This delicacy from Mathura is addictively delicious and is everything a sweets lover could dream about! Rich, smooth, and perfectly sweetened Mathura Ke Pede are so blissfully delightful that you would want to make them again before the first batch is finished.
These gluten-free Mathura pedas crafted with milk solids are common during Holi, Rakshabandhan, and Diwali celebrations.
When in India, you don’t need a reason to indulge in sweet treats. While exploring any part of the country, you will be welcomed with an exotic collection of sweets such as Mohanthal, Moong Dal ka halwa, Urad dal ki pinni, and many more.
And you just can’t ignore them even if you wanted to, because Indian sweets are so heavenly addictive!
And there is something special about sweets that belong to specific regions, just like these Mathura Ke Pede. They are irresistibly delicious and an ecstatic indulgence.
What is Mathura ke Pede
Mathura Ke Pede is a classic sweet treat that hails from the city of Mathura (birthplace of Lord Krishna) in Uttar Pradesh, a northern state of India. Therefore, it gets its name from its city of origin.
‘Peda’ in Hindi means a sweet Indian dessert prepared with Mawa/ Khoya or milk solids. Mathura Ke Pede translates to Mathura’s famous milk-solid sweet treats.
This pede is also known as Mathura ke Dharwad pede!
There are many kinds of peda prepared in India, and almost all of them are similar, having milk solids as their base ingredient. Mathura ka pede is no different when it comes to the base ingredient.
These are also made with Milk solids/ Mawa and flavored with a sweetener and some cardamom powder. Boora sugar is used as the sweetener in this Mathura ke Pede recipe.
Ghee adds a rich texture and a nutty flavor to the pedas, besides helping in roasting the mawa.
Known for taste, texture, and flavor, these Mathura Pedha can be prepared at home following the tips and suggestions mentioned below.
Reasons You’ll ♡ Mathura ke Pede
This super delicious and addictive Mathura Ke Pede dessert recipe is a must-try at home if you are a sweet lover. Here is why it will fancy you the most, as it is —
- Easy to prepare with a few ingredients
- Smooth and melt-in-mouth textured
- Perfectly sweetened
- Scalable and make-ahead treat
Even though Mathura peda needs some patience and finesse to prepare, they meet all the requisites of being one of the best desserts in the festive season.
Mathura ka pede Ingredient List
Khoya — Khoya/ Mawa or milk solids is made by thickening milk and is widely used in preparing Indian sweets/ mithais. It forms the base of most of the sweets as it gives structure and texture to them.
Ghee — Ghee/ clarified butter is used for this Mathura Ke Pede recipe to lend them its much appreciated rich, sweet, and caramel flavor.
Boora — Boora sugar is added to the pedas mixture as the sweetening ingredient. It replaces granulated/powdered sugar in this recipe.
Milk — It adds moisture to the pedas and helps in proper binding while shaping them.
Cardamom Powder — This is added to enhance the flavor of these delicious Mathura pedas.
Recipe Tips and Variations
Use a heavy-bottomed pan/ kadhai — Roast the mawa/ khoya in a heavy-bottomed pan or kadhai to ensure an even cooking. The khoya may get burnt easily in a thin-bottomed pan, which will spoil the recipe’s taste.
Caramelizing Mawa/ khoya — While roasting the mawa, you may see brown streaks emerging. This is because the mawa is sticking to the bottom of the pan while caramelizing. All you have to do is to lower the heat and remove the pan from the heat immediately. Let it cool for some time, return it to the heat, and continue roasting it on the lowest setting.
Roasting the mawa — Mawa must be roasted with patience as it may get burnt quickly. You must continuously stir the mawa/ khoya at the lowest setting to allow it to roast correctly without burning. It’s a time-consuming process, but undoubtedly, it is worth the effort as roasting increases the taste, texture, and shelf life of the pedas.
Mawa — You can either use homemade mawa or store-bought mawa for this recipe. The choice is entirely yours. Both work very well. However, grate the mawa to get 2 cups of crumbled mawa for this Mathura Peda recipe.
Purifying the sugar syrup — Milk is added to the sugar syrup to remove impurities, which is considered an important step. A scum-like thick form surfaces the sugar syrup when milk is added to it. These are the impurities that are then removed from their surface and discarded.
Using boora sugar — Adding Boora sugar or tagar for this recipe of Mathura Ke Pede brings in the best results.
Attaining the soft ball stage — The sugar syrup must reach the soft ball stage as this confirms if the sugar syrup has cooked well or not. Usually, when the sugar syrup reaches the temperature of 235° F, it achieves the soft ball stage. It forms a soft, squishy ball when it is dropped in cold water, confirming that it is ready to be used. This is a crucial step to ensure a successful Mathura ke Pede recipe, therefore, do not rush through this step.
Addition of ghee — Ghee is added to the sugar syrup to prevent it from forming lumps. So, when you add the ghee, keep it stirring continuously and do not leave it unattended.
Storing Boora sugar — Boora sugar (Demerara sugar) can be conveniently stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2- 3 months.
Adding boora — When the khoya is well-roasted, let it cool for a while before adding boora sugar or tagar; otherwise, the heat of the khoya will melt the boora/ tagar, and binding will not be possible.
Scalable recipe — This delicious recipe of Mathura Ke Pede is scalable and can be doubled or tripled as per your requirement. If you want to serve it at your next get-together or potluck, scale the recipe accordingly and enjoy serving your delicacy to your guests. I bet this recipe will be a huge hit!
Let me know what you think!
There is no better feeling for those having a sweet tooth than relishing an Indian sweet delicacy like this, and here is a chance to make your batch of the most delicious Mathura Ke Pede ever!
So shall we start?
Should you make this Mathura Peda, please let me know your thoughts by sharing your comment below. And don’t forget to share it with your family and friends.
CRAVING FOR MORE, TRY THESE OTHER Sweet Treats!
Follow the step-by-step instructions to make the Best Mathura Peda
Mathura ke Pede
EQUIPMENT
INGREDIENTS
BOORA SHAKAR
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 5 tablespoons Water
- ¾ teaspoon Ghee
- 2 teaspoons Milk
MATHURA KE PEDE INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups Crumbled Khoya/Mawa
- 2 tablespoons Ghee
- 1¼ cups Boora
- ¼ cup Milk
- 1 teaspoon Elaichi Powder (Cardamon Powder)
INSTRUCTIONS
MAKE BOORA
- Combine sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed pan.
- Cook the sugar mixture over low to medium heat while stirring continuously.
- Cook the mixture until the sugar melts and the mixture thickens. It should look foamy and transparent at this stage. This process takes about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Pour in milk. Stir to combine.
- Keep cooking the sugar syrup while stirring it constantly. Allow the water to evaporate. Here you will notice the sugar concentration increasing. After about 8- 10 minutes more into cooking, the sugar begins to bubble and splatter. At this stage, you will notice some crystallized sugar sticking to the sides of the pan. Keep scraping the sugar.
- Set the flame to the lowest setting as the sugar syrup gets thicker. Now, take cold water in a bowl and drop a teaspoon of sugar syrup into the cold water.
- 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.
- Increase the flame to the medium-low setting and add ghee to the sugar syrup. Keep stirring and scraping the sugar continuously.
- Soon all the water will evaporate, and sugar will start to crystalize. Sugar will still be soft and moist at this stage; keep crushing the lumps. Keep stirring.
- Finally, sugar will reach a point where it has lost its moisture and will resemble a fine powder. Take it off the flame.
- Our fine sugar is ready. We have one more small step to attain Boora.
- Transfer the boora into the sieve. Stir it with a spoon to aid the boora in passing through the sieve.This process will separate all the lumps. All we get after straining is ~ fine powder sugar that is porous in texture.
- This is Boora or Bura sugar!
MAKE MATHURA KE PEDE
- Add mawa to a heavy-bottomed pan. Turn the heat to a low-medium setting and start cooking the mawa, stirring constantly.
- After cooking mawa for about 4-5 minutes, it will start to look dry.
- Add ghee and mix to combine. Keep stirring.
- Another 6 -8 minutes into the cooking, mawa changes its color to pale caramel brown.
- 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.
- Remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Add boora to the peda mixture.
- Keep stirring until the boora is fully incorporated into the peda mix.
- Add milk to the sugar-blended peda mixture. Mix it well.
- Transfer the peda mix to a large bowl. Add the cardamom powder and knead the peda mix until it’s smooth and binds well.
- 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. You can shape them whichever way you like.
- Repeat the process until all peda mixture is used.
