MOM'S PERA (Gujrati sweet)

This is a delicious dessert/sweet cake that is kind of like homemade fudge (it has a similar consistency). Traditionally it is made for festive occasions such as weddings, new births and cultural celebrations. Believe me i've tried to replace and reduce the sugar, butter, swap the milk powder (not all at once of course) in an effort to make it healthier but every time the result is not even close to the real taste. So i've just left the recipe as is since taste does count and when you have a good thing why mess with it - right!. Credit goes to my mom, whose recipe this is and she tells me she uses less sugar than traditionally used so i guess that's a good thing. Once in a while it's okay to splurge!

Ingredients:
240 grams of unsalted butter
3 and 3/4 cups of skim milk powder
2 cups of white, refined sugar
1 can of evaporated skim milk
1/2 tsp of caradamom powder
1/2 tsp of nutmeg powder
1/4 tsp of saffron
a pinch of yellow/orange food colour (optional)

1) Melt butter and add evaporated skim milk on low heat.

2) Add sugar and mix well.
3) Once it starts to bubble, add cardamom, nutmeg, saffron and food colour and mix well.
4) Let it come to a full boil or very low heat.

5) Slowly add the milk powder once it has come to a boil and stir constantly.
6) Cook for about 25 mins on very low heat.
7) Remove from heat and let it cool.

8) After it has cooled a bit you can take a bit of the batter in your hands and roll into a circle and flatten.

9) Decorate with nuts or a neat design imprint. My mom uses a thread spool to get the design.

Makes approx: 40-45 small/medium sized
Calories per Pera: 132, Fat: 5g, Carbs: 21g, Sugar: 21g, Protein: 2g, Fiber: 0g, Sodium: 32mg