These delectable Thandai Pedas are infused with the flavors of spices like saffron, cardamom, rose, peppercorn and filled with aromatic gulkand. Made with only a few ingredients, these pedas will add more colors to your Holi celebrations!

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 17 minutes
  • Total time: 52 minutes
  • Yield: 12
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 250 grams mawa ([adjustable]1 1/4 cups [/adjustable])
  • 2 tablespoons thandai powder
  • 100 grams granulated white sugar ([adjustable] 1/2 cup [/adjustable])
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk ([adjustable] 30 ml [/adjustable], or use any milk of choice)
  • 6 teaspoons gulkand

Method

  1. Make sure you have your homemade thandai powder ready before you start making these pedas. Add 250 grams mawa to a pan on medium heat. Roast it for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring continuously. It will liquify, we are not looking for any color changes here.
  2. Then add 2 tablespoons of thandai powder, 100 grams of sugar and mix. Also add 2 tablespoons of whole milk (or any milk of choice). Stir everything, the mixture will become liquidiy. Turn the heat to low.
  3. Stir continuously and cook the mixture on low heat. The mixture will look very thin at the beginning but will start to thicken with time. After cooking for around 15 minutes, the mixture will leave the sides of the pan and will have a molten lava-like consistency. This is the stage to take the pan off the heat else the pedas will turn chewy. This time may vary depending on the intensity of heat and thickness of your pan, but keep an eye after 12 minutes of cooking. Transfer the mixture from the pan to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let it cool for around 30 minutes.
  4. Start making pedas after the mixture has cooled down. Take a small portion of mixture in your hands (around 25 grams) and roll into a ball. Make an indentation in the center with your thumb and fill it with 1/2 teaspoon gulkand. Seal the edges to make the sure the filling is well secured inside and then roll it into a ball again. Press it slightly to make that traditional peda shape. Make all pedas similarly. I got around 12 pedas of 25 grams each.
  5. If you want to give them a nice design/shape, press each ball through a mooncake mold and then release to see the pattern. Garnish with rose petals and a few saffron strands.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.