Mathura ke Pede

Are you on a hunt for an individual dessert this festive season? Check out our Mathura ke pede recipe. 

There’s no Indian festival that goes by that I don’t make these pedas. They are a staple in my house for the festivities and everyone’s favorite!

Matura ke pede are relatively easy to make but it does require a lot of finesse and patience. 

I still remember the first time I made them, the mawa got burned. It didn’t out well but were still yummy. 

But with some practice and little tips, I have mastered these pedas. So, if you follow my steps below, you will face no trouble in making these pedas.  

Trust me; they are worth a try and a perfect way to celebrate the festive season. 

What is Mathura ke Pede or Peda?

For my friends, who are not familiar with this term – Pede or peda in Hindi translates to Indian dessert made with milk solids (mawa/khoya) and Boora – it’s a very fine quality of sugar. 

This classic sweet treat hails from the town of Mathura, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, which is nested in the Northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Hence these sweet delicacies are called ‘Mathura ke pede.’ Translated it means, ” Mathura famous milk solid treats.”

This pede is also known as Mathura ke Dharwad pede!

I have never been to Mathura but had the opportunity of tasting these pedas in “Nathdwara, the abode of Lord Krishna.”

A sweet shop in Nathdwara, famous for its delicacies, served these yummy pedas, and they are very addictive.

Bet you can’t eat just one!

Ingredients required to make Mathura ka pede!

Can you believe this delicious pedas has such a short list of ingredients?

Yes, you heard me right, only five basic ingredients are required to make Mathura ke pede.

For a list of full ingredients with step by step instructions, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page. 

» Khoya/Mawa – is a thickened milk solid that is widely used in Indian cooking. It is base for many tasty Indian recipes. I have used homemade mawa, but you can use store-bought mawa too. 

» Ghee – a must-have for this recipe. It’s the Indian form of clarified butter that adds a rich, sweet, and caramel flavor to this pede.

» Boora – ahh.. the sweetener. Boora is porous sugar made from sugar. Sugar is cooked to its soft-ball stage, stirring continuously. Later, milk is added, and then it starts to convert into its fine granulated form. 

» Milk – adds slight moisture and helps bind our yummy pedas.

» Cardamon Powder – to enhance the flavor of these melt-in-mouth-pedas. 

» Garnishes- some extra boora to roll our pede in.

How to make Mathura ke peda?

Step 1- Make Boora Sugar (demerara sugar)

1. Combine sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed pan. 

2. Cook over low to medium heat, Keep cooking the sugar mixture, while continually stirring. 

3. Cook this until the sugar melts and the mixture thickens, and it looks foamy and transparent about 5 to 6 minutes.

4. Pour in milk. Stir to combine. Mathura ke Pede

5. Keep stirring the mixture. As the sugar syrup is cooked, water starts to evaporate, and the sugar concentration increases.

6. After about 8-10 minutes more into the cooking, as the sugar begins to bubble, it will splatter, and you will notice some crystallizing sugar sticking to the sides of the pan. Keep scraping the sugar. 

7. As the sugar syrup gets thicker, lower the flame to the lowest setting. Take cold water in a bowl. Drop a teaspoon of sugar syrup into the cold water. 

8. If you remove the dropped sugar syrup from the cold water, it will form a soft, flexible ball. If it doesn’t form a softball, cook the sugar syrup for another 2-3 minutes. 

9. Increase the flame to the medium-low setting and add ghee to the sugar syrup. 

10. Keep stirring and scraping the sugar, continuously. 

11. Soon all the water will evaporate, and sugar will start to crystalize. Sugar will be still soft and moist at this stage, keep crushing the lumps. Keep stirring. 

12. Finally, sugar will reach a point where it has lost its moisture and will resemble a fine powder. Take it off the flame. 

13. Our fine sugar is ready. We have one more small step to attain Boora.

14. Pour boora into the sieve and stir with a spoon to aid the boora to pass through.

15. This process will separate all the lumps.  Mathura ke Pede

16. All we get after straining is ~ fine powder sugar that is porous in texture. This is Bura chini or Boora sugar!

Step 2- Prepare Mathura ke pede

17. Add mawa to a heavy-bottomed pan. 

18. Turn the heat to a low-medium setting and start cooking the mawa, stirring constantly.

19. After cooking mawa for about 4-5 minutes, it will start to look dry. 

20. Add ghee and mix to combine.  Mathura ke Pede

21. Keep stirring.  Mathura ke Pede

22. Another 6-8 minutes into the cooking, the mawa color will start to change to pale caramel brown. 

23. Maintain the heat and keep roasting the mawa. Extra 10 minutes into the cooking and mawa will turn into a deep brown color that we are looking for. 

24. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Add boora to the peda mixture. 

25. Keep stirring until the boora is fully incorporated in the peda mix. 

26. Slowly add the milk. Do not add all the milk at once because you may not need all of it.  

27. Transfer the peda mix to a large bowl. Add the cardamom powder and knead the peda mix until it’s smooth and binds well. 

28. Let’s start making Mathura ke pede. Take a golf-ball-sized piece of peda mix in between your palms and make a round ball. Slightly flatten the ball to shape it like a peda. 

Roll the shaped pedas in the leftover boora. Set aside.

Repeat the process until all peda mixture is used.

Tips to make the best Mathura ke pede!

» The addition of milk to the sugar syrup is an essential step. Milk will cause all the impurities in the sugar to float on top. A scum like thick foam will form on the surface. Remove that dark foamy thing from the sugar syrup and discard it. 

» Soft-ball stage – This stage is attained when the sugar syrup reaches a temperature of 235 degrees F.  At this point, when sugar syrup is dropped in cold water, it forms a soft, squishy ball. Do not rush through this step. 

» If the sugar syrup fails to reach the soft-ball stage, do not progress with the recipe. Cook your sugar syrup a little longer until it forms a soft ball when dropped in cold water. 

» After adding ghee to the sugar syrup, do not leave the syrup unattended. Keep stirring constantly. Ghee is added to the sugar syrup to avoid lump formation. 

» Boora sugar (demerara sugar) can be stored for up to 2-3 months in an airtight container at room temperature.

» You can use store-bought mawa for this recipe. Grate the mawa until you get 2 cups of crumbled mawa.  

» Roast mawa at the lowest setting. It’s a time-consuming process but worth the effort. 

» If you start seeing brown streaking while roasting mawa, that means your mawa has begun to stick to the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat, and take the pan off the heat immediately until it cools down slightly. Return it to the heat and start cooking on the lowest setting. 

Can I use powdered sugar? 

You sure can, but the texture will be different. Bura chini or Boora sugar has a sand-like texture and the preferred choice to make Indian mithais. 

A perfect make-ahead Sweet Treat!

Yes, you can make Mathura ke pede ahead of time.  Mathura ke Pede

They can be made up to 24 hours in advance and still have loads of flavor to them.

Where can you buy Mawa or khoya?

You can find mawa at your local Indian grocery stores in the refrigerator section along with the paneer and other things.

If you still can’t find one, try making mawa/khoya at home. Follow this link for a step by step mawa recipe.

If you are thinking of serving these sweets on any potluck or get-togethers, then double the recipe as these pedas will disappear even before you know it!

I hope you like this simple recipe.  Mathura ke Pede

Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe. Feel free to contact me with any questions or inquiries, and I would be happy to answer them.

CRAVING FOR MORE, TRY THESE OTHER Sweet Treats!