petha recipe | petha sweet | Agra petha | dry petha - Indian sweet | with step by step images.
petha is a special north Indian mithai that is especially famous in some regions like Agra and Mathura. Learn how to make dry petha - Indian sweet.
To make petha, prick the ash gourd cubes, combine with slaked lime and enough water and keep aside overnight. Next day drain in running water. Then cook ash gourd cubes in water and powdered alum mixture for 10 minutes. Again drain and keep aside. Then make sugar syrup and add ash gourd pieces in it and cook for 5 minutes. Cover and keep for 5 minutes. Thereafter keep cook and strain it as per the steps given. Finally roll it in powdered sugar to get the perfect petha.
The moment you have a look at the ingredients list you will realise that this Agra petha is very unlike other sweets you might have cooked or tasted before. Simply put, the Petha is a sweetened cube of ash gourd, but the use of ingredients like lime and alum, as well as the special preparation procedure, give it an off-beat texture that is crisp, juicy, chewy and kind of melt-in-the-mouth too!
It is quite difficult to explain the fabulous experience, which has to be tried first-hand to understand. The petha can be stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks, so you can comfortably make a large batch and enjoy it whenever you wish. The Rajasthanis especially like to pop a petha into their mouth after meals, so you could try doing that too.
Tips for making Petha. 1. Cleaning of ash gourd in the initial stage while it is soaked in alum is very important. 2. Make sure to maintain the consisitency of the sugar syrup. 3. Drain the petha very well before coating with powdered sugar.
Also check out the petha variants - Petha Paan and Angoori Petha.
Enjoy petha recipe | petha sweet | Agra petha | dry petha - Indian sweet | with step by step photos.