Deepawali Special - Mysore Pak recipe/Step-by-step Mysore Pak recipe from an expert! | Sujan Fun Kitchen

Mysore Pak
Mysore Pak has its origin in Karnataka. The history behind it is very interesting.
“It is traditionally served in weddings and other festivals of southern India, and is very popular in baby showers as well.
The Maharaja of Mysore Krishnaraja Wodeyar (1884-1940) was a great food connoisseur and maintained a large kitchen establishment, at his home, the famous Amba Vilas palace in Mysore. Wodeyar was such a foodie, that he had multiple kitchens to prepare different cuisines from European to the sacred prasadam or offerings to the various temples within the palace.
The Maharaja also had quite a sweet tooth and the story goes that one day when the Maharaja, was ready to have his lunch - there was a crisis! His meal was ready, but the chef, Kakasura Madappa had not made any dessert!

With time running out and no options, the desperate Madappa began experimenting, wanting to present the King with something unusual. Adding gram flour, ghee and sugar, he made a soft pak (or mixture). This was presented on the royal thali as a hot fudge like, sweet. The delighted king dug into it and even demanded a second helping. The chef was called in and asked what the new dessert was called. He said the first thing that came to his mind - the ‘Mysore pak’!
It is testimony to the ingenuity and talent of the Wodeyar chef Kakasura Madappa, that the Mysore pak is still so popular! It is available almost anywhere you go, but you have to make a trip to the Guru Sweet Mart shop in Mysore, which is run by Madappa's descendants, to get the original recipe of Mysore Pak and take a bite into its amazing history!

Paaka Extreme sweet in refers to sticky sugar syrup obtained by simmering sugar with equal amount of water; specifically for Mysore pak, the simple syrup is heated to the soft ball stage. The syrup is used as the primary sweetening agent in various Indian sweet dishes like Jalebi, Badam puri, Mysore pak and others. The syrup is flavored with various spice essences like cardamom, rose, honey etc. Paaka syrup preparation is a skilled art mastered by few cooks, some of whom keep their methods secret.”
So, wasn't that interesting?! So, with the festival of home cooking presently,, I thought it would be a good idea to share my mother’s recipe of Melting Mysore Pak - she is the best in turning out melting, soft Mysore Paks at any point of time - be it Diwali, a birthday or just a whimsical craving! Not once has she failed in the quality of the delicacy - but, ask her the recipe, she can never share it properly! All that one can do is to be next to her, trying to learn the recipe while she sincerely stirs and stirs the huge and heavy pan as the gram flour sizzles in the Paaka or sugar syrup and ghee; which is what I did! I somehow managed to learn the tricky technique.
And without further ado, hop into Sujan Fun Kitchen for one more easy and healthy recipe.

Mysore Pak

Gram flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Ghee OR Ghee and oil mixed together (any flavourless oil) - 3 cups
Method:
In a pan,dry roast the gram flour/besan till just lukewarm - keep aside
Grease a big container for the final stage of the Mysore Pak transfer - keep aside
Heat ghee or ghee-oil mixed together and keep it hot
Take a heavy pan or a non-stick pan, and add sugar
To the sugar, add just enough water to cover the sugar
Start cooking the sugar syrup or Paaka till soft ball consistency
Simmer the gas and add the roasted gram flour/besan
Keep stirring the flour in the sugar syrup until the flour is incorporated well without lumps
Now, start adding the ghee spoon by spoon, everytime stirring the mixture thoroughly well
Keep cooking till almost the entire ghee/oil is used up - at least 2 ½ cups will be used up
The sweet should look porous and non-sticky in the pan
Transfer the Mysore Pak to a greased container
Make cuts while the Mysore Pak is medium hot