Mysore pak
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Indian English Template:Infobox prepared food
Mysorepak (Template:Langx | literally, Mysore's confectionery) is a type of mithai (sweetmeat) from India. It is prepared with only three ingredients: ghee, sugar and besan. It originated in the royal kitchen of Kingdom of Mysore;[1][2] Mysore is one of the major cities in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is prepared from generous amount of ghee along with sugar and gram flour more often flovoured with cardamom.[1] The texture of this sweet is similar to both a fudge and a buttery dense cookie.[3] It is also popular in the neighbouring countries Pakistan and Bangladesh (it is known as Monsur in Bangladesh).
History
It is prepared as part of wedding meal, also popular during festivals and major events of celebration in southern India.
The Maharaja of Mysore, Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV who was a great connoisseur maintained his royal kitchen at the Amba Vilas Palace in Mysore with lots of care and perfection.[4]
Kakasura Madappa, one of the chefs known for preparing sweets (sweet master) began experimenting, wanted to present the Maharaja of Mysore with something unique. Adding gram flour, ghee and sugar, he prepared a mithai. It was not only soft but also it had a mild crunchy texture with golden colour. This sweetmeat was similar to a fudge but with little crunch, a very unusual but an extraordinary culinary skill. Madappa was called in and asked for its name. He said the first thing that came to his mind - 'Mysore-Paak'. The Maharaja loved the sweet so much that he asked Madappa to open a sweet shop outside the premises of the palace.[5]
Paaka just means cooking and is associated with culinary arts mastered by only a few cooks, some of whom keep their methods secret. Example Nala-paka which means Nala's culinary art. Paka Shala is kitchen, Paka Shastra is 'the science and art of cooking'.
In the word Mysorepak, 'Pak = confection'. It has no connection with the country Pakistan, Mysorepak was invented way before Pakistan was formed. It is derived from Sakkare Paaka, KadleHittu and Tuppa (sugar syrup blended with gram flour and clarified butter in right consistency). The sugar is called sakkare 'paaka' when it achieves a perfect precision during the preparation of Mysorepak (thread stage to the softball stage). A skilled professional will know the right consistency. This sugar syrup which is 'sakre-paaka' is used as the primary sweetening agent in various sweets of Karnataka like Jhilebi, Badusha, Badampuri, Jahangir and many more but 'paaka' changes for each dish. Only for Gulab Jamun the cloudy watery sugar syrup is not 'paaka' but called 'Kshira' which means milk (indicating the syrup's viscosity should be of milk).
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.[6]
Ingredients
Mysore Pak is made from sugar, gram flour, ghee and or cooking oil. It is very common dessert throughout India especially in the southern states of the country. Other ingredients that may or may not be used are baking soda and cardamom.[7]
Attributes
Below are some of the attributes of the sweet[8]
Shape: Mysore pak is cut into cubes or cuboids.
Texture: Regular Mysorepak - Hard and porous when made with combination of ghee and oil. Moisture from the sugar syrup escapes as steam through the greased gram flour rendering Mysorepak porous. Excess ghee, if any, may fill in such pores rendering it dense.
Special Mysorepak - Soft and dense when made with only ghee.
Colour: Yellow on top to dark brown in the middle and a light brown in the bottom (due to continued cooking in the tray). A skilled chef can make three shades in a piece of Mysorepak.
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.
See also
References
External links
- Mysore pak – Indian Mirror
Template:Mysore topics Template:Indian Dishes
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ How the Famous Mysore Pak Was Invented. ndtv.com.
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