Clotted Cream Peda

WHAT IS RAKSHA BANDHAN/RAKHI?

Coming up this 15th August is the Indian festival of Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi. Rakhi celebrates the bond between brother and sister. The sister ties a rakhi around her brother’s wrist, which symbolises his protection. She then will receive a gift in return (I’ve got my fingers crossed for a great gift this year!) Each year with these festivals comes the question of “WHAT TREAT TO COOK?!”

WHAT IS PEDA/PERA/PEDHA?

Peda, basically is an Indian style fudge which is a classic Indian sweet that is mainly prepared or consumed during festivals or on any happy occasions. For Indians, peda is equivalent to the traditional chocolate. The authentic peda recipes are made with milk or milk solids aka khoya or mawa and sugar. To give different flavours some warm and sweet spices are added such as cardamom (elychi) saffron (kesar) and nutmeg (jaiphal). Peda are a family favourite of ours and are made and eaten during all sorts of celebrations, so it made sense to make Peda this Rakhi. Our peda recipes include Kesar Malai Peda our readers most favourite Rajkot Na Peda, which became a huge hit on our Instagram. However, I wanted to try a completely different flavour of peda this time. My mum would often call Peda “Indian fudge” and I like to try and add an English influence to our Indian desserts, so I thought why not have a go at making Peda with Clotted Cream! Some of the tastiest fudge I have ever eaten was during a family trip to Devon and Cornwall about 15 years back and me and my brother were treated to packets of the local fudge. There were so many varieties from clotted cream fudge to Mars Bar fudge! And they clearly left an impact because I remember them clearly to this day!

CLOTTED CREAM PEDA

The key difference between Indian Peda and English fudge is that Peda are cooked with milk powder whereas fudge wouldn’t be. These heavenly clotted cream peda turned out so well and satisfied our British Asian souls. They are the best of both worlds as they give you the feeling that you are eating cornish clotted cream fudge and Indian creamy peda all in one.

WHAT IS CLOTTED CREAM

Clotted cream is a thick cream traditionally made by heating milk indirectly. The cream rose to the surface and formed clots. In the UK, the largest producer of clotted cream is Rodda’s in Cornwall. We have eaten clotted cream with our homemade Lavender Scones. INGREDIENTS FOR PERFECT CLOTTED CREAM PEDA

Clotted Cream – is available in almost every supermarket if you can’t find it use Devonshire cream which has lower fat content.
Milk Powder – use full fat or full cream milk powder for this recipe if you want peda to be rich, creamy and soft.
Demerara Sugar – Natural unrefined cane sugar to give peda a light brown colour and fudgy taste. It’s the most important ingredient to achieve the colour and taste.
Sweetened Condensed Milk – easily available but try not to use the light one.
Ghee – we are not using ghee in the recipe, but to grease our hands before handling the peda mixture, so the mixture doesn’t stick to your palm.

HOW TO MAKE SMOOTH CLOTTED CREAM PEDA

Once you have all the ingredients ready, clotted cream peda comes together in a jiffy. Just make sure in those 20 minutes you don’t leave the site and keep watching the mixture like a hawk. Ask your partners to look after babies and leave your phone out of your sight :D, I know that’s the hardest part but if you want to achieve the premium quality stay by the oven at all times. First, melt the sugar on low heat, then add all the ingredients and combine them well. Now keep stirring and guard the mixture till it thickens, turn the heat off and remove the mixture into the plate. Leave it to cool and then shape the peda.

SOME IMPORTANT TIPS TO MAKE SMOOTH CLOTTED CREAM PEDA

Use heavy bottom pan so the mixture doesn’t stick to the surface of the pan, but keep stirring the mixture all the time. To prevent cracks in the peda later on, keep peda mixture/dough slightly loose. Don’t worry, once the mixture starts getting cool it will get thickened too and you’ll easily make peda into any shape. Always grease your palm with a dab of ghee before handling the cooked peda mixture to avoid stickiness. Clotted cream peda can be stored at the room temperature around 20-22C for 2-3 days but if you want to keep it for longer refrigerate them in an airtight container. Take them out 20 minutes before consuming as they tend to harden over time especially when you refrigerate them. If you are in a hurry, just microwave them 8-10 seconds to bring it to room temperature. You’ve done your hardest part, now sit back, share and enjoy these incredibly tasty clotted cream pedas with your loved ones, they can be served as a dessert, prasad or give it as an edible gift.