Kesar Doodh Peda/ Saffron Scented Burfi

Hope all of you had wonderful Ganesh Chaturthi celebration! I know many of them keep Ganesha for 5 or more days too. So it's an ongoing celebration with different kind of food and prasad offered God every day. I miss India during these days when everywhere there is rush to buy things, flower vendors lining sidewalks, sweet smell of camphor around the temple, ummmm... and of course last but not least mom making sweets and savories. We used to go around the neighborhood to check the decoration and Ganesha idols. It was fun to exchange later about how many we saw and how beautiful they were.

When my sister moved to Pune after marriage, I visited her three times during Ganpati. It's was another completely different experience being there. The grandeur of this festival need to be seen and felt to believe it. The over the top decorations, markets bustling with people and everyone visiting one Ganpati Mantap to another. DagaduSheth Ganpati is one of the places that's highly crowded, but people love to go there and see how they have decorated the Lord. Ahhh Good old memories. 

These Peda's that I made for prasad were a breeze to make. I use condensed milk so the base is thick to begin with, which reduces the cooking time. This is a variation from the Doodh Peda recipe using fresh Khoya. Try this easy recipe to please everyone and let them thinking that you spent hours to come up with this delicacy. :)

Prep Time: 5 min | Cooking Time: 15 min | Makes : About 2 dozen

Ingredients:

Ghee - 2 tsp.
Condensed Milk - 1 Can
Mava/ Milk Powder - 1 Cup
Almond Powder/ MTR Badam Powder mix - 2 tbsp.
Kesar/ Saffron strands - 6 to 7
Cardamon - seeds from 5 to 6 pods crushed fine
Slivers of Almond for decoration

Method of Preparation:

~ In a heavy bottomed pan, add ghee and heat the condensed milk.
~ Once it's starts to bubble, add rest of the ingredients, except slivers of almond.
~ Keep mixing on a medium heat, until the mixture starts to leave the sides. This takes about 6 to 7 minutes.
~ Switch off and wait for 10 minutes for it to cool down.
~ Pinch out small balls from the mix and shape them round. Press gently in the middle with your thumb and place a sliver of almond in it. 

Notes:

- Switch off the gas once the mixture starts leaving the sides. If you heat it for too long, it becomes hard and chewy.
- If the mix becomes too hard and cannot be shaped, slowly add few drops of hot milk and keep mixing with hand until you can make small balls.
- This can be stored in air tight container on the shelf for 2 days and in the refrigerator for a week or so.