Rose & Pistachio thumbprint Milk Peda
Milk Peda meets thumb-print Cookies meets sprinkle-coated Donut - all the wonderful stuff into this mouth-watering, halwai* quality Rose & Pistachio Party Peda.
It’s so festive looking that makes it a perfect sweet for any Holiday!
Once you make this, I guarantee you are never going back to any other milk peda recipe. I won’t deny peda making takes time and lot of arm work with the constant stirring, but it’s straightforward to execute, and I have added pictures to help you throughout the way. I know you can do it!
*cheat sheet: Halwai means confectioners and sweet-makers in Hindi.
Rose & Pistachio thumbprint Milk Peda
Makes 16 - 20 Pedas
YOU WILL NEED
16 oz Ricotta cheese
1 cup Dry milk powder
1 cup Confectioner’s sugar
2/3 cup + 1/4 cup Milk
2 TBSP + 1 TBSP + 1 TBSP Ghee
1/2 cup Decorative Sugar or Sprinkles.
1/3 cup Pistachios
1/2 tsp Rose essence
(optional) dried rose petals for garnish
(optional) chopped 5-6 pistachios
EQUIPMENTS
(optional) Kitchen scale
non-stick pan
METHOD
Gather all the ingredients, keep them measured and ready to go. This is important, since the last few steps of the Milk Peda making needs to happen quickly. Empty the sprinkles in a wide bowl or shallow plate for the sprinkle coating step.
Combine the pistachios and 1/4 cup milk and blend it into a fine paste.
On a medium flame, combine 2 TBSP ghee and ricotta cheese and mix it well. The mixture will turn runny once heated, continue stirring and make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan.
Our goal with the ghee and ricotta cheese mixture is to evaporate all the water part. After about 20 minutes, you will start to see the mixture form.
Pistachio & Milk Paste
Runny Ghee & Ricotta Cheese Mixture
Runny Ghee & Ricotta Cheese Mixture
Just before the entire water content is about to be evaporated, add rest of the milk, dry milk powder and sugar. Mix this really well. If you find little clots form, use a whisk to smooth it out. The mixing will get difficult here, before it gets easy.
Add 1-2 TBSP ghee to make the mixing process easier.
Add the pistachio paste and rose essence.
Ricotta, Dry Milk Powder, Pistachio Paste, & Rose Essence
Constantly mix and move the dough in the pan, taking extra care it doesn’t stick.
Once the dough is well blended and starts to leave the surface, your rose & pistachio milk peda mixture is done. Turn off the stove.
The final dough should look like this. Notice how there is no sticking of the dough to the pan and you see ghee starting to ooze to the surface - that’s where you need to arrive.
It’s time to start rolling out the pendas. The dough should be comfortably hot/warm to touch, do not wait for it to cool down completely.
Take the remaining 1TBSP ghee in a small bowl and moisturize your palm generously with it. It will help you avoid any burns while working with the warm dough and nicely grease the milk peda to avoid any cracks. Constantly moisturize your palm as you roll the Milk Pendas.
Take small bite-sized portion from the dough and form balls. I may suffer from OCD (not proud of it), so I measured exactly 20gms for each peda to ensure they come out looking all identical 😂. You can choose not to follow this path and just use your judgement.
Flatten the balls gently and press them in the center with your thumb. Dip them upside down in sprinkles.
I have the entire Peda rolling process recorded as a Reel, make sure you check it out if you have any questions.
Garnish with dried or fresh organic rose petals and chopped pistachios, and stuff ‘em in your face!
See you in Milk Peda heaven, love 😘.
