Sunday, August 12, 2012

Mysore Pak
I learnt this sweet dish from my mother.  She does it great.  I have heard a lot of people telling me that the ghee I add is too much and that we can reduce the amount of ghee.  If you feel so, please do it, but you will not get the same great taste.  I say that if you are eating a rich sweet, then eat it rich!

Preparation Time - 5 mins
Cook Time - 30 mins
Makes - 20-25 pieces

Measurements and Ingredients:
  • Chick pea flour(Besan or kadale hittu) - 1 cup
  • Ghee(clarified butter) - 2 cups
  • Sugar - 2 cups
  • Water - 5-6 tsps
Method:
Seive the chick pea flour and keep it aside.  Smear a few drops of ghee to a steel plate which has flat edges like that of a cake pan. 

In a heavy bottom pan add the flour and dry fry it on a low medium heat until the raw smell of the flour goes away. But do not let the flour turn brown in color. Take out the flour in a plate.

In the same pan add the sugar and add a few tspns of water, just enough to wet the sugar. On medium heat stir the sugar until it is disolved in the little water.



Once the sugar granules are disolved add the chick pea flour 2 tbspns at a time and keep stirring so that lumps are not formed.





 Once you add all the flour in this way, add 1 cup of ghee and mix well. Keep stirring well on a medium heat.
You will notice that after some time all the ghee would have been absorbed. At this stage, the consistency will be liquid - like a thick paste.
Then add another half cup of ghee as you continue stirring. 
 Once the ghee is again absorbed, add the final half cup of ghee and keep stirring. Now, all the ghee may or may not be absorbed. This will be the last stage.



You will see that the paste is getting solidified and when you scoop the edges, it comes out like a thick solid which is well aerated. When you take a scoop full of the batter and put it back, it should fall as a lump and not flow like a paste. Then it is done. But do not wait until it gets solidified fully because it becomes too hard after cooling.

Also, the ghee starts floating on top or on the edges.









Pour this hot mixture on the plate smeared with ghee. 










Let it cool for 10-15 mins and when it is still warm, cut it into desired number of pieces. Wait for it to cool down fully and then take out the pieces.

Serving suggestion:
Since ghee gets solidified after it is cold, warm the mysore pak for a few seconds, just to melt the ghee inside it and then serve and this tastes awesome!!

Important..
1. Do not add too much water to the sugar like you do for sugar syrup in gulab jamoon.  You have to add a few tspns of water just to wet the sugar.
2. Do not wait until the sugar solution turns into a sugar syrup because we do not need a syrup here and it will make the mysore pak hard.
3. You have to keep stirring from the time you add the flour till it is done.  If you do not stir continuously, the mysore pak will not be good.  It needs to be aerated inside and this happens only by stirring continuously (yes it takes a lot of effort...)
4. The whole cooking is done on medium or a little lower than medium heat
5. You have to take it out of heat at the right time and this may happen at the first time you try this sweet or sometimes after you have tried it for a couple of times. If you take it out too early, it will be too soft and if you take it out a few seconds late, it will be hard.

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