Dharwad pedha

Dharwad pedha (Kannada: ಧಾರವಾಡ ಪೇಡ) is a 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 pedha has been accorded ଅ Geographical Indication tag. Its GI tag number is 85.

History

Dharwad Pedha was original started by the Thakur family which migrated from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh to Dharwad after plague broke out there in Unnao in early 19th Century. Ram Ratan Singh Thakur, the first generation confectioner started making and selling pedas locally. Thakur’s grandson Babu Singh Thakur helped grow the family business in their Line Bazaar store and the peda was also called as "Line Bazaar Pedha" locally. The family closely guards the recipe of the peda as a trade secret which has been passing through the lineage of the family. Babusingh Thakur's single outlet store that was running for a few decades had more additions later in Dharwad, Hubli, Bangalore, Haveri and Pune. In Pune and other places other confectioneries also sell Dharwad peda which are not connected to the Thakur family.