Bearing with the blazing sun of the month of June, I strolled on the lanes of Agra while waiting for my father to get us tickets to the Taj Mahal. The historic monument is the biggest attraction of the city, after all. After being mesmerized by the beauty of the white-marbled artwork with intricate carvings, we were starving so we headed to the closest restaurant we could locate. At the end of the meal, the server asked us if we wanted something sweet to which we responded in affirmation. He brought us some famous Agra ka petha. Chunky and sweet, the pethas disappeared from the bowl within a few minutes.
Next on our road trip was Mathura. Due to its religious significance for Hindus and close proximity to Agra, we made our way to the next destination. Here, we visited the Janambhoomi Temple (birthplace) of Lord Krishna post which we were intrigued by some pure white edibles being sold outside the premises. Getting a little closer to it, we heard the shop owner saying, “Aao aur khao Mathura ka Pedha” and we got convinced easily. Popping the milky treats in the mouth one after the other, all of us looked at each other in amazement as if saying, “This is actually good!”. Discovering two local sweet meats in a day seemed quite a victory to us.
It was only then I realized that the two similar sounding words petha and pedha are actually not quite the same. While the former is a translucent sweet with a candy-like texture, the pedha is made from mawa and milk and loaded with richness of the two. Turns out, pedha is actually quite a rage in the South too.
When The Pedha Travelled From Uttar Pradesh To Dharwad
This iconic sweet of Karnataka’s little hamlet Dharwad is a sensation in the Line Bazaar of the district. The story goes like, a man named Ram Ratan Singh Thakur from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh fled the city when a deadly plague broke out in the latter half of the 18th century. He reached Dharwad, a small town in the state of Karnataka and settled there. In order to make a living, he started making pedhas. The combination was milk and sugar was definitely not the charm but a special technique and formula that remains a secret till date.
The secret recipe, along with the lineage of the art of making pedhas has been passed down from generations, due to which the family-run business has been quite a success. There have been several speculations about the specialty of the pedhas, from the process of browning the sugar to the use and stirring of a high-quality khoya, yet no one knows the magic ingredient.
The khoya is stirred continuously, while adding small amounts of sugar to give it a brown caramel-like hue. Then loads of sugar is dissolved into the mix after the tedious stirring of approximately two hours. Finally, it is set aside to cool down to be cut into cubes. The layer of powdered sugar adds to the sweetness of the pedha.
The Dharwad pedha might remain a mystery for a while, so how about making these lip-smacking pedhas for now?
1. Coconut Pedha
Take some desiccated coconut and mix it with condensed milk. Add some cardamom powder for a strong aroma and set in the refrigerator to cool down.
2. Caramel Pedha
You’ve got butter, caramel and nuts at your disposal. So, this recipe should be on your bucket list. This is the closest you can get to Dharwad ka pedha.
3. Mango Kesar Pedha
If you want to give your pedhas a fruity flavour, pair them with mangoes and you are good to go. The chewy and chunky texture makes this a delicious treat.
