Soft Mysore Pak

Mysore pak is a sweet dish of Karnataka, India, usually served as dessert. It is made of generous amount of ghee (clarified butter), sugar and gram flour.

It is usually thought to be the toughest sweets to make, but when you know the simple techniques that go into making this dish then it will be like a piece of cake. You will be able to make it so easily. So today am going to share with you, how to make Mysore Pak.

Basic Information

     Prep Time: Under 15 min

     Cook Time: Under 15 min

     Serves: 8+ people

     Yield: About 15 med-large pieces

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups Gram flour (Besan), sifted
• 1 cup Ghee (we used solidified)
• 1 cup Olive oil (light. NOT Extra Virgin). or use all ghee
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water

Method

1. Sift the gram flour(besan).
2. Now add 2 tablespoons of the hot ghee to the flour, mix it a little so that it forms into crumbs.(This process is done so that it prevents the flour forming lumps while you add it to the sugar syrup mixture.)
3. Now sift the flour again.
4. Heat the oil and ghee together in a pan.
5. Meanwhile mix the water and sugar together in another heavy pan. Let it come to a boil and keep it going until you get a one thread consistency. ( The candy thermometer would show 220º F - 222º F
6. Once the syrup reaches the consistency, keep stirring the pan while you sprinkle the flour evenly all over the syrup's surface. Tips : At this point keep the flame to Low-Medium heat.
7. Also make sure that the ghee mixture on the side is Med-High flame. You want to keep it at that temperature (so keep the flame going for ghee).
8. Once all the flour is in and well stirred, take a ladle of ghee mixture and pour it evenly on the flour surface and keep stirring. As soon as you add the hot ghee to the flour, it will froth up, so don't worry...we need that.
9. Keep on stirring, and in just few seconds you will see the flour absorbing all the ghee and starts becoming thick, at this stage pour another ladle of hot ghee and it will froth up again, keep stirring
10. Wait for few seconds till it starts to look like its thickening slightly, again pour a ladle of hot ghee..
11. Keep repeating this process and you will soon see that the mixture getting thick and also changes color from bright yellow to brownish yellow. 
12. Quickly put a drop of the flour mixture on a plate. You should be able to shape the mixture into a small ball that is soft in consistency. Caution: Make sure that you do this all fast otherwise the Mysore pak will become hard in seconds.
13. Also the flour mixture should start leaving the sides. The stirring action will show that the flour mixture starts moving more easily without sticking to the sides or bottom.
14. Take a well greased plate or pan and pour the hot mixture into it.
15. Pat the pan on the surface couple of times to make sure that the mixture spreads evenly on all sides.
16.  Let it sit for 10 minutes, then just run the knife and cut them into desirable shapes.
17. Now cool it completely and yummy Mysore Pak is ready to melt in your mouth.
18. Store them at room temperature and can stay well for long time. 

Note: You may garnish with some chopped almonds and pistachios, a few strands of saffron for added taste.