Quick Palkova - Milk Fudge with riccotta cheese and Condensed Milk

Making Palkova or thickened sweetened milk is a long and arduous process. The thickened milk right before adding sugar is called khova (khoya)which is also the base for making gulab jamuns. Ammayee made these without fail every time we visited her. Those days (and these days maybe my uncle still has them) buffalo milk was used because it was thick and creamy and with fat content higher than that of cow's milk.

Well anyway I have tried the long and arduous process a few times for making the best palkova but when you want a sweet for an occasion and you do not have the luxury of time, this is a perfectly fine way to make some palkova.

Mix the ricotta cheese and condensed milk and heat the mixture in medium heat.
Stir the mixture and after 6 minutes add the milk powder and stir till it becomes smooth. Cook the mixture for another 10-15 minutes till the mixture thickens, add ghee on the side.
Grease a plate and transfer the contents to the plate and smooth it on top. Make marks on the fudge for the desired shape. Cool and cut into pieces.

You can use just ricotta cheese and condensed milk. For even more control over the sugar use just ricotta cheese and add sugar. If you want the process to finish even faster add some milk powder to the mix. The milk powder thickens the ricotta mixture much faster.

Quick Palkova - Milk Fudge
Preparation Time:5 minutes
Cooking Time:20 -25 minutes
Ingredients

1. 15 oz Ricotta Cheese (scant 2 cups)
2. 14 oz condensed milk
3. 1 cup milk powder (optional)
4. 2 tbsp of sugar (if adding milk powder)
5. 2 tbsp roasted and crushed almonds
6. 1/2 tbsp ghee

Method

1. In a wide mouthed pan (I used a non-stick) add the Ricotta cheese and condensed milk and let it come to a boil in medium heat.
2. After about 6-8 minutes the mixture will start to thicken. Add the milk powder at this stage and mix it in so there are no lumps.
3. Keep stirring for another 10 -15 minutes or so. Add the ghee on the side. The mixture will thicken and start coming away from the sides.
4. Grease a plate and pour the contents on to the plate and smoothen it on the top with a spatula. Make marks on the fudge for the desired shape.
5. Sprinkle the almonds on top after letting cool for a few hours and cutting them into pieces.

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