Peda recipe | How to make milk peda or doodh peda

Peda recipe – 2 ways to make instant peda in 15 mins. Doodh peda is a popular Indian sweet made with milk, sugar and a flavoring ingredient like cardamom or saffron. Traditionally peda is made by simmering milk for prolonged hours to obtain the evaporated milk solids known as khova, khoya or mawa. Then it is sweetened and flavored. Making the traditional milk peda takes several hours and requires attention.

The shortcut methods I have shared here are great to try when you don’t prefer to toil in the kitchen for hours. There are a few different ways to make instant milk peda using milk powder or khoya. I have shared 2 recipes in this post & both of them take just about 15 mins.

In the first recipe, I made instant mawa using milk powder which just took about 6 mins. Then cooled it and then sweetened and flavored it.

In the second recipe, I used store bought mawa & condensed milk. These peda are much superior in taste and come close to the traditional ones.

If you have store bought mawa and want to make these without condensed milk, then you may simply skip making the instant mawa in recipe 1. I have shared more details in the tips below.

You can flavor these milk peda with kesar, cocoa, rose water, kewra water or just with cardamom powder.

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Make instant mawa

1. Pour ½ tablespoon ghee to a non-stick pan.

2. Pour ½ cup milk. When the milk becomes warm, add 1 cup milk powder. I used Nestle everyday regular.

3. Regulate the flame to low and mix both of them well to make a smooth mixture.

4. Keep stirring constantly and cook on a medium flame. You will see the mixture begins to turn thicker.

5. After 1 to 2 mins, it becomes thicker and sticky. Then add another ½ tablespoon ghee.

6. Keep stirring continuously & cook until it becomes a mass and leaves the pan. While you stir ensure you also collect the mixture stuck to the sides of the pan. Instant mawa is ready.

How to make peda

7. Transfer this to a mixing bowl and cool down.

8. When it is slightly warm, add the ¼ to ½ teaspoon cardamom powder and 4 to 5 tablespoons powdered sugar. [Don’t add sugar when the milk solids are hot or even slightly hot. Sugar will melt and make the entire thing sticky]

9. Knead the dough to smooth. Taste test and add more sugar if you prefer. Divide to 8 equal portions and roll to balls.

10. Flatten and tuck in a sliced pistachio in the center of each peda. (Watch video). Store in an air tight jar. These milk powder pedas stay good at room temperature for 1 day and in the refrigerator for upto a month. They will remain dry and non-sticky if prepared properly.

Recipe 1 Tips

• To use saffron, crush a pinch of saffron strands and add it once the milk becomes warm. Turn off the stove and let it soak for a while then proceed with the next step.
• You can also use 1 teaspoon rose water or a few drops of kewra water. Pour it along with the milk.
• Overcooking the mixture can make the pedas dense & dry. So take off the mixture from the stove in time.
• If you have store bought mawa and want to follow the recipe 1, then simply heat up the mawa on a low flame for a few minutes. Remove and cool down. Follow the recipe from step 7 in step-by-step instructions.

Recipe 2 – Mawa peda

1. Defrost mawa/khoya either in microwave or refrigerator or leave it at room temperature for about 30 minutes. If you are using frozen khoya. Do not begin to heat up very cold one, sometimes this makes the khoya taste bitter. [Optional: Soak 1 pinch saffron in 2 tablespoons hot milk. I did not use it.]

2. Crumble 200 grams khoya (about 1½ cup) and add it to a pan.

3. Add ½ tin condensed milk (½ of 400 grams tin). Also add in ½ teaspoon cardamom powder and saffron milk if using.

4. Begin to cook on a medium flame. Cook the mixture stirring constantly. It melts and turns gooey.

5. Next cook till the mixture thickens, while stirring constantly and becomes a mass. Turn off the heat.

6. After cooling the mixture looks smooth and slightly darker in color. It thickens as well.

Making peda

7. Grease your palms, take small portions and roll them to balls. Flatten them and dent in the center. Tuck the chopped pistachios. I had set aside a part of this mixture and added cocoa. Knead well and made some chocolate peda.

Store them in a air tight jar and refrigerate.

Related Recipes

Doodh peda recipe