Mysore Pak

This delicious fudge from South India has a granular texture. Do not be alarmed by the amount of ghee mentioned in the recipe as most of it is drained out at the end of the cooking process.

Ingredients:

1 cup bengal gram flour

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups ghee

1 cup water

1/2 tsp cardomom powder

Method:

Sieve the bengal gram flour (besan). Roast it on a hot griddle/ tava for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly. Set aside. Heat half the ghee (clarified butter) (1 1/4 cup) in a pan. Put the sugar in another pan and add 1 cup of water to it. Cook till it becomes sticky syrup. It should not become stringy. Add the roasted flour to the sugar syrup stirring constantly. Take off the flame for a second while you get the melted ghee ready. Pour the ghee in a steady stream into the flour and sugar mixture while stirring. You need an extra hand here. Add the rest of the ghee and stir in. Cook till the mixture turns light brown and becomes porous and spongy like bread. Sprinkle the cardamom powder over the mixture and turn out immediately into a 9" shallow cake pan or a thali. The mixture sets within a minute. With a sharp knife cut into 1 1/2 inch squares at immediately.