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Karnataka is known for its special sweet, called Mysore Pak. However, the state has another popular sweet that is just as well known and just as tasty, called the Dharwad Peda. It is, in fact, so famous that it got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2007. The sweet is made with milk, sugar, paneer, and ghee, but the simple ingredients are mixed together so well that it creates a divinely tasty Dharwad Peda. The sweet is soft and the flavouring of cardamom powder and sugar powder gives it a slightly grainy taste. The sweet is primarily available in Dharwad and in sweet shops in other parts of Karnataka. Even though it won’t exactly be like the original, this peda can be made at home too with easily available ingredients.
The peda got its name from Karnataka’s Dharwad district, which is located in the northwestern part of the state, where the sweet was invented. It is believed that the sweet was made from buffalo's milk and that the buffalos were raised by the Gavali community there.
Peda
Dharwad Peda is said to have been invented by a man named Ram Ratan Singh Thakur, who is believed to have migrated to Dharwad from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh, and the sweet continued to be made by his son. The sweet has been adapted from place to place by using easily available ingredients such as milk powder. It is said to have been invented over 175 years ago. The original taste of the peda is unrivalled, as it is made with buffalo milk, which renders it a unique taste, whereas if made with cow’s milk, the taste won’t be exactly the same.
Here is the recipe for Dharwad Peda.
Ingredients:
1. 2 cups of milk powder
2. 1-2 large cups of milk
3. 4-5 tsps of ghee
4. Cardamom powder
5. Powdered sugar
6. Sugar powder
Method:
1. Put two cups of milk powder in a pan and roast on a low flame.
2. Add one teaspoon of ghee and stir.
3. Stir till the milk powder starts to darken and eventually turns brownish.
4. Switch off the fire and keep stirring till the milk powder is uniformly coloured.
5. Add one teaspoon of ghee and keep stirring for 10 minutes.
6. Put the flame to low, add a cup of milk, little by little, to the milk powder and keep roasting, till the milk is absorbed.
7. The mixture should turn deep brown, add half cup of milk and stir, and later add a little more milk, and stir some more.
8. Take off from flame after the mixture turns deep brown and has a sandy texture.
9. Add another teaspoon of ghee and mix well.
10. Put the mixture on a plate or a bowl, add a little bit of cardamom powder, one cup of powdered sugar, and mix well into a big ball.
11. Break small balls and roll them over sugar powder.
12. The Dharwad Peda is ready.
