Peda () or Pera is a sweet dish hailing from the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. It originated from

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

Uttar Pradesh, India Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. Usually prepared in thick, semi-soft, its main ingredients are

khoa Khoa, khoya, khowa or mawa is a dairy food widely used in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent, encompassing India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating in an open iron pan. It is ...

, sugar and traditional flavorings including

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...

seeds, pistachio nuts and

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in ...

. Its colour varies from a creamy white to a caramel colour. The word ''peda'' is also generically used to mean a sphere of any doughy substance such as flour or ''khoa''. Variant spellings and names for the dessert include ''pedha'', ''penda'' (in Gujarati) and ''pera''. Pedas originated in the city of

in the present-day

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. The

Mathura 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. Mathura peda is so famous in North India that the ter ...

is the characteristic variety from the city. From Uttar Pradesh, the peda spread to many parts of the Indian subcontinent. Thakur Ram Ratan Singh of

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

who migrated to

Dharwad Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...

(in the present-day

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

) in the 1850s introduced pedas there. This distinct variety is now famous as the

Dharwad pedha Dharwad peda ( kn, ಧಾರವಾಡ ಪೇಡ) is an Indian sweet delicacy unique to the state of Karnataka, India. It derives its name from the city of Dharwad in Karnataka.This sweet's history is around 175 years old. Dharwad peda has been ac ...

. Kandi Peda from Satara in Maharashtra is another variety of peda.13 products have potential for GI registration
/ref> Dood peda, made famous by the Nandini Milk Co-operative in Karnataka, is another popular variety. As with

laddoo ''Laddu'' or ''laddoo'' (; ms, kuih laddu; id, kue laddu) is a spherical sweet originating from India and spread through the Indian subcontinent and the Malay world. Laddus are primarily made from flour, fat ( ghee/butter/oil) and sugar or ...

s, pedas are sometimes used as

prasadam 200px, Prasad thaal offered to Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad ">Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad">Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad Prasada (, Sanskrit: प्रसाद, ), Prasadam or Prasad is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most o ...

in religious services. File:Kesar Peda.jpg, Kesar Peda with Garnishing of Pistachio and Cardamom File:Peda Makers of Bokakhat.jpg, Peda Makers at Bokakhat, Assam, India. Bokakhat is famous for its Peda Industry

References

Indian desserts Uttar Pradeshi cuisine Gujarati cuisine Nepalese cuisine Confectionery Guyanese cuisine Fijian desserts {{dessert-stub