Mysore pak

Mysore pak
Course	Dessert
Place of origin	India
Invented	1935
Main ingredients	Ghee or oil, sugar, gram flour

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Mysore pak pieces

Mysore pak (Kannada: ಮೈಸೂರು ಪಾಕ) is an Indian sweet prepared in ghee. It originated in the city of Mysuru,^[1]^[2] one of the major cities in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is made of generous amounts of ghee, sugar, gram flour, and often cardamom.^[1] The texture of this sweet is similar to a buttery and dense cookie.^[3]

History[edit]

It is prepared and given at weddings and other festivals in southern India

and is very popular in baby showers.

The Maharaja of Mysore, Krishna Raja Wodeyar IV, was a food lover and maintained a large kitchen at the Amba Vilas Palace in Mysore, making cuisines from European to Prasadam in the temples.

This sweet, by his chief chef Kakasura Madappa. With time running out, the desperate Madappa began experimenting, wanting to present the King with something unusual. Adding gram flour, ghee and sugar, he made a soft pak (or mixture). Handed over in the royal thali is a hot, fudge-like sweet. The chef was called in and asked its name. He said the first thing that came to his mind - the 'Mysore Pak.

Paaka or extreme sweet refers to the sticky sugar syrup obtained by simmering sugar with an equal amount of water; specifically for Mysore pak, the simple syrup heated to the softball stage. The syrup, used as the primary sweetening agent in various Indian sweet dishes like Jalebi, Badam puri, Mysore pak and others. The syrup is given taste with spice essences like cardamom, rose, honey etc. Paaka syrup preparation is a skilled art mastered by few cooks. Some of whom keep their methods secret.

This sweet Mysore pak improved as time goes by. However, the original sweet made with the original recipe is still available at the famous "Guru Sweets" stores in Devaraja Market, run by Mr Nataraj, great-grandson of the original inventor of the dish Mr Kakasura Madappa.

Ingredients[edit]

Mysore Pak is made from Gram flour (Besan), Ghee, Sugar and Water. It is commonly used in Southern India. Other ingredients that may or may not be used are Baking soda and Cardamom.

Attributes[edit]

Shape: Mysore pak is cut into cubes or cuboids.
Texture: Hard and porous when made with less ghee, soft and dense when made with generous amount of ghee. Moisture from the sugar syrup escapes as steam through the greased gram-flour rendering Mysore pak porous. Excess ghee, if any, may fill in such pores rendering it dense.
Colour: Yellow to light brown due to gram flour (roasted).
Shelf life: Very little water is used in the preparation, so it can stay fresh in a cool and dry place, but it should be used within one month only.