Town of Agra has an incomparable masterpiece referred to as the Taj Mahal, which is laden with treasured stones like jade, onyx, and lapis lazuli. However additionally it is well-known for Agra ka petha, the edible jewels that are available dazzling colours of inexperienced, yellow, and white.
How The Petha Was Invented
Petha goes again a great distance—almost 400 years—to when Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan was ruling. He was rumored to have subtle culinary style and to have had the perfect cooks in his royal kitchens. Based on legend, whereas developing the Taj Mahal for 22 years, staff have been fed roti and dal and bought bored of consuming the identical factor. They needed to eat one thing else and provides their petition to the emperor.
Shah Jehan then turned to Ustad Isa, his grasp architect, for assist, and he approached a Pir, or holy man, who obtained the recipe for petha throughout meditation. Based on one other legend, the emperor desired a candy that was as pure and white because the Taj Mahal. In response to this request, the petha was created.
How Is Petha Made?
In the course of the conventional petha preparation course of, coal was burned to supply warmth, leading to natural waste that polluted the Taj Mahal’s air and contributed to its ugly look. Consequently, to keep away from polluting the Taj Mahal, many households have been relocated throughout the Yamuna River. They have been additionally inspired to change from coal to utilizing LPG gasoline to make petha.
There are a number of the oldest petha-making items right here, the place you possibly can see how this confectionary was made. Inside darkish rooms with steam billowing from enormous pots, staff take away pumpkin seeds and slice them up into bite-sized items. Then, with the assistance of forks, marks are made in it, after which it’s put in a sludge of white calcium hydroxide, or edible lime, for eight to 10 hours.
After that, the pumpkin items are drained, washed, and boiled in water until they look like tender and translucent, then soaked in sugar syrup. The sugar syrup is flavored with saffron or rose, and after 24 hours of soaking and drying, the delicacy will get a moist and chewy texture inside, and a crisp exterior outdoors.
White Petha Makes The Taj Mahal Black!
The Taj Mahal is a well-liked vacation spot for vacationers, and Agra is dwelling to many small producers that produce the petha to fulfill their wants. Agra’s well-known sweet was caught up in an issue in 2014 when the federal government declared an 80-kilometer space across the Taj Mahal the “Taj Trapezium Zone” and prohibited coal-fired manufacturing.
As a result of Taj Mahal’s white marble changing into dirty from air air pollution, the legislation was made to guard it. Nevertheless, native petha producers, who nonetheless use coal to boil sugar syrup, complained that the legislation harmed their companies. They are saying that their means of creating petha had nothing to do with the Taj Mahal turning black and that their companies have been being focused.
There are 1500 cottage items producing petha each day in Agra. It has an extended shelf life, making it a perfect sweetmeat on the market in comparison with different candies that spoil rapidly. Roughly 700 tons of petha are bought each day.
White gourd is useful for quite a lot of well being issues, together with gastritis, ulcers, coughs, and bronchial asthma. The petha created in Agra as we speak has a GI label to confirm its fatherland.
Varieties Of Petha
Whereas in Agra, you possibly can savor petha in its conventional kind in addition to varieties like inexperienced paan petha (which tastes like a candy paan), cherry petha, chocolate petha, coconut, almond, orange, pineapple, and angoori petha. You may also discover modern ones, such because the petha sandwich (khoya, cashews, and cardamom are stuffed between layers of petha) and the gulab ladoo.
Sada Petha
The sada petha is the standard petha bought in Agra and is a must-try for anybody coming to Agra. It is crunchy on the surface and tender and juicy on the within; it is a slice of pure heaven for anybody with a candy tooth.
Paan Petha
Paan Petha is made with recent components akin to pan powder, cashews, and gulkand and is molded to appear like an precise paan. It’s well-known for its style and freshness.
Kesar Angoori Petha
Agra’s Kesar Angoori Petha is heaven for sweet-toothed people. It’s yellow in colour, and kesar is utilized in making this sort of petha.
Chocolate Petha
In this sort of petha, chocolate is mixed with the juiciness of the petha for a mixture made in heaven. Juicy petha are dipped in chocolate that later hardens for a fantastic crunch and mouthfeel.
