Peda for Pongal

One of the first festivals in the New Year that is celebrated in India is Pongal or Sankaranti.  It is the celebration of the harvest season and end of winter.

I am not the hugest fan of kheer or payasam that is traditionally made as the sweet item for a festival,  so I opted to make Milk Peda. It seriously couldn't be easier. 5 ingredients. 5 minutes or less in the microwave. And you have a really delectable dessert on your hands.

I came across this recipe few years ago and instantly became one of my favourites because it was so simple but really tasty and a crowd pleaser. And I'm a sucker for milk based sweets.

Ingredients:
-  1 1/2 cups milk powder/dry milk
-  1 can sweetened condensed milk
-  5-6 cardamom pods, seeds crushed
-  a few saffron threads
-  2 Tbsp room temperature butter
-  ghee to grease the hands (you'll see why)
-  pistachios for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Combine milk powder, condensed milk, cardamom, saffron and room temperature butter in a large microwavable bowl

Microwave one minute at a time for 4-5 minutes, stirring after each minute till you get a combined "dough" or fudge like consistency

Grease palm of your hand with a bit of ghee and roll out into little balls and flatten. Do this when the dough is still fairly warm. Garnish with pistachios.