Mysore Pak (made of less oil and cooking soda )

Thin slices of Mysore pak made of without cooking soda and thick slices are made of with cooking soda.

Mysore Pak (with oil, cooking soda and without cooking soda)

Mysore Pak is a very popular sweet in India, made of gram flour (besan), ghee and sugar syrup. Here’s a recipe of Mysore Pak, made of less oil (1 cup) and cooking soda. Normally the ratio is 1 cup gram flour required 2 cups hot ghee – oil combination or 2 cups hot ghee. Color of the Mysore Pak may varies from yellow, light yellow, light brown, brown ... depending upon the color of the ghee / pure ghee / desi ghee / oil / sugar / raw besan / dry roasted besan ...

Please use same measuring cup to measure besan, sugar, ghee and water.

Ingredients

Please keep all the ingredients and gadgets (iron sieve, steel bowl, thali …) ready near kitchen platform.

1 cup good quality besan (gram flour / kadala maav / chone pitti) (Indian standard measuring cup of 100 ml / 4 oz capacity)

2 cups sugar (Indian standard measuring cup of 80 ml / 3 oz capacity) or 1 ½ - 2 cups

3/4 cup water (Please measure in Indian standard measuring cup of 100 ml / 4 oz capacity)

1 cup / 100 ml hot sunflower oil (please measure in Indian standard measuring cup of 100 ml / 4 oz capacity)

Extra 1 tablespoon oil (to dry roast gram flour)

2 pinches cooking soda

Other gadgets:

1 fine sieve (to sieve gram flour)

1 kadai or non stick pan (to dry roast gram flour)

1 steel bowl (to make sugar syrup)

1 strong iron sieve (to strain sugar solution)

1 wide non stick pan

1 thick wooden spatula

1 steel thali or a baking dish (square or rectangular) and extra ½ teaspoon oil (to grease steel thali)

Method

For gram flour:

Sieve gram flour. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a non stick pan / kadai on a medium heat. Add sieved gram flour and dry roast on a medium to low heat for 7 minutes until lightly fragrant and slight change in color. Do not dry roast on high heat. Keep aside to cool for 10 minutes and sieve through a fine sieve. Now it will be a smooth besan mixture without any lumps. Keep aside.

For sugar syrup:

In a wide bowl, boil sugar and water on a medium heat. Sugar will dilute in water and become a smooth solution, solution will boil nicely and lots of bubbles appear on the top of the sugar solution (it may take 5 - 7 minutes). Do not make it half thread to 1 thread consistency. Switch off the heat. At this stage, strain the hot sugar solution through a fine iron sieve. Now it is a clear sugar solution without dirt and impurities.

2nd stage:

Heat a non stick pan on a medium heat. Pour hot sugar solution into it and boil for 1 - 2 minute until it is sticky – not half thread or 1 thread (Here's a cooking tip from Mrs Mallika Badrinath for sticky syrup - When the syrup becomes little thick, dip the fore finger in cold water and then quickly in the hot syrup. When thumb is slid over fore finger is feels sticky – this type of sticky syrup also used for Gulab Jamun preparation ).

At this stage, pour roasted gram flour evenly with one hand and simultaneously stir with a spatula with the other hand (like Upma / Uppumaav preparation) in batches . Mixing of gram flour in sugar syrup is very important when making Mysore Pak. It should be mixed evenly - else it may form lumps. Stir well until well combined with sugar syrup and creamy in texture.

Please keep hot oil near your kitchen stove with a steel ladle and a greased steel thali or a greased baking dish.

3rd stage:

Now add hot oil in batches and mix well. Oil will float on the surface. 2 ladle ful at a time (please add slowly and keep a safe distance from the stove) and stir continuously. Now you can see lots of pours on the top the gram flour and also featherlight in structure when stirring. Gram flour mixture moves very easily when stirring because of hot oil. It won’t stick into the pan. Pour oil in 2 – 3 batches and stir continuously. Do not stop stirring in between. Stir continuously for 5 minutes. When the mixture is ready, the gram flour mixture turns light golden / light fragrant and becomes porous and spongy (like a bread slice). All these changes will happen within 7 minutes after adding oil. Do not cook until oil gets dries up.

Switch off the heat and sprinkle 2 pinches cooking soda (not baking powder). If you want normal Mysore pak, then no need to add cooking soda. It will double itself if we add cooking soda (it is similar to the Mysore paks available in sweet shops also it resembles honeycomb structure (with holes)). Please see the 1^st photo with and without cooking soda. Thin slices of Mysore pak made of without cooking soda and thick slices are made of with cooking soda.

4th stage:

At this stage, transfer this hot Mysore pak mixture into a greased steel thali or baking dish . Keep aside for 2 minutes and cut into desired shape and size. It can remove very easily from the steel plate / baking dish.