In today’s Deepavali sweets and snacks series, I have a traditional sweet recipe – Mysore Pak. In today’s world of Ghee Mysorepa and Melting Mysore Pak, what I remember is the sweet that is nostalgic to many of us from the 90s, something that made its appearance at every function, wedding and regularly for Deepavali growing up. It was neither melt-in-mouth nor soft – it was thick as a rock and stayed good for days or weeks. My dad used to bring us a big pack of mysorepak on his salary day and for years, we looked forward to this tradition. Today, I want to take us back on that nostalgic journey re-creating the magic of making traditional mysore pak in our kitchens easily.
Traditional Mysore Pak
Mysore Pak is made with three main ingredients – gram flour/besan, sugar and ghee (fat). This is one sweet where the proportions make huge difference. Depending on the ratios of the ingredients and the consistency at which you stop cooking, mysorepak turns differently. When I made my Ghee Mysore Pak – it is the easiest, it gets done quickly and there is no technicality at all. This traditional mysore pak recipe which is porous with a lot of holes, is still melt-in-mouth but it doesn’t look soft/crumbly. When you follow all the tips and important notes, it becomes easier.
Mysore Pak Ingredients
As I mentioned earlier, mysore pak has only three main ingredients and here are the ratios that I follow. The measurements are almost same as my Soft Mysorepak but how we use them here makes the difference. Gram Flour – Use the fresh gram flour for best results. It is recommended to sieve it to break any lumps. I used ½ cup Gram Flour. Sugar – Although there are many recipes that use karupatti/palm jaggery, jaggery or brown sugar as sweetener, what is recommended for this traditional authentic mysore pak recipe is white sugar. For every part of gram flour, you will need 3 parts of sugar and 2 parts water. In this recipe, for ½ cup gram flour I used 1.5 cups sugar. The quantity of sugar and the consistency of sugar syrup determines how hard or soft your mysorepa will be. Ghee & Oil – Fat is the last but an important ingredient. Traditionally, ghee is used in making mysorepak. For cheaper versions, oil and vegetable fat are used. In this recipe, I have used a mixture of ghee and oil. Just like the sugar, the amount of fat also changes the texture of the sweet. For every part of gram flour, you will need 3 parts of ghee + oil mixture. In this recipe, I used 1 cup ghee and ½ cup edible sunflower oil. It doesn’t change the taste or smell or flavor in any way.
Tips & Important Notes to make Perfect Mysore Pak
Now let us look at some important points to take note of while making homemade mysore pak.
Have a tray greased with ghee ready before you start cooking. We will have very limited time to pour the mixture and even a few seconds delay will change the texture. Use a thick bottomed heavy pan – this helps in cooking the gram flour mixture correctly compared to non-stick pan for this recipe. The sugar syrup should be one string consistency. When you touch a drop of it with index and thumb finger, pulling apart your fingers you should see a thin strand of sugar syrup. Mix the gram flour with sugar syrup without any lumps. I use a hand whisk to beat it without any lumps. The mixture of ghee and oil should be very hot at all times. Start heating it in a separate pan when you start the sugar syrup. When the gram flour is added into sugar syrup and mixed in, the pan with ghee and oil mixture also gets hot and will be ready to add. Every 3-4 minutes, add a ladle of the ghee and oil mixture on top of the gram flour sugar mixture. This cooks the gram flour and also helps in getting porous texture. Don’t add next ladle of hot ghee unless the previously added fat is absorbed by the gram flour. It should be cooked on lowest flame always and constantly stirred, scrapping the edges of the pan. When all but one ladle of ghee + oil mixture remains, the mysore pak should also thicken and bubble rigorously. When you add the final ladle of ghee, within a few minutes get ready to pour it into the tray. When the ghee starts to leave the edges of the pan, pour it quickly into the tray. When it is poured into the tray, it bubbles and froths, raising up. Any ghee floating on top will be absorbed in again. Also, it sinks down a bit when it cools down. In 5-10 mins, when the top looks firm cut the mysorepak pieces. Else it will be difficult to cut it without breaking into smaller chunks.
Storing and Serving Suggestions
Mysore Pak can be kept at room temperature for over 10-15 days in an airtight container. It remains melt-in-mouth, porous and firm but soft without losing freshness. Serve it with any savory snacks during coffee/tea time or as an after-meal dessert. Checkout other Deepavali sweet recipes
Karachi Halwa Angoori Rasmalai Badam Halwa Gavvalu Badusha
How to make Mysore Pak | Homemade Traditional Mysore Pak
First grease a 7"x5" tray with little ghee and keep it ready.
In a pan add 1 cup of ghee and ½ cup of oil and start heating on medium flame.
In a thick bottomed heavy pan, add 1.5 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water. Switch on the stove.
Meanwhile the ghee + oil mixture should be hot, set it on low flame.
When the sugar is dissolved and it begins to bubble, reduce the flame to low. Cook the sugar syrup until it gets to one string consistency.
Sugar syrup should form a string when touched and pulled apart between index and thumb fingers.
Quickly add the gram flour into the sugar syrup.
Using a whisk, mix the gram flour into the sugar syrup without any lumps.
Keep cooking the mixture on low flame and stir continuously.
As it starts to thicken, add one ladle of hot ghee + oil mixture on top. It froths and bubbles, keep stirring it continuously.
Repeat this every 3-4 minutes when the mixture has absorbed all the previously ghee. Don’t stop stirring the mixture.
Slowly the mixture starts to come together.
Continue the process of adding a ladle of hot ghee, stir it constantly.
It changes color from dark yellow to whitish yellow forms large bubbles as it is stirred constantly.
When there is just one ladle of ghee remaining, continue cooking the mixture until it almost comes together with large bubbles.
When it starts to leave ghee from the sides, it is ready to be poured into the tray. Quickly pour it over the greased tray carefully. It will froth and bubble and raise up. Leave any ghee floating on top. As it cools down, it absorbs the ghee and it sinks down.
In 5-10 mins when the top has solidified, using a sharp knife cut into desired shape and size.
As it cools down completely, invert it onto a plate and separate the pieces.
Store in an airtight container and can be stored at room temperature for 10-15 days.
Recipe Notes
Don’t modify the ratio of gram flour, sugar, fat (ghee + oil) and water. If you want soft mysorepak, remove it from heat when it is still slightly runny. Don’t cook it till it is whitish yellow and bubbling away. If you cook it longer, it will crumble once cooled down. At that point, you can add it back to the pan and add ¼ cup water and repeat cooking it again.
Recipe Card
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