Ghee Mysore Pak- Homemade Soft Mysore Pak

Ghee Mysore Pak

Happy Diwali to all my friends and readers! May this festival of lights bring happiness and joy to all of you!
Diwali invokes so many happy memories with family and friends-shopping, decorating your house, lighting diyas, evening firecrackers, and the most important the display of colorful sweets and mittais that captures your imagination. I spend my childhood in North India and Diwali was a festival that was taken very seriously with days of preparations. But moving back to Kerala I missed all the pomp and show associated with Diwali. But in recent years Diwali has attained importance and is celebrated like other Kerala festivals like Vishu, Onam, and Christmas. There is never a festive occasion or a celebration in India without sweets or mittais. Today's recipe is the South Indian favorite- Ghee Mysore pak. This famous sweet needs no introduction and is rightfully called the King of South Indian sweets. It is fragrant, rich, and exotic sweet with an addictive quality.

Diwali is the perfect occasion to make Indian sweets. Many of them can be easily prepared at home with minimal ingredients. I always felt that the holy trinity of Indian sweet making is milk, gram flour, and semolina. You can add flavors and unique textures with different ghee, nuts, nut pastes, coconut, etc. In today's recipe, the star ingredients are gram flour/ chickpeas flour, and ghee/clarified butter. The sweetener is sugar, but recently I have also seen a recipe that uses jaggery/unrefined sugar. You can cardamom powder for flavor, but the nutty flavor of ghee is the soul of ghee Mysore pak.

The exquisite taste of ghee Mysore pak is hard to describe. It was a royal sweet fit to be served to a king. No wonder it originated in the royal kitchen of the Mysore Palace.There are two varieties of Mysore pak- The hard candy style traditional one and the soft one which is like fudge. The soft one has a melt in mouth texture and is quite addictive. Ghee Mysore pak is a simpler recipe than the regular Mysore pak and can be easily prepared at home. But there are certain steps you need to follow to get the perfect texture. Some Indian deserts may sound simple but are complicated and I must admit to my fair share of mishaps. The trickiest part of today's recipe is the consistency of the sugar syrup and making sure that you toast the flour well. The raw taste spoils the entire dish. The toasting makes the flour more aromatic, a kind of nutty flavor, and also changes the color from light yellow to a deeper yellow. Ghee Mysore pak is a decadent sweet and this recipe is worth a try. I would love to hear from you, let me know how it turned out for you :)

Toasting the gram flour- It is good to toast the gram flour lightly to remove the raw smell, and it also adds depth of flavor. This will be the trickiest part. The best way to know whether it is done is to smell it. If you are new to this, start by smelling the flour. Gentle roasting on a low flame will bring a nutty flavor to the gram flour, and raw flavor will disappear. Do not rush with this step. Roast in a low flame and stir continuously for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and continue stirring for another minute to prevent scorching as the pan will be hot. Or spread it evenly on a sheet for the flour to cool down quickly. Sift the flour to ensure that no lumps.

Sugar Syrup- The consistency of sugar is crucial for this recipe. This recipe calls for a one-thread consistency . To test the consistency take a drop of sugar in a spoon. Touch and press the syrup between forefinger and your thumb, and pull apart gently. You will notice that a single thread is formed and does not break apart easily. If it quickly separates, let the syrup simmer a little more.

It is best to use warm ghee for this recipe. The traditional version uses a combination of hot ghee and oil. But in this recipe, it is ok to use room temperature or warm ghee. Once the flour and ghee mixture starts to thicken, turn off the heat. Before transferring into a greased tray stir for a minute to allow to cool down and to reduce foaming and bubbling of the candy. This will ensure a smooth texture .

Ghee Mysore Pak- Homemade Soft Mysore Pak Recipe

Ingredients
Gram flour/Besan- 1 cup
Sugar- 1 1/2 cup
Ghee -1 cup
Cardamon- a pinch
Sugar- 1 tsp

Roast the gram flour in a low flame and stir continuously for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and continue stirring for another minute to prevent scorching as the pan will be hot. Or spread it evenly on a sheet for the flour to cool down quickly. Sift the flour to ensure that no lumps. Set this aside.

In a heavy bottom, pan mix the sugar and one cup of water. Bring this to a boil and reduce the flame. Allow this to simmer till the sugar attains one thread consistency. You can add a pinch of color if you like a bright yellow color.

Add the gram flour while continuously whisking the sugar syrup. Mix well and make sure there are no lumps. Continue cooking in low flame for another 5-6 minutes. Add warm ghee in little addition till all the ghee gets blended. The mixture will be frothy in the first stage and then will start thickening and will leave the edges of the pan. Transfer to a greased tray and spread evenly. Sprinkle sugar on top (optional) and allow this to cool down completely. Slice and serve.