Pal Kova/ Doodh Peda

I have a special corner for a remote place in Tamil Nadu, India called Sriviliputtur. Special memories gush in real fast making me utterly nostalgic. This place is famous - for its Andal (South Indian Goddess) Temple and for its "too-good-to-be-true" sweet called "Pal Kova" , an utterly delicious sweet made from milk and sugar. Something about the richness of the milk makes this incomparable if made anywhere else.


I remember eating this special sweet, esp made at my Grandmother's place which she used to bring along with her when she used to come and visit us. I have made it so many times at home, but I cannot for obvious reasons get that special touch of my grandma's. But then it would still serve your purpose nevertheless to get the droolworthiness of this "must-have-sweet". If one had "1000 dishes that you should have before you die" list, then this Pal Kova or Doodh Peda will make it to the list, am sure.

  • Cook time:
  • Prep time:
  • Serves: 2 people
  • Yields: Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients
  • 1/2 Gallon milk ( about 2 liters )
  • 1-1/2 cup sugar (as per taste)
  • about 2 tbsp Ghee
Method
1. Heat the milk in a heavy bottomed pan.
2. Bring it to a boil.
3. Once it starts boiling, then lower the heat - something in the middle of Low-med. Stir it once every 10 min to make sure that the milk does not stick to the bottom. The milk in about an hour and half or so, slowly starts reducing in volume and turns into sandalwood yellow color.
4. After 2 hours or so, it thickens and this is a point when it becomes mandatory that attention is given and stirring is must on a continuous basis. Otherwise it will stick to the bottom. Add sugar at this point and keep stirring for another 20-30min.
5. When the consistency looks like you can almost roll a ball with it, remove it from the pan, add ghee, stir it well and serve. It keeps well in the refrigerator covered in wax paper.

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3 Member Reviews

By Sreedevi on Jan 27, 2013

I made pal kova with 4 litres of milk and 3 cups of sugar, it come really outstanding. The taste was amazing,my family members enjoyed the sweet.

Recipe Image

By pujari on Mar 7, 2012

I tried this dish, it was awesome..................\"yes\"

Thanks a lot DK for the recipe

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27 Comments

By Raj on Mar 1, 2016

Hi Thanks a lot , I did this since I remember my Mother doing this for us often but the way it turned out well just in the bend it became a ;little hard I guess I made a mistake by adding the ghee as it was still in the stove. Thanks Raj

By Riji on Jul 29, 2013

:oops:Thanks for the update but this recipe takes lot more time to cook almost more than 2 and a half hour though the ingredients used are very less :-? so much time consuming :roll: any alternatives :?:

By tejaswini on Nov 17, 2012

:lol: its very nice to taste and very simple process to do

By gracelin on Sep 26, 2012

can't wait to try ..just looking at these pictures gives out the max temptation ..thank u

By pujari on Mar 7, 2012

i tried this recipe it was awesome............yummy..............

By Indhu on Feb 6, 2012

hey nice palkova i tried.. it turned out well thx.. but ur photo looks nice n glossy but i didnt get it y is that so... :?:

By Anita on Dec 22, 2011

Guess we have to make it with whole milk. correct ?

Yes :)

By Anita on Dec 22, 2011

Hello, Wonderful collection of recipes ! It has become my go to site. Question regarding this palkova - Can we make it in a wide Calphalon non stick pan. Thanks

Yes you can. I love the calphalon pans! Thank you for your kind words :)

By bhuvaneshwari on Oct 9, 2011

i am yearning to have paalkova for the past few days... finally remebered to search the net for the recipe... wat a fool i am to search for it when i know that there is always a ready recokener in you :) trying this recipe today.. shall post pictures soon :)

By kesh on Aug 25, 2011

:wink: heyya i am 15 i tried this palkova pancake i shared it with my white and chinese friends they loved it i am really feeling proud to be an indian!!!!!!! the pancake turned out well too! :-D

By Nivedita on Aug 12, 2011

I just happened to be browsing today and found this recipe Dhivya !!! This reminds me of my college hostel days when our Sunday lunch used to include a small pack of Srivilliputhur paal kova :)... memories indeed !!! Will try this one day and let you know !!!!

By arul on Aug 12, 2011

in some web they asked to add lemon .but in ur method it does not mentioned

By Suji on May 4, 2011

Its tempting......... :wink:

By winner on Oct 8, 2010

will it be perishable when it was kept in refrigirator?if palkova is a milk product, it should not get perished. tel me what is the reason

I have mentioned in my last step that it indeed keeps well in the fridge

By pushpa on May 3, 2010

hi we worked out your kova and it came excellent . do more recipes in milk and you rock

By Lavanya on Sep 14, 2009

hi as usual u rock.the sweet dish turned out very yummy. i added 3 tbs of rice flour (mixed in water without any lumps ) to the milk when it was reduced to half ,it yielded 3cups of palkova at the end with the same great taste. continue ur good work

By DK on Feb 18, 2009

Thank you girls.
@Akal's sappadu - thanks dear for such a beautiful and generous comment. I appreciate it

By Akal's Saappadu on Feb 18, 2009

Hi DK,
came here through your comment and thanks for the visit!
I was going through your pages, haven't finished all of them though! I'm just giving a feast to my eyes, so many lovely recipes, especially beautifully photographed and well demonstrated.. wanted to stop for a comment on almost each one of them, but then, since i have a sweet tooth, stopped somewhere here; paal gova, the old traditional slow process, you know , it's not the same taste with all the quick process of doing paal govas(seen in some sites) nice patience and lovely finishing! Bravo!

Got a beautiful and rich site! yet to go through many of your recipes!!!

By Akal's Saappadu on Feb 18, 2009

Hi DK,
came here through your comment and thanks for the visit!
I was going through your pages, haven't finished all of them though! I'm just giving a feast to my eyes, so many lovely recipes, especially beautifully photographed and well demonstrated.. wanted to stop for a comment on almost each one of them, but then, since i have a sweet tooth, stopped somewhere here; paal gova, the old traditional slow process, you know , it's not the same taste with all the quick process of doing paal govas(seen in some sites) nice patience and lovely finishing! Bravo!

Got a beautiful and rich site! yet to go through many of your recipes!!!

By Uj on Dec 4, 2008

Wow.. looks yummy...Bookmarked to try soon!

By Nags on Dec 2, 2008

yes u are right. i will die for this, no doubt!

By Malar Gandhi on Nov 30, 2008

Nice one dude, luv kowa. Srivilliputtur.....heard a lot abt it. Btn....molaga bajji sounds interesting too.

By Ramya on Nov 30, 2008

Congrats to all on running the marathon successfully.... :)

By Alka on Nov 30, 2008

Lovely sweet...reminds me of khoya which my mom used to make ,with just a difference that she used to add some dry fruits to it !

By Divya.M on Nov 30, 2008

Love palkhove....Ur recipe is damn detailed one... Gr8 Dk...nice sweet...

By Curry Leaf on Nov 29, 2008

Lovely Post and yummy dish.I am yet to try it.I have heard about Srivilliputtur

By DEESHA on Nov 29, 2008

I love eating this .. looks soo yumm