Description
Famous sweet dish from Karnataka, made with Gram Flour (Chickpea Flour / Kadhalai Maavu / Besan) and sugar, mixed with generous amount of ghee, to make it, the most craved dessert item of South India. Quality ingredients, measures and method are very important to prepare this, every step counts, light change in any of the above might end up turning into a thick stone. Actually there are 2 different versions, the soft way (like the famous Sri Krishna Sweets Mysore Pak) and the crumb-lee version (slightly thick with crumblier texture on the top, like how, street side sweet walas make). Here, I’ve attempted typical home style soft version, though, not great looking, turned out with a decent taste and texture.| Ingredients | |
|---|---|
| ½ cup | Gram flour |
| ½ cup | Sugar |
| 1 cup | Ghee |
| ¼ cup | Water (approx) |
Instructions
Steps to follow before the process.
1. Melt a cup of ghee and keep it close to the stove.
2. Sieve the gram flour without any lumps and keep ready.
3. Have a glass of cold water close to the pan to check the thread consistency.
4. Keep a sturdy pot like a pressure pan, thick bottomed stainless steel pot, aluminum kadai or thick non- stick kadai.
5. Flat pan, plate or tray generously greased with ghee.
6. Sharp knife greased with ghee and a clean cloth or paper towel to wipe the knife for multiple use.
Method:
1. Heat 2 tbsp of ghee and fry the Gram flour for 5 minutes. It will release nice aroma, which is the indication that it is done. Sieve again to remove lumps and keep aside.
2. Heat sugar with 1/4 cup water over medium high flame. When it comes to a vigorous boil (like shown in picture), start checking for thread consistency. We need one string or soft ball consistency, which should take about 5 to 6 minutes from the time you start melting sugar. When you place a drop of the syrup in cold water, it should form a long thread, when rolled up between fingers should form a soft ball. Bring down the flame to medium.
3. Now add roasted gram flour slowly as you stir in. Keep stirring continously, do not stop, as it quickly tends to form lumps.
4. Add 1/4 cup ghee to this and add the rest slowly as you stir. Very important step, never stop stirring, you may need an extra hand here.
5. In about another 4 minutes, all the ghee would be absorbed as it starts bubbling and turn porous (as shown in picture), end up rolling up like a ball or thick mass, leaving the sides. Switch off.
6. Immediately transfer the content to a greased plate and evenly flatten the top portion. Do not press hard, handle gently and spread out evenly. Add a few drops of ghee to the sides to loosen up, this makes it easy to take them out of the tray.
7. Cut into desired shape with the help of a sharp knife as it takes less than a minute to solidify. Better to cut while still warm or else would result in lot of crumbles. Wipe the knife and grease with ghee each time you cut.
8. Let cool completely and store in an air-tight container for up to a month.
Notes
Please do not post questions asking for substitutions like dalda or any vanaspati. Ghee is a must for this dish.
Nirav or Meera Brand Gram flour works fine. (Use fresh flour to avoid stale smell)
Please try a small batch before getting into huge quantity. I’ve given the proportions for a family of 4 and would be the apt quantity for beginners. This would yield about 10 to 12 pieces.
To get more porous looking Mysore pak, drizzle hot melted ghee over the mixture immediately after transferring to the tray. This would result in slightly crunchy texture on the top and soft on the inside. This is how it looks.
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