CARROT MYSORE PAK

   I have always thought that Classic Indian Sweets were difficult, and to attain perfection, we need to ace the job. Though the fact is true to an extent, some recipes took me off guard with its ease & one was Badusha/Balushahi. Recently I perfected another Indian classic Sweet, Boondi Ladoo. And when my daughter surprised us one day by making Mysore Pak, I was taken aback by the perfection, even for the first time.  

     'Mysore Pak' is a popular South Indian Sweet, which originated from the State of Karnataka, then called as 'Mysore'. 'Pak or Paku' means Sticky Sugar Syrup and hence the name Mysore Pak or colloquially Mysore Paku. Once a delicacy served for the royals has taken a special place in the hearts of Indian Sweet lovers. Traditionally, Mysore Paks are not so melt-in-mouth but with a hard texture. With the innovation of Ghee Mysore Pak by Krishna Sweets, this classic Indian Sweet took a new dimension and has become synonymous to recent year Mysore Paks. This Carrot Mysore Pak is the same as its original, but with a slight twist, and that is the addition of carrot purée into it.  

For CLASSIC MYSORE PAK RECIPE, Click here...

    This Mysore pak recipe is so near to the ones sold in Indian Sweet Shop. A quick & easy Carrot Mysore Pak recipe with just 5 ingredients - Gram Flour(Besan), Carrot Purée, Sugar, Oil & Ghee.  This recipe is prepared with Ghee & Oil, which yielded wonderfully textured Carrot Mysore Paks with a beautiful orange hue and a wonderful flavour of Carrots. Melt-in-mouth, soft, tasty, so synonymous to store-bought Indian Sweet shop style Mysore Paks. If you love an overwhelming Ghee flavour in Mysore Pak, you can increase the amount of Ghee, substituting the amount of Oil. 

     Cook some of the Classic Indian Sweet & Savouries this Festive Season.   Or if you are in short of time there a a few Diwali Recipes which can be incorporated even at the last time - Instant versions of Sweets & Savouries & Desserts.  

Enjoy Food and Wishing you all a Happy Diwali!!!

CARROT MYSORE PAK

    Making Mysore Pak sounds to be an easy process, but perfecting it every time requires a bit of meticulous details to be followed, giving due diligence to all tiny details and step-by-step instruction. This Carrot Mysore pak recipe is so perfect, and if you love Krishna Sweets Mysore Pak, then this recipe is for you. Read all the instructions before proceeding with this Mysore pak recipe, and please do strictly follow them for best results.

Points to remember before making Carrot Mysore Pak:

• Measure all the ingredients and keep it aside.
• Melt the ghee/clarified butter and then measure it. 
• Purée the Carrot and grind it with very little water into a very smooth paste.
  
• Dry roast the Gram Flour(besan) on a very low flame until fragrant. 
• Care should be taken not to burn or under cook the flour, which will spoil the overall flavour of Mysore paks.
• Allow the roasted flour to cool down before mixing it with oil.
• Sugar Syrup should be of ONE STRING CONSISTENCY. 
• Stir & scrape down the sides and bottom continuously,  throughout the process.
• Don't leave your hands or leave it unattended while making Mysore paks. I would say it would spoil the recipe.
• Pour Mysore pak batter gradually to the Sugar Syrup and cook it on a medium-low flame, stirring and scraping it down continuously.
  
• The first batch of Ghee should be poured in small batches(1/4 cup at a time), wait until it is well absorbed by the batter and then follow suit. This step is done on a low flame.
• The Ghee should be hot while pouring it into the Carrot Mysore Pak Mix.
• Continue the process until all the ghee is poured into the Mysore Pak batter mix, and cook until the ghee gets well absorbed.
• Grease a rectangular pan with oil and line it up with a parchment paper. I personally suggest doing so (helps you to remove the Mysore paks easily from the pan).

For more INDIAN SWEETS, Click here... 

Cuisine - Karnataka (South Indian)
Recipe Type - Sweet, Dessert
Difficulty - Medium
Yields -12 -16 Pieces
Author - SM  

Preparation Time - 15 - 20 Minutes
Cooking Time - 20 - 30 Minutes

HOW TO MAKE CARROT MYSORE PAK

CARROT MYSORE PAK

INGREDIENTS:

For Mysore Pak Batter:

Bengal Gram Dhal Flour(Besan) - 1 Cup

Oil - 3/4 Cup

For Sugar Syrup:

Sugar - 11/2 Cup

Carrot Purée - 1/2 Cup

Water - 3/4 Cup

Over the heat:

Melted Ghee - 3/4 Ghee

METHOD:

For Mysore Pak Batter:

• Dry roast the Gram Flour(Besan) on a very low flame until fragrant.
• Care should be taken not to burn the flour.
• Switch off the flame and allow it to cool down.
• Sieve the Gram Flour(Besan) once. 
  
• Make sure the Gram Flour has cooled down completely before mixing it with oil. Otherwise, it tends to get cooked and would turn crumbly. 
• Once cooled, pour in 3/4 cup of oil (@room temperature), and whisk it well until there are no lumps.
• Alternatively, you can pour it through a sieve to ensure the Mysore pak batter has no lumps.
• Keep the Mysore pak batter aside.

For Sugar Syrup:

• Clean, Peel and grate the Carrots.
• Grind it into a smooth Purée without adding water.(If required, can add about 2-3 teaspoons of water).
• Add Sugar and Water, in a heavy-bottomed pan.
• Preferably a heavy-bottomed non-stick pan with no edges at the bottom. 
• Pour in the Carrot Purée and mix well
  
• Keep this on a low flame and stir well until the sugar dissolves completely.
• Do not stir when the sugar solution starts to boil. Stirring will affect the consistency of the syrup. 
• Boil the Sugar Syrup on a medium-high flame until it reaches one string consistency. 
• ONE STRING SYRUP: For Mysore Pak we need a Sugar Syrup of one string consistency. To check the string consistency of the Sugar Syrup, take a spoon full of sugar syrup and pour it back, while doing so, almost at the final stage of pouring, if you get a thin one-stringed syrup, finally springing back to the spoon. There you are - the consistency is perfect enough. 
•  Alternatively, take the syrup in a spoon or a ladle and touch it with your fingers. Careful, it is going to be hot. It should be sticky & should form into one string(without breaking) between your fingers. 
• Overheating the sugar solution will caramelize it or thicken it, which will alter the texture of the Mysore paks, making it hard. 

CARROT MYSORE PAK

For Carrot Mysore Paks:

• Immediately, once the Sugar Syrup reaches one string consistency, pour in the Mysore pak Batter.
• Pour Mysore pak batter gradually into the Sugar Syrup and stir it well until combined.
  
• Stir it continuously, scraping down the sides at intervals.
• Don't allow the batter to stick on to the sides or bottom, which will crystallize and alter the texture of Mysore paks, making it crunchy.
• Stir and cook on a medium-low flame, stirring it continuously until hard large bubbles form. 
• Meanwhile, melt the Ghee and keep it aside.
  
• Now pour 3/4 Cup of Ghee in batches.
• The Ghee should be hot while pouring it into the Mysore Pak Mix.
• Pour about 1/4 Cup of Ghee at a time, stir it until the batter absorbs all the Ghee.
• Then again pour in the next batch of oil and repeat the process.
• Stir continuously, scraping down the sides and bottom throughout the process. Do not take off your hands.
• You may have to pour it in 3 batches, totally - 1/4 cup each.
  
• Let the flame be at low during this process.
• Cook until the batter looks foamed-up, stirring and scraping down continuously.
• Stir well until the batter absorbs the oil ghee after each batch.
• Continue the process until all the ghee is poured into the batter.
• Stir until the ghee gets well absorbed.
• It would form into a dough-like, still slightly emulsified at this stage.
• At this stage, the dough like liquid will start to emulsify and starts to separate from the pan all by itself, if it is well stirred. 
• Now it is ready to be poured into a greased pan to set.
• Meanwhile, grease a rectangular pan with oil, and line it up with an oiled parchment paper.
• Lining it up with a parchment paper is optional, but I personally suggest doing so(which helps you to remove the Carrot Mysore Paks easily from the pan).
  
• Pour in the Carrot Mysore Pak mix into the greased pan and gently tap it down to settle.
• Can smoothen the top and level it up.
• After 5 Minutes, draw rectangular lines through the Mysore Pak.
  
• Leave it aside for about 40-45 minutes.
• Gently turn the greased pan upside down into a plate.
• Alternatively, just remove the parchment paper.
  
• Carrot Mysore Paks are ready to eat. Take a piece or two and immediately gobble it down before storing the remaining ones.
• That's the treat for getting your hands making this Carrot Mysore Paks.
• Store it in an airtight container lined up with a parchment paper.
• If stored properly, Carrot Mysore Paks lasts up to 5-7 days @ room temperature.
• Store it in the refrigerator for longer shelf life. Can microwave it for a few seconds before serving. 

NOTES:

• Dry roasting the gram flour until fragrant gives the needed flavour in the Mysore paks.
• Sugar Syrup should be of ONE STRING CONSISTENCY. To check the consistency, take a spoon full of sugar syrup and pour it back, while doing so, almost at the final stage of pouring, if you get a thin one-stringed syrup, finally springing back to the spoon.  The string shouldn't snap-off (break).
• Adding Carrot Purée into the Sugar Syrup will cook the purée and also would help to get rid of the raw smell from the Carrots.
• I have not added any food colouring in this Carrot Mysore Pak, The light Orange colour is from the Carrot.
• I have used 3/4 cup of melted Ghee in the recipe which gave a total justification to Mysore paks, with a melt-in-mouth texture along with ghee flavour. It was similar to the ones sold in Indian Sweet Shops. And I personally prefer Mysore paks this way.
• If you do not like an overwhelming ghee flavour in Mysore paks, you can substitute Ghee with Oil. That's, you can use all ghee - totally 3/4 Cup of Ghee(?!!!) in the recipe. Or can use 1/2 Cup Ghee and 1/4 Oil.
• Make sure to you use melted ghee (It should be hot while pouring into the Mysore pak mix).
• Pour in the Mysore paks and leave it aside to set for about 40-45 minutes.