MYSORE PAK

 
Mysore pak is a traditional sweet from Mysore,Karnataka. Generous amounts of ghee is combined with besan and sugar to make this mouthwatering and mouth melting fabulous dessert. When elderly people are asked  about the sweets they know, the list come as ladoo, mysore pak, badusha, jangree etc. This says how famous is this sweet. Previously  mysore pak that was available was  hard and porous but melted in your mouth. But now a days we get a number of varieties, the harder ones, the very soft ones that had the khoya texture, Soft porous grainy brownish colored ones and many more. Today I am going to present procedure the soft porous grainy brown colored mysore pak.
The freshest ingredients should be used exactly in the same quantities  mentioned. The delicious sweet is to be prepared on a very low flame and you cannot relax even a single second while preparing the sweet. After attaining the perfect consistency the mixture should be poured immediately into a plate, any extra minute on the stove top makes the mysore pak hard and crumbling. Removing before the time would end up in making halva and not barfi. So the perfect time for removing the mysore pak is very important and this is known only on practice. Perfect aeration makes the dish a delicacy and it simply melts in your mouth.
Every time I made this sweet I used only the besan. But today I tried using milk powder and the taste is so yummy and from now whenever I make the sweet I shall use the milk powder. 
INGREDIENTS

• Besan                          1 cup
• Milk powder                 2 Tsp
• Sugar                           1+1/2 cups
• Ghee                           1 cup
• Cardamom powder      1 tsp
• Water                          1/2 cup

PROCEDURE
Sift the besan to remove any lumps and also to make the flour aerated. Heat a pan and on a very low flame fry the besan. The flame should be very slow and keep on stirring the besan, see that the besan don’t burn from the bottom. You will feel a distinct aroma and this is the time you can remove the besan into a plate. Combine the milk powder with the fried besan and keep aside. Heat the ghee in a separate pan. 

        
Grease a plate and set it aside. Greasing the plate before hand make you remove the mixture at the right time.  In another pan pour in the sugar and water. keep the flame high. When the sugar melts and begins to boil with bubbles, reduce the flame to low and slowly add the besan mixture along with cardamom powder. Stir continuously and see that no lumps are formed. Any how, the besan is already sifted and fried so the  lumps are not formed. The below figure shows the sugar syrup and the besan sugar mixture.  

Now pour in the hot ghee into the mixture little by little and continue stirring. As the very hot ghee is poured you will hear the sizzling sound and find that air bubbles are formed  in the mixture. The below picture shows how the bubbles are formed immediately when hot ghee is poured in the mixture. Pour in the whole ghee little by little at a time while stirring continuously . Now increase the flame to a medium and stir until a light yellow colored frothy bubbly mixture is formed and the mixture oozes out the ghee. Now increase the flame to high stir for 5-8 seconds(not more than that) and transfer the mixture into a greased plate.

Keep the plate at an angle, this way you can remove excess ghee. After removing the excess ghee cut into desired shape even when it is still hot. Now let the mysore pak cool completely and then remove the individual pieces and store in a air tight container. The pieces can be store for about 15 days, but believe me your family is going to empty the container in 1 day. 

TIPS

• Use fresh ingredients so that the mysore pak tastes great.
• The ghee should be really hot while poring into the besan mixture.
• Once you get the frothy mixture remove the mixture immediately into the plate.
• If you find that you removed the mixture early from the stove or the mysore pak doesn't harden, don’t worry. Heat the mixture in a pan and stir for about a  minute over a medium flame. By this time it would harden. Now remove onto the plate and this time your are sure to get the perfect mysore pak.
• Adjusting the flame as mentioned is an important step. Never keep the flame on high while making the sweet. Just before removing the mixture onto a plate increase the flame to high, stir for 5 seconds and pour the mixture on to a plate. This is the time when you get a light brown color.
• The perfect time to remove the mixture from the stove is known only by practice.
• Do not try to replace milk powder with milk.
• If you are making the dessert in larger quantity take the help of you friend or family member to pour in the besan and the ghee.