Agra Pethaपेठा
⏱ Prep 30m🍳 Cook 90m🍽 Serves 8🌿 Vegan
Video: Hebbars Kitchen (YouTube)
Agra Petha is one of India's most famous sweets — a crystallised white candy made from ash gourd (white pumpkin) that has been produced in Agra's old city for centuries. It arrives in two forms: the dry angoori (grape-sized, crystallised white) and the wet syrup-soaked kind. Visitors to the Taj Mahal return with boxes of it; expatriates in North America dream of it. Making it at home takes patience and two days, but the result is remarkable.
📍 Make it in Plano
This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.
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Ingredients
- ▪ash gourd — white pumpkin, wax gourd (petha)1 kg, peeled and seeded
- ▪slaked lime — chuna (pickling lime / calcium hydroxide)2 tsp dissolved in 2 cups water
- ▪alum — fitkari1 tsp dissolved in 2 cups water
- ▪sugar1.5 kg (3 cups per cup of gourd)
- ▪water (for syrup)3 cups
- ▪green cardamom powder½ tsp
- ▪rose water or kewra water1 tsp (optional, for angoori variety)
- ▪saffron strands (optional, for peel variety)a pinch
🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions
- Ash gourd (wax gourd / winter melon) is sold at South Asian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian grocery stores. In North America it is often labelled tung kwa or dong gua. Buy a whole piece and store the rest in the fridge.
- Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) is sold at South Asian grocery stores labelled chuna or pickling lime, or at Latin American markets as cal (same ingredient). It firms the gourd so it holds shape through the long syrup-cooking. Do not skip it — without it the petha disintegrates.
- Alum (fitkari) is available at Indian grocery stores and pharmacies. It adds extra crunch. Omit if unavailable — the lime alone gives a good result.
Method
- 1Cut ash gourd into 1-inch cubes or 2-inch rectangular pieces. Prick all over with a fork — this helps the sugar penetrate.
- 2Soak in lime water solution for 4–6 hours (or overnight). Rinse thoroughly under running water 3–4 times until no chalky residue remains.
- 3Bring a large pot of plain water to a boil. Add the gourd pieces and cook 10–12 minutes until they turn translucent on the edges but hold their shape. Drain carefully.
- 4In a heavy-bottomed pan, dissolve sugar in 3 cups water over medium heat. Add cardamom powder. Bring to a single-thread consistency (105°C / 220°F).
- 5Add the boiled gourd pieces to the syrup. Simmer gently on very low heat for 45–60 minutes, turning occasionally, until the syrup is absorbed into the gourd and the pieces become semi-transparent.
- 6For dry (angoori) petha: remove pieces from syrup, place on a wire rack and let them dry overnight at room temperature or in a very low oven (60°C) for 2–3 hours until the surface crystallises.
- 7For wet petha: leave in the syrup, add rose water or kewra essence, and serve at room temperature within 2–3 days.
A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.