Shahi Rabdi Peda

Happy Vasant Panchmi - Spring is in air, Fresh blossoms everywhere.  

May Goddess Saraswati fly you high with wisdom and intellect, like a kite, and may you be grounded to Mother earth with a very strong thread of humility.  May your life eternally bloom flowers of joy and happiness.  

There is a great significance of the color yellow on this occasion and so here is a quick 9 minute dessert that you can make to go with the festivities.  

This is an incidental creation that was made, when I was trying to make something else.  That something else didn't work out quite well and so I decided to invent a new recipe out of it.  And was thrilled with the results.  That's why I have come to believe that 'keep an open mind and you don't know what you would discover'. This is one such recipe and now it's a regular in our home.  The freshness, texture, taste of this recipe is truly amazing.  A quick 9 minute recipe - couldn't have been any better.  Rabdi + Peda = best of both worlds.  Try it out for yourself, you won't regret.  

Recipe:

Cottage Cheese - 1 Cup (for this dessert, I prefer, and used the cottage cheese bought from American grocery store, and not Indian paneer)

Condensed milk - 1/2 cup (sweetened)

Milk - 1 Cup

Saffron - Few strands

Rose essence - 3-4 drops

Ghee - 1 teaspoon

Pistachio - 5-6, finely chopped

Almonds (optional) - Few, chopped

Cashews (optional) - Few, chopped

• Mix all of the above ingredients, keeping some pistachios and saffron on the side for garnishing later.  Heat the mixture in a microwave for 3 minutes.  Mix.  Heat it again for 3 minutes.  Mix.  Heat again for another 2 minutes.  
• Tie the mixture in a cheese cloth/muslin cloth and hang it (just like srikhand) to drain all of the excess water.  Keep it tied half an hour to an hour.
• Refrigerate the mixture for a couple of hours.  Then mould it into Rabdi Pedas. The texture would be grainier and very soft so don't worry if you don't get the perfect shape.  
• Garnish the Shahi Rabdi Pedas with chopped pistachios and saffron strands.

Serve chilled and enjoy :)