Diwali Sweets- Microwave Pedas

When it comes to make a home away from home, one needs to be ingenuous. Being away from India we try new ways to refresh old memories. Indian festivals are marked by the sheer color and gaiety celebrated with tons of sweets. Diwali in India means lights, fireworks and sweets. There we can get some of the best sweets very easily at affordable prices at the sweet shop next door. No one thinks of making pedas at home in India, because making it from scratch is a grueling process requiring hours of stirring and mixing.

Thanks to microwave cooking, I made some real good pedas to mark my second Diwali in US. The process is really easy and hardly takes 10 mins. I took the original idea from here.

Dry Milk (Milk Powder) - 2 cups (150gm)
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1, 14oz can (396gm)
Unsalted Butter - 1, 4oz stick
pinch of saffron
1/2 tspn cardamom powder
small pieces of almonds, pistachios

Put the butter in a microwave dish and heat it in a microwave till it melts.
Add milk powder and condensed milk to melted butter and mix.
Microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring well after every minute.
Add crushed saffron and cardamom powder and mix well.
Let it cool a little then apply little butter to hands and make a small ball from the mix.
Decorate with almond and pistachio pieces.
Set on a greased plate. The scrumptious pedas are ready to be enjoyed !!