Mysore Pak ( chickpea sweet bars)

This is one of the most popular sweets of South India. This sinfully rich and decadent sweet needs just three ingredients - Besan (Chickpea flour), Sugar and Ghee. In spite of the simplicity of the ingredient list, it is still not easy to get the soft, smooth texture. There are really no short-cuts to getting the melting-in-the-mouth consistency, especially no cutting back on the ghee. Or you will end up with a hard yellow sweet block.

This recipe is from mother's aunt, who is one of the greatest cooks I have ever known.

Ideally, all the ingredients have to be of equal proportions. But if you don't like it reaaally sweet, reduce the sugar to your taste. But, it tastes best when made this way.

When I was chatting with my brother a few days ago, he mentioned how he felt like eating this. So here is the recipe as my dear sister-in-law had wanted.

Difficulty level: Medium

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 30min

Makes: 34- 35 pieces

Ingredients:

Besan (Chickpea flour): 2 cups, sifted

Ghee (clarified butter): 2 cups + for greasing the dish to set

Sugar: 2 cups

Heat sugar and 1 cup water until it boils. Continue doing this until it gets to one-string consistency. Reduce heat. Pour the ghee and flour in a steady stream (or add in batches) while stirring continuously. Cook until the ghee starts leaving the sides of the pan, mixture starts to thicken and turns to become porous and golden color. Immediately pour into a greased dish and level it out with a spatula. While it is still hot, cut into diamond shapes.