Guava Cheese (Perad)

I'm not usually a fan of the fruit guava, however after tasting this tradition Goan Christmas treat, I was a convert! Here's how you can make them:

Ingredients:

• 4-5 medium sized guavas (soft & ripe)
• Sugar equal to the amount of guava pulp
• Juice of 1 lime
• Red food colouring (2-3 drops)
• 1 tablespoon of ghee or butter

Method:

1. Peel the guavas and boil them whole with half a cup of water until they tear apart. This should only take about 10 minutes since they are already ripe.
2. Allow them to cool and scoop out the seeds. 
3. Grind the pulp in a mixer and use the leftover water since it has pectin which is important for the formation of the perad (It shouldn't be much, I had only 2 tablespoons).
4. Measure the pulp in cups to determine how much sugar you need to use. I ended up with two cups of pulp so I used two cups of sugar.
5. Put all the ingredients except the butter together in a heavy bottomed vessel. I used a cooker because it's the best.
6. Stir continuously on a medium flame. Mine took around an hour. When it starts leaving the sides of the pan, lower the flame. Add ghee or butter for the lovely sheen. 
7. To test when it is ready, take a bowl of room temperature water and drop a small piece of the mix into the bowl. If you can form a soft ball with your fingers, it is ready.
8. Pour it onto a greased plate or tin. It should set immediately. 
9. Cut when cooled into diamond shapes.

This should be good for 6 months without refrigeration, but I doubt they will last that long!

 https://munchersden.blogspot.com/2017/12/guava-cheese-perad.html