Mysore Pak - Gram flour cake ( மைசூர் பாக் )
Gram flour ( கடலை மாவு ) - 1 cup
Sugar ( சக்கரை ) - 1 1/2 cup
நெய் ( Ghee / clarified butter ) - 3/4 cup
Steps:
In a heavy bottom pan, add sugar and 1/4 cup of water. Let the sugar melt and form a syrup. It should form a single thread consistency. Scoop a small amount of the syrup and let it flow down, if you see it flow like a thread, then it is time to add the flour.
With the medium flame of heat, add in the flour. Stir continuously in same clockwise direction.
Warm the remaining ghee, add to the cooking mixture and continue stirring. Stirring continuously is very much required.
When the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, it is time to remove from the flame.To confirm, wet yr finger tips and touch the flour mixture. If it doesn't stick then it is done. Though it may look like molten lava, it will solidify upon cooling.
Transfer it to a greased tray/ plate.
Allow it to set for a few minutes. While it is still warm, cut into desired shapes by making impression using a knife. Otherwise it is hard to cut when it has set completely.
Separate it into pieces once it has cooled thoroughly.
My Notes:
Mysore Pak is a simple but rich, traditional sweet undisputedly unanimous to South Indian weddings, functions, since ages. It does wonders to the "Indian palate" as a dessert.
We should accept that it has undergone changes not only in colour, texture and size but also in the name - from Mysore Pakku to Mysore Pak to current trend of calling Mysore Pa. The courtesy to the last name is to be given to the popular sweet makers who created the silky soft melt in the mouth version.
Those days the sweet was big blocks of brownish, slightly hard, crumbly with honey comb texture while currently its yellowish soft smooth melt in mouth texture. It is still sought after by many as it is considered the original Mysore Pak.
The former texture and colour is got by boiling the sugar syrup a bit longer and cooking the mixture until the ghee separates out of the mixture.By this method we get the honey comb texture.
In the latter version, the syrup is single thread and the flour is not cooked longer. It ends up with the soft texture oozing with ghee. :)
My younger son has a sweet tooth, this is one of his favourite sweet. He prefers the soft, melt in mouth but with less ghee. So my version is a modified one with less ghee and 3/4 of the regular proportion of sugar. The right amount of water is important for the sugar syrup. Neither less nor more. Less will make it crystallize and more water will take extra time to form the right syrup consistency. Once the sugar syrup is formed, cooking the flour mixture is fast as it has already been half cooked in ghee. By roasting the flour with generous portion of ghee, we can avoid lumps from being formed in the later stage.
