Petha

Ash gourd cured in lime water before it is boiled, which is what makes it crunchy.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg ash gourd, peeled and seeded
• 2 teaspoons food-grade calcium hydroxide, pickling lime
• 2 litres cold water, for the curing
• 700 g granulated sugar
• 400 ml water, for the syrup
• a large pinch of saffron threads
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Method

1. ASH GOURD IS CURED IN LIME WATER BEFORE IT IS BOILED, WHICH IS WHAT MAKES IT CRUNCHY. Its article gives the whole sequence: THE GOURD IS SLICED INTO BITE-SIZED PIECES AND THEN CURED FOR A FEW HOURS IN A SOLUTION OF CALCIUM HYDROXIDE, LOCALLY KNOWN AS CHOONA OR SOON. AFTER REMOVING THE GOURD PIECES FROM THE CHOONA SOLUTION, THEY'RE BOILED UNTIL SOFT, AND THEN SOAKED IN SUGAR SYRUP. The lime firms the pectin in the flesh so the pieces hold their shape through the boiling and the syrup instead of collapsing.
2. USE FOOD-GRADE PICKLING LIME AND RINSE THE PIECES THOROUGHLY. The same calcium hydroxide is sold for pickling and for building, and only the first belongs near food. Two teaspoons in two litres, the pieces in for four hours, then rinsed in three changes of water until no slipperiness is left on them.
3. PRICK EVERY PIECE ALL OVER WITH A FORK. This is what lets the syrup in later. A smooth-skinned cube comes out sweet outside and bland in the middle.
4. BOIL THEM UNTIL A KNIFE GOES THROUGH WITHOUT RESISTANCE. Ten or fifteen minutes in plain water, then drained and spread out to steam dry. They should be translucent at the edges.
5. THE FIRST SYRUP IS THIN AND THE PIECES SIT IN IT OVERNIGHT. Half the sugar with the water, boiled two minutes, poured over. Going straight into a heavy syrup shocks them and they wrinkle.
6. THE NEXT DAY, LIFT THEM OUT AND BOIL THE SYRUP WITH THE REST OF THE SUGAR. Then the pieces back in for fifteen minutes. Two stages gets the sugar to the centre.
7. DRY THEM ON A RACK UNTIL THE OUTSIDE CRYSTALLISES. A day in a warm dry place. Its article's description of the finished sweet is the test: A SUGAR-CRISP EXTERIOR AND AN ALMOST MOIST, STICKY INTERIOR WITH A FIRM, CRUNCHY, AND ALMOST CRYSTALLINE TEXTURE.
8. SAFFRON OR CARDAMOM IN THE SECOND SYRUP, FOR THE NAMED VARIANTS. Its article lists kesar petha and angoori petha among them, and others made with coconut.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes