Patiently making Peera
I asked myself what it is that I am doing. Why am I so determined to make this Peera? It is not as if I like sweet things. But it’s not for me I counter-argued with myself. You do know that this is not your bread-and-butter job, right? You do realize that you have a class to prepare for tomorrow? And on and on it went – this to and fro with myself and how I can get at times.
The slaving away at the stove without moving paid off – there was no scorching and no changing of colour. The best part is that because I used the wide pot I had originally used when I first attempted making the Peera, the time had reduced by a whole hour! The wider the pot or pan used the faster the evaporation takes place.
I rolled my Peera when the mixture was cool enough to handle and gazed upon them triumphantly.
Taste testing
There were 8 taste testers for the 3 sets of Peera.
Each batch of Peera was different in taste, texture, flavour, and appearance.
Each batch of Peera was made with the same ingredients and the exact amount of ingredients – 4 cups whole milk, ¾ cup white sugar and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom (elaichi).
Batches 1 and 3 were made using a similar method; the difference being that batch 3 was stirred continuously while batch 1 was stirred intermittently.
Batch 2 had a completely different method of preparation.
The Peera(s) are ranked overall from 1 to 3. 3 being the least favourite and 1 being the best.
The least favourite of the Peera was batch # 2. This is the one where the khoya was made first and then the sugar and spice kneaded in to form a dough. The texture was a bit grainy from the sugar and the cardamom was highly pronounced. The intense cardamom flavour was a little off-putting to most of the tasters. Part of it was because some of them had never tasted cardamom before and wondered aloud if it was ginger. The texture was softer than the other two and it did not taste as uniform as the others. You could taste that there were three components that had been put together rather melded or cooked as one.
In second place was Peera batch # 1. Everyone liked the colour; it was brown and looked like the fudge with which they are familiar. The cardamom flavour was less pronounced but nevertheless evident. The texture was firmer, and the taste was more complex – this was due to the caramelization of the sugar. There was almost a nuttiness to the Peera from this batch.
First place went to Peera batch # 3. There was smooth
ness to the taste of this Peera; it was creamy. The cardamom was there – subtle and inviting. People kept eating and asking, what is that? There is some spice in there that I can’t place. When I told them it was cardamom, some were filled with disbelief. Unlike the previous tastings, people were reaching for seconds with this batch. You’d finish one and long for another one. That, I understand, is supposed to be the lure of a proper Peera.
Want to try making Peera from scratch? Got 4 hours to spare? Yes? No? Okay, I am sharing with you 2 versions - the long one, from scratch and a quicker version that takes less than an hour.