Pal Kova / Theratti Pal / Thiratti Pal - Using Ricotta Cheese
Pal Kova, also called as Theratti Pal in Tamil is a creamy milk sweet made with thick milk, jaggery or sugar and some melted butter or ghee. Out of all Pal Kova I tasted, Aavin Palkova stands the best. Its always tricky for me to understand how they arrive at the unique taste of Aavin Palkova and howmuchever I try, my version would not taste the same. But this time, I used my brain so much to come closer to that version. I made this specially for one of my friend Preetha's Seemandham / Baby Shower. I used the combination of both sugar and jaggery while making this Pal Kova so as to get the brownish colour. Process is much simpler as I used only microwave for my entire cooking. This basic idea was originally given by my friend Soundarya couple of years back..I customized little bit and tried her method and the final result was awesome.
Ingredients
Ricotta Cheese - 32 Oz ( Used Part Skim 32 Oz / 2 lb ) or 5 Cup
Fat Free Milk Powder - 2 packets / 3 Cup
Condensed Milk Can - 1
Powdered Jaggery - 1 Cup
1% Milk - 1 Cup
Melted Ghee - 1 Oz Bar / 3/4th of a cup
Cardamom Powder / Elachi Powder - 2 tsp
Roasted Cashew nuts - 1 Handful to decorate.
Method
In a big deep glass vessel or any deep microwave vessel, add all the ingredients except cardamom powder and cashew nuts and mix them thoroughly.- Cook them on high in microwave for about 5-6 minutes. Open the microwave and stir them on all sides.
- Continue the process for another 3 to 4 times. Every time stir the PalKova and you would notice the Kova changing to light brownish colour and getting closer to a thick consistency.
- When the Kova comes to the actual semi solid state, add the cardamom powder and mix well.
- Microwave for another 1-2 minutes and decorate with roasted cashews.
Tips / Variations
- Instead of Sweet Condensed Milk you can add sugar directly.
- Instead of fat free versions, you can very well make it with whole milk Ricotta Cheese and milk powder to achieve a more richer taste.
- Don't microwave till the kova gets completely dry. In order to obtain the right kova taste, try to retain some moisture in the Pal Kova.