Mysore Paak
My mother is famous for her mysore paak (crispy dessert made of chickpea (gram) flour, ghee and sugar) – for her cooking in general, but her sweets and savouries are considered unparalleled. So good were they that professional cooks have stood in awe as she has explained how to get a particular halwa, burfi or kara sev to just the perfect consistency. Many have told us how much they have learned from her.
There was a time when there was only one mysore paak – the somewhat hard, crispy version that melted in the mouth. Nowadays though, they come in avatars galore. The Mysore ‘Paa’ popularised by Sri Krishna Sweets, where the consistency is that of a halwa (soft fudge), not to speak of Horlicks mysore paak, chocolate mysore paak and the like. To each her or his own. My mother made hers the traditional way, making a syrup with sugar and water, adding a dollop of ghee followed by the sieved gram flour. The gram flour, post incorporation, would be followed by dollops of ghee that had to be hot enough for the gram flour to froth each time it was poured. So, there would be a vessel full of ghee nearby and a flat pan on the stove to heat each portion just prior to pouring. My mother knew exactly how much ghee was needed and would keep adding. A lot of stirring was required, particularly since she generally made industrial strength quantities each time – all of us loved sweets and those were carefree times when we did not think of cholesterol, refined sugars etc. etc. and indulged in abandon, besides huge batches being sent to relatives and friends in the city.
The 30 to 45 minutes of continuous stirring has always been VERY difficult to come by for me, though. Mysore paak is unforgiving – it cannot be left unattended even for a split second from the moment the flour is added. The day I get everything ready for mysore paak is precisely the day the doorbell will ring incessantly or someone at home will require something yesterday. So, this time I used Rama Krishnan‘s sugar syrup hack to make it less time consuming. I used a three litre pressure pan in which I poured in 1/3 cup of water, followed by 1.25 cups (275 gms) of sugar. I closed the cooker with the weight, turned it on high and let it go for 9 whistles. In the meanwhile, I mixed 1 cup of hot ghee with 1/2 cup gram flour (50 gms). As soon as the 9th whistle (just under 6 minutes) came, I turned the flame off, let the pressure out, and added the ghee flour roux to the still bubbling sugar syrup. Keeping the flame on medium, I stirred the mixture for not more than five minutes and voila, mysore paak worthy of my mother was ready. All star. Move away all-stir.
