Mysore Pak was first made in the kitchen of the Mysore Palace by a palace cook named Kakasura Madappa, and hence the sweet got the name “Mysore Pak”. The recipe is short and looks easy but the catch is in the preparation. It can give you heartaches (if it does not turn out well) and hand aches too (after continuous stirring). My Grandma tells me that in her younger days when she was learning the art of making the Mysore Pak, the entire procedure of getting the consistency of the sugar syrup and the mixture right would give her sleepless nights. This is not to discourage you but I too have committed a couple of disasters before I could get it right. The trick is to make the sugar syrup thick and keep stirring the mixture continuously 5 to 7 minutes after it gives out ghee and becomes one single lump. It should just drop off into the greased pan as a single mass for setting once you tilt the pan into it. Good luck!
Mysore Pak
Time taken: 40 min
Taste-o-meter: Sweet
Ingredients:
- Bengal gram flour (besan): 1 cup
- Sugar: 2 cups
- Ghee: 2 cps
- Water: 1/2 cup
Method:
- Roast the besan till it gives out an aroma and keep it aside.
- Heat half the ghee in a pan.
- Make sticky sugar syrup with the sugar and water. It should not become stringy.
- Add the roasted flour to the sugar syrup, stirring constantly.
- Pour the ghee in a steady stream into the flour and sugar mixture while stirring.
- Add the rest of the ghee and stir in. Cook till the mixture turns light brown and becomes porous and sponge-like bread.
- Grease a tray and pour the mixture into it.
- Cut into squares immediately, as the mixture sets within 2 min. This recipe makes about ten pieces.