Ingredients :
Petha ( white pumpkin/ ash gourd )
Sugar
Water
Rose syrup
Lime ( Choona )
Description :
Here comes the recipe of Petha ( White pumkin/ ash gourd candy ) , the most famous sweet from Agra.
After my nani ( materal grand mother) probably then next generation did not even attempt making this sweet. I feel happy to get the perfect Petha and share the same with the group.
Coming to the recipe.
Petha is made out of white pumpkin. For this purpose you would need pumpkin which is ripened. By looking at the skin you can make out if the pumpkin is ripened or not as a ripe pumpkin will have whitish patches. Its helpful if you tell your vegetable vendor to give you a round piece, so you can get the petha cut in perfect shape.
This recipe calls for patience, and can not be done in a day. Although there are very few steps which are fairly straight forward , one needs to allow for adequate resting time for pethas to get the required hard texture and sweet taste. Lime ( Choona ) is a natural ingredient used to provides the hardness to the Petha pieces. You may get a mushy Petha if you do not soak the pieces in the lime water. So allow the pieces to be soaked in lime for as long as 8-12 hours . Next the Petha pieces have to rest in the thick sugar syrup for the night else you may not get the required sweetness, which may not be very appetizing. Adding rose water is absolutely essential and you would realize that the trick to the perfect taste also lies in adding it in enough quantity. The rose water mellows down the intrinsic taste of pumpkin.
Do remember to keep stirring the Petha in water or sugar syrup. If the pieces touch the pan, you are likely to get a brown and roasted petha.
Many people avoid sweet these days, however if you ever want to taste a Petha, do it at home as it tastes much better than the ones available in market.