Malai Peda

Malai Peda … bilkul Abad dairy na aavta hata teva (exactly like they were made at Abad dairy). Many of  my Amdavadi readers might not be aware that  until mid 80s, Ahmedabad had its own dairy called the Abad Dairy perched near Kankaria lake,  one of the most popular landmarks  Unable to withstand the fierce competition from the emerging giant Amul, the unit eventually died a slow death. But, when it was alive and kicking it supplied milk in those glass bottles with a thin tin cap (that the crows would break into) to the Amdavadis through its white colored milk-kiosks that dotted the streets across the city. We also had the pleasure to  enjoy quite a few of its milk based products and the best were its Malai Peda, the milky white discs with one or two seeds of elaichi or charoli embedded on its face. The Peda were soft, moderately sweet and always fresh. My father had formed this weekly ritual of bringing a pack of Abad Peda when he returned from work. The time of fresh lotto Peda  arriving at the  outlet just outside the dairy  would coincide with his time of passing through that particular street.  Sadly, once Abad called it a day  we literally stopped eating pedas, not because no one else made it but because the quality of the ones available was always questionable. Over the decades many halwai/mithai outlets have mushroomed but baring couple of them it is difficult to trust them with quality.

In our culture, Peda have been the go to sweet whether it is to announce a birth in the family or to share the joy of new purchase or as offering during puja and religious ceremonies, we always say it with a box of pedas.  I love to bite into a moist, soft and mildly sweet peda and was always on the lookout to get a recipe to a perfect tasting Milk Peda made using minimum ingredients. To me,  one of the most deterring factor to not trying new recipes is the list of ingredients and complex methods, my principle is simple – the lists should not intimidate me. And this particular recipe to Milk Peda by my favorite Tarla Dalal was easy on both these factors. Hence, I gave it a shot and have been hooked to the recipe since a very long time. It did require couple of times to nail it but it was all was worth it.

You may watch the video to the recipe here. 

Do give it a try…..