Condensed Milk Fudge (Perhas)
Makes 10-12.
Ingredients
1.25 litres/2 1/2 pints/5 cups milk
1 teaspoon ghee
4 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom or grated nutmeg
few slivered almonds or pistachios (optional)
gold or silver leaf
Directions
Put the milk into a large, heavy, non-stick pan and make Khoa which is
unsweetened condensed milk. This will yield approximately 220 g (7 oz)
of khoa.
Combine with ghee, sugar and cardamom and cook, stirring, until it
forms a thick mass and leaves the side of the pan. This only takes a
few minutes. Turn onto a plate and leave until cool enough to handle.
Lightly grease hands with ghee and shape mixture into small balls by
rolling between palms, then flatten the balls slightly. Put on a
buttered dish to cool and firm. The perhas will not get hard, and are
not supposed to. A soft, fudge- like texture is correct. If liked,
decorate each with half a blanched pistachio or a small piece of gold
or silver leaf.
Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)