Did petha originate in Mughal kitchens? Apparently not

Shunali Khullar Shroff, writer and columnist, created quite the storm on social media when she shared an article on the Petha to claim that the Mughals are to be credited for the invention of the candy. Shunali Khullar Shroff on petha “Petha is a poor man’s sweet and has no royal connection,” the report quotes Pushpesh Pant, a noted Indian academic, critic and historian, as saying. It is made with ash gourd and lots of sugar, which is not very indicative of an emperor’s dish.” He also said that petha is found in various parts of India despite being denoted to Agra including Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand. “People from some parts of India call the fruit oal and prepare something called oal ka muraba,” he says before adding, “Muraba means a preserve. They dipped it in sugar syrup and preserved it for months at end, and therefore called it oal ka muraba.” Petha being linked to Agra had something to do with the city being designated the capital of the United Provinces in British India.