A Happy New Year to all – I have been away for a while catching up with dear relatives and friends overseas!
‘No man needs a vacation so much. as the person who has just had one’ – !!! is a terrific saying,
which is so apt especially when you are holidaying with close kith and kin in whichever part of the world!!
I am sure there are a number of people who would echo this sentiment as the love, affection, understanding, care, consideration showered on us and our kids and vice versa (as well as the emotional upheavals, shoppping, dining out, cinema, musicals, visiting family and friends) is so overwhelming that by the time you have finished with this holiday – you are ready for another one!!!
I would like to commence this new year in sharing with you a very popular Indian Sweet treat – Mysore Pak, which I enjoyed making with my ever enthusiastic dear mum on new year’s eve.
I will cherish this moment like many other moments in my mother’s kitchen, which definitely takes me back to the good old childhood days.
Mysore Pak originated from the state of Karnataka, a very popular sweet treat served at most festive and wedding occasions. The three basic ingredients are Besan flour, Ghee (clarified butter) and Sugar syrup made with water.
It is believed that Mysore Pak was first made in the kitchens of the Mysore Palace.
This sweet treat was so well liked by the royalties of the palace that they made it popular amongst the commoners as well who thoroughly endorsed the sweet!!!
Ingredients- for approximately 20 pieces
1 Cup Gram Flour (Besan)
2- 2½ Cups Ghee *(400 grams of melted unsalted butter)
2 ½ Cups Sugar
1 Cup Water
(*Ghee is butter melted in a pan until golden brown – unsalted butter is generally used in the preparation of sweets)
Mysore Pak
Preparation
Heat the cup of water in a pan
Add the sugar and keep stirring till the syrup thickens to the right consistency
(To check the right consistency of the syrup, add a few drops of the sugar syrup into a bowl of water.
The syrup is ready when it can be lifted and curled gently with the forefinger and thumb into a solid lump.
The other method of checking the syrup consistency is to take a drop of the syrup and check with your forefinger and thumb – and you can see it sticky and a thread like consistency)
Add all the flour in small quantities and swiftly stir ( to avoid lumps) into a smooth paste.
When flour syryp mix starts to solidify, pour the ghee in small lots as well and keep stirring till the mixture starts to separate from the pan.
Tilt the mixture on to an already greased (smeared with a little ghee) plate and cut into diamond shapes after 10 minutes.
Note: Ghee* is made by melting butter in a dish on the gas stove or cooktop. The ghee is perfectly done when it is melted into a beautiful golden brown colour.
Ensuring that there are no lumps in the flour when stirring the mixture is crucial in addition to having the real authentic porous look that Mysore Pak normally does!!!
Although this sweet treat recipe looks simple, all the ingredients and measurements should be accurate for the sweet treat to have the right look, consistency and taste!!!
Do not be disheartened if it does not turn out well the first time as this particular sweet treat take a while to master!!