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Agra Petha
Petha (Hindi: पेठा pronounced ) is a translucent soft candy from the Indian subcontinent made from ash gourd or white pumpkin. It is simply called ''petha'' in Hindi and Urdu.T. R. Gopalakrishnan Preparation Ash gourds, commonly referred to as white pumpkins, are a vegetable with a pale-green exterior and white, heavily seeded, savoury inside that is used to make petha. The gourd is sliced into bite-sized pieces and then cured for a few hours in a solution of Calcium hydroxide, 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 final candy has a sugar-crisp exterior and an almost moist, sticky interior with a firm, crunchy, and almost crystalline texture. The flavouring of Agra's confections is considered to be inventive, and candy counters in the city are rainbows of vibrantly coloured petha, flavoured with everything from paan to rose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. (subscription required) Although the terms "Indian subcontinent" and "South Asia" are often also used interchangeably to denote a wider region which includes, in addition, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, the "Indian subcontinent" is more of a geophysical term, whereas "South Asia" is more geopolitical. "South Asia" frequently also includes Afghanistan, which is not considered part of the subcontinent even in extended usage.Jim Norwine & Alfonso González, ''The Third World: states of mind and being'', pages 209, Taylor & Francis, 1988, Quote: ""The term "South Asia" also signifies the Indian Subcontinent""Raj S. Bhopal, ''Ethnicity, race, and health in multicultural societies'', pages 33, Oxford University Press, 2007, ; Q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
