Mathura peda

Mathura Peda
Alternative namesMathura ka Pedha or Pera
CourseDessert, Prasad
Place of originIndia
Region or stateMathura, Uttar Pradesh
Main ingredientsKhoya, sugar, milk
VariationsMathura ke pede, Meva vati peda and export quality special peda

Mathura peda is a North Indian sweet dish that originated from Mathura in India. In North India sweets prepared from mawa (khoya) are very popular and the peda is also a mawa sweet variety.[1] Mathura peda is so famous in North India that the term is often used in aphorism like Mathura ka peda au Chhattisgarh ka kheda means "(famous are) the peda sweet of Mathura and helmet in Chhattisgarh."[2] Mathura acts as a brand name for peda sweet.[3] While visiting Mathura, Mathura ke pede, Meva vati peda and export quality special peda are common souvenirs popular with visiting tourists.[4]

Popularity

Mathura peda is also popular outside India, where it is often sold at Indian sweet shops. Mathura peda’s regional popularity has likened it to other popular regional sweets such as Agra Peda and Mysore Pak.[5]

Mathura peda in folklore

Mathura's pede is a popular offering in Mathura, the birthplace of Krishna. To prepare Pedas fresh mawa, milk, sugar, and ghee are cooked together, and cardamom powder is added for taste. Pedas are considered an essential part of the Janmashtami celebration in India. Every year on this day, Pedas are prepared as Prasad or offering to Lord Krishna.

The taste of Mathura ke pede can be seen in Indian folklore also. "Mathura ke pede mohe lave, khilawe ji....."(he gives me the Mathura ka peda to eat) is a famous song among the Sand poojan (worship) songs in India.[6][7]

As Geo-specialty prasada

See also: Geographical indication

Mathura peda in the Braj Parikrama is geo-specialty prasada, just like the Kurukshetra Prasadam (Channa laddu) is in the 48 kos parikrama of Kurukshetra.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ Sanjeev Kapur. Mithai. Popular Prakashan. pp. Author's Note. ISBN 9788179917121.
  2. ^ Madhya Pradesh (India) (1965). Madhya Pradesh district gazetteers, Volume 1. Govt. Central Press. p. 107.
  3. ^ John Napier (2013). They Sing the Wedding of God: An Ethnomusicological Study of the Mahadevji ka byavala as Performed by the Nath-Jogis of Alwar. McFarland. p. 175. ISBN 9781476602134.
  4. ^ Kavita Kanan Chandra (11 March 2015). "Love and Lord Krishna". Kavita Kanan Chandra. India Currents. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  5. ^ Saransh Goela (2015). India on my Platter. Om Books International. pp. Day 83. ISBN 9789383202041.
  6. ^ Folk-lore, Volume 13. Indian Publications. 1972. p. 260.
  7. ^ Satya Prakash Arya (1975). A Sociological Study of Folklore: Projected Research in Kuru Region (Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Bulandshahar, and Bijnor Districts of Western Uttar Pradesh). Indian Publications. p. 102.
  8. ^ Chana laddoo to be ‘Kurukshetra prasadam’, The Tribune, 1 March 2020.