Milk Peda / Kesar Malai Peda

Milk Peda is one of the most popular Indian sweets. Peda is fudgy, sweet, and melts in the mouth. This recipe is all about making Peda by patiently cooking down the mixture of milk and sugar. I have added saffron and cardamom for the warm and pleasant flavors.

Jump to:

• About Milk Peda
• Ingredients
• Step by Step Recipe
• Serving and Storing Suggestions
• Variations
• Helpful Tips
• Recipe Card

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About Milk Peda

Milk Peda or Kesar Malai Peda is a traditional sweet and originates from the town of Mathura, located in the modern state of North India. In India, you can find Peda on a variety of occasions. From a child’s birth to the wedding ceremony, the celebration is incomplete without feeding Peda to each other.

However, this sweet is famous for its purity and is often used as a Prasad, a vegetarian food religiously offered to God. And the tradition of making Peda as Prasad is carried out in hundreds of temples around the world.

Milk Peda is sweet, fudgy, creamy, and slightly caramelized. They have warm and nice flavors of saffron and cardamom and are absolutely melt in the mouth.

There are several other methods to make Milk or Malai Peda. Using milk powder or store-bought Khoya could be the easier way to make this sweet. But the recipe I am sharing is the traditional way to make Peda by cooking down the milk until it becomes a thick and creamy mixture.

The recipe is a lengthy process, but it is straightforward and requires only a few ingredients.

Ingredients

1. Milk: Always use full-fat milk to make Peda. The recipe involves the reduction of milk until we get a thick, Khoya-like mixture. If we use low-fat milk, we will not get a thick and creamy mixture after cooking down the milk. But if you have no option and need to use low-fat milk, replace some of the milk with heavy cream. So you can use 7 cups low-fat milk (2% fat) and 1 cup heavy cream (35% fat) to make Peda. However, do not use skim milk at all.
2. Sugar: I have used organic cane sugar to make milk Peda. But we can also use white sugar, granulated, or powder sugar. I have added 10 tablespoon of sugar but start adding 8 tablespoon of sugar, taste and add more as you require.
3. Saffron: It adds warm flavor as well as a lovely hue to the Peda. For the white Peda, skip adding saffron strands. If using saffron, soak them in 2tbsp of warm milk.
4. Cardamom Powder: It is one of my favorite spices to add to Indian sweets. It provides warm and sweet flavors to Peda. However, you can skip it if you don’t prefer adding cardamom powder.
5. Butter or Ghee: I have added a tablespoon of butter at the end to provide some shine and smoothness to Peda. It is totally optional, and skip if you don’t want to add it.

Step by Step Recipe

• Soak saffron strands in 2 tablespoon of warm milk, set aside.
• Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pan or pot over medium-high heat.

• As soon as it starts to boil, reduce the heat to moderate and continue cooking; keep stirring continuously with a wooden or a rubber spatula.

• Scrape the bottom and sides of the pot at intervals to prevent scorching and sticking. 
• Making Peda is a long process, so be prepared to stand at the stove for about an hour.
• In about 30 minutes, milk will reduce in half and will start getting creamier and thicker.

• When the milk becomes like a paste, after about 50 minutes, add the sugar, cardamom powder, and soaked saffron strands. 
• Mix well.

• Continue cooking, constantly stirring, until the mixture pulls away from the sides and bottom of the pan.
• The mixture will turn into a solid, fudge-like mass.

• Add butter or Ghee to the mixture and mix well.

• Turn off the heat and transfer the Peda mixture onto a plate, and spread.
• Do not let it cool completely but when it’s cool enough to handle, scoop it with a spoon and roll it into a ball.

• Shape and decorate the Peda as you desire.
• You can use a candy mold, a cookie shape disc, or simply a fork to decorate Milk Peda.

Serving and Storing Suggestions

• Milk Peda is a popular Indian sweet, and we can serve it for any festival or celebration. We can make it for Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Diwali, and many other festivals.
• Make Peda for a family celebration or make it for Prasad to offer to God on auspicious occasions.
• We can keep Peda in an airtight container for up to 2 days at room temperature. But if you live in hot weather, do not keep Peda at room temperature, but refrigerate them. 
• Place the container in the fridge and take it out a little ahead of time before serving. Peda will stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Variations

• For white Peda, leave out the saffron strands. 
• If you want vanilla flavored Peda, add a teaspoon pure vanilla and do not add cardamom powder.
• For nuts in your Peda, add chopped nuts of choice at the end of cooking.

Helpful Tips

• We need full-fat milk to make Peda. But if you have low-fat milk with 2% fat, swap 1 cup of milk with heavy cream. So use 7 cups of 2% milk and add 1 cup of heavy cream (35%) to make Peda.
• Use heavy-bottomed and a non-stick pan or pot if possible. Also, use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the pan to prevent scorching and sticking.
• While making a ball from the Peda mixture, grease your palm with Ghee to make Peda smooth and for easy rolling.
• To decorate the Milk Peda, use candy molds or a cookie shape disc. I have used cookie shape disc by pressing it lightly on the Peda.

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