Just Cooking N Baking ....: Mysore Pak | A Royal Sweet from Mysore | Gram Flour Fudge

The following recipe makes around 20 medium sized pieces.
Recipe source : My mother

Ing :

Gram Flour : 1 and half cups
Powdered Sugar : 1 and half cups
Ghee (clarified butter) : 1 and half cups + 2 table spoon for roasting gram flour and 1/2 tea spoon for greasing
Cold water : 1/2 cup

Method :

* Heat 2 table spoon of ghee in a non stick pan and add in gram flour. Roast this continuously in a low flame until you get a good aroma from gram flour. Switch off the flame and transfer the flour into Metal sifter.

* Sift the flour to remove any lumps and divide the flour into 3 batches.

* Grease the steel plate with 1/2 tea spoon of ghee.

* Heat a large non-stick pan in a medium flame and add in sugar and water to it.

* In the mean time heat ghee in a non stick pan at medium-low flame.(Do not switch off the flame until you completely finished adding ghee into gram flour-sugar mixture)

* Sugar will start to dissolve and it becomes bubbling sugar syrup. Make sure to stir it continuously until it forms one string consistency. ( (In a small bowl keep some cold water to check the sugar syrup consistency)put a drop of sugar syrup to the bowl with cold water and check if the sugar syrup will immediately turns into small crystal balls. if yes then it is done. or else keep stir it for another 30 seconds or a minute or until you reach this stage)

* Once the sugar syrup is ready, slowly start adding sifted gram flour in batches. As soon as one batch of gram flour is mixed with sugar syrup add in the next batch until all the gram flour is mixed well without any lumps.

* Keep stir the mixture for 2 minutes.

* Now comes the hardest stage of adding ghee mixture in batches. With a help of a ladle, add half a cup of hot ghee into the gram flour and sugar mixture. (The minute you add ghee to the gram flour-sugar mixture, it will start to froth up and make sure that you keep stirring the gram flour-sugar mixture in other hand)

* As soon as the ghee mixture gets mixed well with the gram flour-sugar mixture(which will take 10 to 15 seconds), add another half cup of ghee into this gram flour-sugar mixture.(And again gram flour-sugar mixture will froth up and it continue to absorb the ghee and become slightly thick.)

* Repeat this process until all the ghee added into gram flour-sugar mixture.

* Once all the ingredients are added, continuously stir it for 1 minute.

* Now yellow color of gram flour-sugar and ghee mixture will change color and become thicker. And also this mixture will start to leave the sides and bottom of the pan.

* Keep stir the mixture for 45 seconds or 1 minute and switch off the flame and IMMEDIATELY transfer this mixture to already greased steel plate.

* Let the mixture to cool down for 3 to 4 minutes and cut them into desired shapes.

* Let the Mysore Pak to cool down completely before taking them from steel plate. Store them in a air tight container.

Some TIPS :

* Use a same cup to measure ingredients.
* Keep everything ready before you start preparing Mysore Pak.
* Be very careful while adding hot ghee into gram flour - sugar mixture.
* Follow the steps. :)

Some more information about Mysore Pak :

Mysore Pak was first prepared in the kitchen of the Mysore Maharaja.

Kakasura Madappa who was the cook at the Mysore Palace kitchen sweets department simply tried a combination of gram flour, ghee(clarified butter) and sugar.
When the King asked for dish name,Madappa simply named it as a ‘Mysore Pak’,a delicacy from the Mysore Palace.
Then Mysore Pak attained the position of a Royal Sweet.