or bottle caps. With the leftover peda mixture you can roll them again to thick circle and cut them to desired shapes or else you can simply make small rounds with hands, as the traditional pedas are done. Press a piece of your favourite nuts in the centre and place these pedas in a greased plate until they cool down completely.
- The delicious Doodh Pedas or Milk Pedas are ready to be served in no time! They make a beautiful gift to be shared with your loved ones!
15 Minutes Microwave Doodh Peda (Milk Peda)
- The cooking time may vary based on the type of microwave and their power output (mine is 900 watts).
- Don’t let the mixture to cool down completely before rolling them or making small rounds of pedas as they will start to crack and crumble.
- Grease your palms with ghee before making small rounds of pedas as they help in making even and smooth surfaced Doodh Peda or Milk Peda.
- If the mixture cools down completely and the pedas starts to crumble, just add a tbsp of milk and put it back in a microwave for 30-45 seconds. The mixture will heat up slightly and will become easier to handle.
- If you have really sweet tooth, add ¼ cup of powdered sugar in the beginning along with milk powder and condensed milk.
- You can also use chocolate powder (2-3 tbsp) and follow the same recipe to make Chocolate Pedas.
