Pedas

Pawan Bhat

My family is an average group of people who like to cook. My mom loves to cook Indian food. When we went to India one summer, we ate many varieties of Indian food. When we ate one that was extremely tasty, my mom asked the cook what it was and how to make it. He told her the story of the pedas and explained how to make them.

He said the history of the pedas is that they are the sweets of kings and that they were served as desserts. But nowadays, since there are no kings and queens, it is a dessert for all people. He also described a complicated process that took some days to prepare.

As impatient as my mom was, the moment we got back to the U.S., she decided to try making pedas. She has a good way of making anything she cooks special, so I watched her make them.

Once they were all completed, we placed them in a decorative manner and served them for my 16th birthday. My mom had cooked everything at the table. And when I say everything, I mean everything from the appetizers, to the main course, to the desserts. The one thing I remember is that all of it was my favorite food. But the overall food that I liked was the pedas.

Also, pedas can be made in 30 minutes. So I can tell my mom in the afternoon that I would like some pedas, and she can actually have them done in time for dinner.