Written by: Amna Naseem
Posted on: April 16, 2020 | 
| 中文
The Writer's Family Memebers making Peendiyan
Post-Partiton, much of the Indian tradtitions settled into Pakistan via those who migrated from India to Pakistan. In particular, a sweet delicacy made it all the way from Delhi to Pakistan, which is called ‘Peendiyan’ or ‘Sooji Rava Laddu’. This is a special kind of sweet that is made from scratch for weddings, often found in households of those whose ancestors were from Delhi. Over time, however, the word Peendiyaan also became ‘Pinniyan’, as more people across Pakistan adopted this cuisine in some form or the other.
The process of making this sweet is fascinating to eat but time consuming to make. Mostly, Peendiyan are usually made a night before the bride’s pre-wedding festivities. The elder women of the bride’s family gather for Dholki, a sing-along session to the beat of small Dhol drum. Because making peendiyan in such a large quantity is not a one man’s job, the elder ladies of the family sit together in an almost assembly line fashion, chopping the nuts and then roasting them beforehand.
While talking to my maternal grandmother, Tayyaba Begum, she explained how this traditional dish is created. “The ingredients are quite simple. The Sooji (semolina) is cooked at a very low flame for several hours, depending on the quantiy. Make sure it doesn’t burn, or else it affects the sweetness. When the sooji is done, it simply fills the room with a delicious aroma. Then it is transferred to a wide tray, sugar is added, depending on the quantity of peendiyan, which is then followed by the chopped roasted dry nuts. The variety of dry nuts include roasted almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts, fox nuts, raisins and coconut.”
Peendiyan
She continued, “After mixing the nuts into sooji and sugar, the women start to make balls of it, almost or usually bigger than the size of a tennis ball. The balls have to be made while the sooji is still warm enough or else it would be difficult to shape the balls. Often, our hands get all red and plump because of the warmth of sooji.”
After the batter is formed into ball shape, they are put aside for at least an hour to set. While the sweet is in the setting phase, women prepare to decorate the peendiyan. Coconut is crushed and almonds are cut into very thin slices. After the balls are set, a little milk is sprinkled on the tray to make the sweet moist, and then each ball is rolled into a crushed coconut. Then the golden foil (soney ka warq), is placed on each sweet with a thin slice of almond on top. The peendiyan are placed into decorated cane baskets, covered with a white or red net fabric, and are sent to the groom’s family.
Sooji Rava Ladoo with Cashew Nuts
It is often difficult to trace the history of a single laddu dish, because the laddu itself is so widespread and taken-for-granted. While Laddus are a particularly South Asian treat, Semolina is a more well-traveled ingredient. The word ‘Laddu’ comes from the work ‘Ladduka’, meaning “small ball”. They are prepared using flour, sugar and clarified butter; one can use gramflour or semolina instead of regular flour. “Sooji” and “rava” are both interchangeable words for Semolina, a coarse and pale yellow flour. The origin of the word and the ingredient comes from Arabic and Semitic languages, meaning “to crush”. Semolina laddus are made for different festivals and cultural celebrations.
Upon asking the purpose of making these specific sweets, and sending them to the bride’s mother, she answered, “It is a very old tradition of sending handmade sweets to the groom’s family, for a sweet start to the marriage.”
On the day of the bride’s pre-wedding, a green Paan (also known as betel leaf), is placed on the girl’s lap to wish her a happy married life, to keep the relationship with her husband lively forever. Then the peendiyaan are placed on the Paan on her lap, to wish her good luck and to pray that her lap/stomach may always stay filled. They use the phrase: “larki susraal mein harrii bharri rahey (may the bride live happily ever after)”.
The Groom is Given Peendiyan on a Bed of Paan For His Wedding (photo credits to the writer)
Nowadays, it is very rare to make authentic peendiyan; only a few bakeries make Sooji Rava Laddus on special order. There are still sweet shops scattered around Karachi that make these wedding Peendiyaan on pre-orders. Hammad Arab, the owner of Rehmat-e-Sheerin sweets revealed, “We make Sooji Rava Ladoos only on special orders. Since my family was also from Delhi, my father wanted to share the taste of these handmade sweets with everyone. We use a family recipe which belonged to my great-grandmother. Although the recipe is simple, we have some family secrets we do not wish to disclose. Peendiyaan are a bit expensive, as they have a variety of expensive dry nuts, and it is difficult to procure golden foil (soney ka warq). The average cost per kilo of Peendiyan is Rs. 740.”
The sweet delicacy from Delhi was brought over to keep a familiar sense of community and celebration in a new environment. People in Karachi continue to enjoy making and eating these deliciously sweet treats on special occasions. If given the opportunity, it’s essential to try these wonderful, handmade sweets which lives on in the hearts of those whose ancestors migrated to Pakistan.
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