I have always thought that Classic Indian Sweets were difficult, and to attain perfection, we need to ace the job. Though the fact is true to an extent, some recipes took me off guard with its ease & one was Badusha/Balushahi. Recently I perfected another Indian classic Sweet, Boondi Ladoo. And when my daughter surprised us one day by making Mysore Pak, I was taken aback by the perfection even for the first time.  

    This is my daughter's recipe, and she hit the benchmark by making it as perfect as Krishna Sweets melt-in-mouth Mysore pak. Nei Sotta Sotta(with ghee drizzling) vayila karanji pokum(melt-in-mouth) Mysore paks. She was, as usual, sceptical with this recipe, and never accepts any credits. When we served it to our guest, she asked me from where we bought Krishna Sweets Mysore pak(whether it was available in Malaysia?). Overwhelmed with the response, I & my husband, spontaneously blurted out that Shreya made it. The stare my daughter gave was epic then. Earlier while preparing the menu for the guests, my daughter offered her help by making Mysore paks. But with one condition not to let them know that she had made it. She feels that we flaunt by doing so.

     'Mysore Pak' is a popular South Indian Sweet, which originated from the State of Karnataka, then called as 'Mysore'. 'Pak or Paku' means Sticky Sugar Syrup and hence the name Mysore Pak or colloquially Mysore Paku. Once a delicacy served for the royals has taken a special place in the hearts of Indian Sweet lovers. Traditionally, Mysore Paks are not so melt-in-mouth but with a hard texture. With the innovation of Ghee Mysore Pak by Krishna Sweets, this classic Indian Sweet took a new dimension and has become synonymous to recent year Mysore Paks.

    This Mysore pak recipe is so near to the ones sold in Indian Sweet Shop. A quick & easy Mysore Pak recipe with just 4 ingredients - Gram Flour(Besan), Sugar, Oil & Ghee.  And when it comes to Mysore Paks, it has become synonymous to Krishna Sweets Ghee Mysore Paks. I thought the sweet is going to be over-dozed with a copious amount of Ghee/Clarified Butter. But this recipe is prepared with 50ml of Ghee & 150ml of Oil, which yielded wonderfully textured Mysore Paks. Melt-in-mouth, soft, tasty so synonymous to store-bought Indian Sweet shop style Mysore Paks. If you love an overwhelming Ghee flavour in Mysore Pak, you can increase the amount of Ghee substituting it with Oil.

    I made this Mysore pak, with all tiny details and step by step instruction, and I am writing with all those meticulous details insisted & instructed by my strict officer - my daughter. This Mysore pak recipe is so perfect, and if you love Krishna Sweets Mysore Pak, then this recipe is for you. Read all the instructions before proceeding with this Mysore pak recipe and please do strictly follow them for best results.

Points to Remember before making Mysore Pak:

• Measure all the ingredients and keep it aside.
• Melt the ghee/clarified butter and then measure it. 
• Dry roast the Gram Flour(besan) on a very low flame until fragrant. 
• Care should be taken not to burn or undercook the flour, which will spoil the overall flavour of Mysore paks.
• Allow the roasted flour to cool down before mixing it with oil.
• Sugar Syrup should be of ONE STRING CONSISTENCY. 
• Stir & scrape down the sides and bottom continuously,  throughout the process.
• Don't leave your hands or leave it unattended while making Mysore paks. I would say it would spoil the recipe.
• Pour Mysore pak batter gradually to the Sugar Syrup and cook it on a medium-low flame, stirring and scraping it down continuously.
  
• The first batch of Oil/Ghee should be poured in small batches(20ml at a time), wait until it is well absorbed by the batter and then follow suit. This step is done on a medium-low flame.
• Next batch of Oil/Ghee is poured, off the heat.  
• Grease a rectangular pan with Oil and line it up with a parchment paper. I personally suggest doing so ( helps you to remove the Mysore paks easily from the pan).

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Cuisine - Karnataka(South Indian)
Recipe Type - Sweet, Dessert
Difficulty - Medium
Yields -12 -16 Pieces
Author - SM  

Preparation Time - 15 - 20 Minutes
Cooking Time - 20 - 30 Minutes

HOW TO MAKE MYSORE PAK

INGREDIENTS:

For Mysore Pak Batter:

Bengal Gram Dhal Flour(Besan) - 100 Gms

Oil - 100 ml

For Sugar Syrup:

Sugar - 300 Gms

Water - 100 ml

For Mysore Pak:

Over the heat:

Oil - 100 ml

Off the heat:

Oil - 50 ml

Ghee - 50 ml

METHOD:

For Mysore Pak Batter:

• Dry roast the Gram Flour(Besan) on a very low flame until fragrant.
• Care should be taken not to burn the flour.
• Switch off the flame and allow it to cool down.
• Sieve the Gram Flour(Besan) once. 
  
• Make sure the Gram Flour has cooled down completely before mixing it with oil. Otherwise, it tends to get cooked and would turn crumbly. 
• Once cooled, pour in 100 ml of oil, and whisk it well until there are no lumps.
• Alternatively, you can pour it through a sieve to ensure the Mysore pak batter has no lumps.
• Keep the Mysore pak batter aside.

For Sugar Syrup:

• Add Sugar and Water, in a heavy-bottomed pan.
• Preferably a heavy-bottomed non-stick pan with no edges at the bottom. 
• Keep this on a low flame and stir well until the sugar dissolves completely.
• Do not stir when the sugar solution starts to boil. Stirring will affect the consistency of the syrup. 
• Boil the Sugar Syrup on a medium-high flame until it reaches one string consistency. 
• ONE STRING SYRUP: For Mysore Pak we need a Sugar Syrup of one string consistency. To check the string consistency of the Sugar Syrup, take a spoon full of sugar syrup and pour it back, while doing so, almost at the final stage of pouring, if you get a thin one-stringed syrup, finally springing back to the spoon. There you are - the consistency is perfect enough. 
•  Alternatively, take the syrup in a spoon or a ladle and touch it with your fingers. Careful, it is going to be hot. It should be sticky & should form into one string(without breaking) between your fingers. 
• Overheating the sugar solution will caramelize it or thicken it, which will alter the texture of the Mysore paks, making it hard. 

For Mysore Paks:

• Immediately, once the Sugar Syrup reaches one string consistency, pour in the Mysore pak Batter.
• Pour Mysore pak batter gradually into the Sugar Syrup and stir it well until combined.
  
• Stir it continuously, scraping down the sides at intervals.
• Don't allow the batter to stick on to the sides or bottom, which will crystallize and alter the texture of Mysore paks, making it crunchy.
• Stir and cook on a medium-low flame, stirring it continuously until hard large bubbles form. 
• Now pour 100 ml of Oil in batches.
• Pour about 20 ml Oil at a time, stir it until the batter absorbs all the Oil.
• Then again pour in the next batch of oil and repeat the process.
• Stir continuously, scraping down the sides and bottom throughout the process. Do not take off your hands.
• For 100 ml oil you may have to pour it in 5 batches totally - 20 ml each.
  
• Pour the remaining oil and mix until it gets well absorbed.
• Let the flame be at medium-low during this process.
• Cook until the batter looks foamed-up, stirring and scraping down continuously.
• Now, switch off the flame.
• Pour in the remaining 50 ml of Ghee(melted) & 50 ml of Oil off the heat.
• Pour the oil and ghee in small batches.
• Stir well until the batter absorbs the oil & ghee after each batch.
• Continue the process until all the oil & ghee are poured into the batter.
• Stir until the oil & ghee gets well absorbed.
• It would form into a dough-like still slightly liquidy at this stage.
• At this stage, the dough like liquid will start to emulsify and starts to separate from the pan all by itself, if it is well stirred. 
• Now it is ready to be poured into a greased pan to set.
• Meanwhile, grease a rectangular pan with oil, and line it up with an oiled parchment paper.
• Lining it up with a parchment paper is optional, but I personally suggest doing so(which helps you to remove the Mysore paks easily from the pan).
  
• Pour in the Mysore pak mix into the greased pan and gently tap it down to settle.
• Can smoothen the top and level it up.
• After 5 Minutes, draw rectangular lines through the Mysore Pak.
  
• Leave it aside for about 40-45 minutes.
• Gently turn the greased pan upside down into a plate.
• Alternatively, just remove the parchment paper.
  
• Mysore paks are ready to eat. Take a piece or two and immediately gobble it down before storing the remaining ones.
• That's the treat for getting your hands making this Mysore paks.
• Store it in an airtight container lined up with a parchment paper.
• If stored properly, Mysore paks lasts up to 5-7 days @ room temperature.
• Store it in the refrigerator for longer shelf life. Can microwave it for a few seconds before serving. 

NOTES:

• Dry roasting the gram flour until fragrant gives the needed flavour in the Mysore paks.
• Sugar Syrup should be of ONE STRING CONSISTENCY. To check the consistency, take a spoon full of sugar syrup and pour it back, while doing so, almost at the final stage of pouring, if you get a thin one-stringed syrup, finally springing back to the spoon.  The string shouldn't snap-off(break).
  
• I have used 150 ml of Oil and 50ml of Ghee in the recipe which gave a total justification to Mysore paks, with a melt-in-mouth texture along with ghee flavour. It was similar to the ones sold in Indian Sweet Shops. And I personally prefer Mysore paks this way.
• If you love an overwhelming ghee flavour in Mysore paks, you can substitute Oil with Ghee. That's you can use all ghee - totally 200ml of Ghee(?!!!) in the recipe. Make sure to you use melted ghee(slightly warm).
• I would surely not suggest using all Ghee in this recipe for the good old health reasons.
  
• Pour in the Mysore paks and leave it aside to set for about 40-45 Minutes. 
• You can even eat it within 10-15 Minutes.