Course | Dessert |
---|---|
Place of origin | Agra, India |
Region or state | North India |
Main ingredients | Ash gourd vegetable, sugar |
Variations | Kesar petha, Angoori petha, dry petha, Lal petha, chocolate petha, slice petha, Pan Petha |
Petha (Hindi: पेठा pronounced [ˈpeːʈʰaː]) is a translucent soft candy from North India. Usually rectangular or cylindrical, it is made from the ash gourd vegetable (also known as winter melon or white pumpkin, or simply petha in Hindi and Urdu).
With growing demand and innovation, more varieties of the original preparation are available. Many flavoured variants are available, e.g. kesar petha, angoori petha etc. There are some other variations based on content, one with coconut mixed, another with some nuts put into it. Sometimes kewda essence is used to flavour petha.
The Petha is said to have originated in the kitchens of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan.
Petha manufactured in Agra is covered by a Geographical Indication label to certify their origin.