Rose Water and Cardamom Infused Penda

Rosewater and Cardamom Infused Pendas by Chinskitchen

Penda’s are delicious creamy and rich in flavour Indian sweets (Mithai). Some say its Indian fudge. Main ingredients for penda are khoya (which is a milk product usually made with either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating) , sugar, ghee, nuts and spices mainly cardamom and saffron. In our home Penda’s are loved by all and what ever the occasion penda’s are always present in our mithai box. As Diwali is dawning upon us, I am so excited to be preparing all these lovely treats whether sweet or savoury as I will be putting together a platter of food which will then be offered to god as prashad. From a young age I have always preferred penda over any other mithai and till date, will opt for saffron penda or mawa penda. My inspiration for this combination came from a bottle of rose water I have in my cupboard which was purchased a few months ago.As much as I would like to sit in the kitchen all day baking and preparing all those wonderful recipe combinations that are developing in my head, I have to step out of it to attend to kids and other tasks in the house,These pendas are soft,creamy and sultry with a sensational fragrant of rose that is delicate to your palette followed by the delightful taste of cardamom. The sweet scent of rose water was lingering in my home for the rest of the day and oh my it was sensational. Once these lovely delights were made we could not stop indulging. Make these indulging treats into dainty gifts by wrapping them up in a a cellophane bag tied with a pretty bow, ready to be gifted to family, friends or neighbour’s during Diwali.

Rose Water and Cardamom Infused Penda

Makes: Approx 20 medium size
Preparation Time:15 minutes
Cooking Time:35 minutes
Storage: Will keep in fridge for 7-10 days, serve at room temperature.

Ingredients:

180g Full fat milk powder
25g Granulated sugar
1.5 Tsp natural rose water
397g Tin condense milk
2 Tbsp Ghee plus extra for greasing
1 Tbsp Milk
1/2 Tsp ground cardamom

To Garnish
Pistachio slivers
Dried rose petals

Method:

1. In a wide non stick pan, add the sugar, milk powder, condense milk and cardamom and mix thoroughly into a thick paste.
2.On low heat stir this mixture,add ghee,milk,rose water and continue stirring for 10 minutes. Soon you will start to see the mixture coming away from the sides, as soon as you notice this happening, turn off the heat.
3. Transfer the mixture into a glass bowl and allow it to cool for approx 15 minutes. You should have a dough like consistency that is soft but easy to roll either with rolling pin or into small balls.
4. Grease your hands and plate with ghee, take small pieces of the mixture, roll and flatten into small disc like shape.
5.Place these shapes on your greased plate and make a slight indent on top with your finger.
6. Garnish the penda’s with dried rose petals and pistachio.

Tips:

1. During step 1 please note it is hard work to mix the dry ingredients with condense milk but mix it well until combined.
2. Do not over cook the mixture or else you will end up with hard, cracking penda’s.
3. If you have undercooked the mixture (you’ll know this if you can’t roll them) then return to heat and cook for literally a few minutes.
4. These penda’s are not overly sweet, if you have an extremely sweet tooth you can add more sugar to the mixture.
5. Follow the recipe step by step and you will have delightful penda’s.

Enjoy these creamy little delights with family and friends on Diwali.