Mysore pak

{{Infobox prepared food

| name = Mysore pak

| image = Mysore_pak.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption =

| country = India

| course = Dessert

| type = Sweet

| year = 1935

| served =

| main_ingredient = Ghee or oil, sugar, gram flour

| variations =

| calories =

}}

File:South Indian sweets or dessert called Mysore pak made from gram flour, powdered sugar and clarified butter.jpg

Mysore pak is an Indian sweet prepared in ghee. It originated in the city of Mysore,{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/Food/In-search-of-Mysore-Pak/article15616920.ece|title=In search of Mysore Pak|first=Neha|last=Mujumdar|newspaper=The Hindu |date=24 November 2012|via=thehindu.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/151015/nation-current-affairs/article/four-generations-mysore-pak-still-crowd-puller-here|title=Four generations - mysore pak still crowd puller here|date=15 October 2015 |via=deccanchronicle.com}} 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. The texture of this sweet is similar to a buttery and dense cookie.[https://www.ndtv.com/south/how-the-famous-mysore-pak-was-invented-674512?amp=1&akamai-rum=off How the Famous Mysore Pak Was Invented]. ndtv.com.

It is also popular in the neighbouring countries Pakistan and Bangladesh (it is known as Monsur in Bangladesh).

History

It is prepared and given at weddings and other festivals, including baby showers, in southern India.

The Maharaja of Mysore, Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, was a food lover and maintained a large kitchen at the Amba Vilas Palace in Mysore.{{Cite web |title=Mysore Pak |url=https://ramanagara.nic.in/en/culinary-delight/mysore-pak/}}

Kakasura Madappa, the head chef known for preparing sweets, began experimenting, wanting to present the King with something unusual. Adding gram flour, ghee and sugar, he made a soft paaka (or mixture). Madappa was called in and asked for its name. He said the first thing that came to his mind - 'Mysore Pak'. The Maharaja loved the sweet so much that he asked Madappa to open a sweet shop outside the premises of the palace.{{Cite web |date=2019-09-26 |title=Guru Sweets In Mysore And The History of Mysore Pak |url=https://www.karnataka.com/recipe-and-food/guru-sweets-mysore-the-history-of-mysore-pak/ |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=Karnataka.com |language=en-US}}

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 is used as the primary sweetening agent in various Indian sweet dishes like Jalebi, Gulab Jamun, 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 only a few cooks, some of whom keep their methods secret.

The recipe improved through the years. However, the original sweet made with the original recipe is still available at the famous "Guru Sweets" stores in Devaraja Market, run by Kumar and Shivanand, great-grandsons of Madappa.{{Cite web|url=https://bxmysuru.com/guru-sweets-mart-mysuru/|title=Guru Sweets Mart - Mysuru|first=BXMYSURU|last=TEAM|date=10 August 2022}}

Ingredients

Mysore Pak is made from gram flour, ghee, sugar and water. It is commonly eaten in Southern India. Other ingredients that may or may not be used are baking soda and cardamom.{{Cite web|url=https://hebbarskitchen.com/mysore-pak-recipe-easy-homemade/|title=mysore pak recipe | easy homemade mysore pak recipe|first=Hebbars|last=Kitchen|date=12 February 2019|website=Hebbar's Kitchen}}

Attributes

Below are some of the attributes of the sweet{{Cite web|url=https://www.traditionalfoodofindia.com/mysore-pak/|title=Mysore pak – Traditional Foods of India}}

Shape: Mysore pak is cut into cubes or cuboids.
Texture: Hard and porous when made with less ghee, soft and dense when made with a 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 consumed within one month only.