Mysore pak – Popular South Indian sweet recipe made with gram flour, sugar & ghee. Mysore pak is a classic traditional sweet dish which is said to have been originated in the kitchen of Royal Mysore palace. This aromatic and delicious sweet is prepared using besan/ gram flour, sugar and ghee. Commercially sold mysore pak also uses a small amount of oil to get a unique texture.
To make mysore pak, one need not possess any special skills but understanding the method is crucial to getting the perfect texture.
A correctly made mysore pak is light, slightly crunchy, not hard, edges with crumbs and the cube has a porous texture with a delicious aroma.
It should not have traces of ghee over it and should not release ghee when eaten.
To get the right texture, the ratio of the ingredients used is very important. I suggest not to alter the recipe if you are keen to get the same texture as seen in the pictures.
The mysore pak recipe I have shared here is to make a small batch that yields about 12 medium sized pieces. Even a beginner or a first timer will be able to handle this quantity with ease.
This recipe can be doubled or tripled but stirring a large batch would be a real arm work as it requires constant stirring and one needs to be quick. So I usually make 2 batches on the same day as it is easy to handle small batches.
Do use a heavy kadai or pan with a good strong spatula for stirring. About 3 to 4 years ago, I had made this in a brand new prestige omega plus nonstick handi. The entire coating completely came off to the mysore pak.
Even a cast iron pan didn’t work well for me as it is hard to control the heat and the mysore pak got overcooked towards the end. So a heavy bottom steel pan, pressure pan or a kadai works well.
More Sweet recipes
Ladoo recipes
Burfi recipes
Halwa recipes
Kheer recipes
Step-by-step photos
1. Sieve besan well twice. Set this aside dividing to 3 parts. Make sure there are no lumps in the flour.
2. Grease a small pan well and set aside. I used a mini loaf pan.
3. Burner 1 – Begin to heat ghee and oil in a kadai or pot on a low to medium flame. We need hot ghee and oil to add to the bubbling besan and sugar syrup later as and when needed.
4. Burner 2 – Add sugar to a kadai along with water.
Making sugar syrup
5. Boil it on a medium heat stirring often until a one string consistency is achieved.
6. To check one string consistency, take a small portion of the sugar syrup in between your thumb and index finger. Move the fingers apart, you should be able to see a single string formed.Take care as the syrup will be too hot.
7. Make sure your oil and ghee are getting hot.
How to make mysore pak
8. Add 1/3 rd portion of the besan to the bubbling sugar syrup. The flame has to be medium and the syrup bubbling well at this stage else the mysore pak turns flat and not porous. Stir until all the flour blends well with the syrup.
9. Then add the next 1/3rd portion of flour and repeat adding the last part too following the same process.
10. At this stage there should be no lumps and the flour should have blended well with the sugar syrup.
11. Add in 1 ladle full of hot ghee & oil to the besan mixture. Immediately the oil and ghee must sizzle, meaning it is hot enough. Make sure the ghee is really very hot otherwise increase the flame of burner 1 to keep ghee & oil consistently hot. Quickly stir well until all the ghee has been absorbed.
12. Repeat adding the ghee in parts and repeat stirring until the ghee is well absorbed each time.
13. As you keep adding the ghee, every time it has to sizzle, then stir well until absorbed. If you do not have enough ghee and oil left in the kadai on burner 1, then you can add 2 tbsp more each of oil and ghee and heat it quickly. I did not use any excess.
Consistency of mysore pak mixture
14. At one stage, you will see the mixture just begins to leave the pan.
15. Quickly add some hot ghee and stir. Do not add a lot at this stage as it will leave out the excess.
16. When the mysore pak is about to finish, the mixture will become very thick, with lot of pores or bubbles. No more adding ghee at this stage otherwise it will ooze out the excess. The mixture will leave the pan completely within few seconds.
Setting the mixture
17. Be very very quick and transfer to a greased pan. With the help of a greased spoon, light level the top. Traditional mysore pak is actually not leveled but I suggest to reduce the crumbs.
18. Set aside for 10 to 15 mins. Invert it on a board. Cut to desired sized pieces.
Cool mysore pak completely and store in a air tight jar. It keeps good for 10 days at room temperature.
Mysore pak recipe
Mysore pak recipe
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
- 1 cup besan or gram flour
- 1 ¾ cup sugar (can reduce to 1¼ cup but texture will be like burfi)
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup ghee (pure good quality ghee)
- ½ cup oil (preferably peanut oil, if you skip it will be like burfi) (refer notes)
Optional – use if needed. I have not used
- 2 tbsps oil
- 2 tbsps ghee
How to make the recipe
Preparation
- Pour 1 tbsp ghee to a small tray and grease it well for setting the mysore pak. Set this aside.
- Place a sieve over a large bowl. Measure and add besan to the sieve.
- Next sieve it well twice. Divide the flour to 3 parts and transfer them to small bowls. Set this aside.
- On one burner of the stove place a kadai and pour ghee and oil. Begin to heat it on a low to medium heat.
Sugar syrup for mysore pak
- On another burner, place a wide deep pan. Pour the sugar and water. Begin to heat it.
- Boil the sugar syrup stirring often until it reaches a one string consistency.
- To check one string consistency of the syrup, take a small portion of the syrup in between the thumb and index finger. Move the fingers apart. You must be able to see a single string in between the fingers.
- Ensure the oil and ghee are turning hot.
How to make mysore pak
- Add 1/3 rd portion of flour to the bubbling sugar syrup. Flame must be medium and the sugar syrup bubbling well otherwise mysore pak turns flat. Stir well until all the flour blends well with the syrup.
- Then add the next 1/3 rd portion of flour. Repeat adding the last part too following the same process.
- At this stage there must be no lumps & the flour must blend well with the sugar syrup.
- Next add in 1 ladle full of hot ghee & oil to the pan. Then immediately oil and ghee must sizzle, meaning it is hot enough. Make sure the ghee is really very hot otherwise increase the flame of burner 1 to keep ghee & oil consistently hot. Immediately stir well until all the ghee has been absorbed.
- Repeat adding the ghee in parts & repeat stirring until the ghee is well absorbed every time.
- As the ghee is added every time it has to sizzle. Then stir well until absorbed. If you do not have enough ghee left in the kadai, then pour 2 tbsp more each of oil and ghee. Then heat it quickly. I did not use any excess.
- Quickly pour some hot ghee and stir. Do not add a lot at as it will leave out the excess.
- When the mysore pak is about to finish, the mixture will turn very thick with lot of pores or bubbles. Do not add any more ghee at this stage otherwise it will ooze out the excess. The mixture will leave the pan completely within few seconds.
- Be very very quick and transfer to a greased pan. Level the top with the help of a greased spoon. Keep this aside for 10 to 15 mins. Invert it on a board. Cut to desired sized pieces.
- Cool mysore pak completely. Store in a air tight jar at room temperature
Video
NUTRITION (estimation only)
Notes
There will be no oil smell in the mysore pak if you use good quality oil.
For health reasons, I suggest using peanut oil as it has a high smoke point. While we heat the oil and ghee, it may smoke up sometimes.
The addition of peanut oil infact enhances the aroma of mysore pak.
If you are new to cooking, follow my detailed step by step photo instructions for best results.
Abinaya Narasimhan says
Hi Swasthi I always have trouble with sugar syrup consistency… Can u help me with it? Like how long will it take to reach single string on medium heat? Any other shortcuts like using a candy thermometer?
swasthi says
Hi Abinaya
Take a look at the video to know the correct string consistency. I haven’t checked with the thermometer. The timing depends on the flame and the kind of pot used. But it is easy to learn the string consistency. You may halve the recipe and try.
Abinaya Narasimhan says
Thank u Swasthi will try 🙂
Megha says
Hi!!
I want to use 3cups of besan N how much sugar should u use??
swasthi says
Hi
I suggest to try the recipe as it is with 1 cup besan.
3 cups is a lot and I haven’t tried it any time with so much in one batch.
Megha says
I have tried with one cup of besan n it came out good!!
So just wanted to make it 3 cups for my huge family!!
So plz tell me how much sugar to use??
Or I should just take 3/4th cup extra like 3 cups bean top 3 3/4th cup of sugar??
swasthi says
Megha,
With 3 cups, it is very hard to stir the mixture. You need a lot of arm strength. If you thick you can, then just go ahead tripling all the ingredients. I had doubled this recipe before and felt it is too tiring. So I split up to batches now and make which is easier to manage. Hope this helps.
Srivani says
Hi… I have made this… Taste is good…. First time I have made with only one cup ghee, 11/4 cup sugar n 1cup besan… It tasted like medium soft burfi… But still tastes good… Second time I have used half cup ghee n half cup oil…. Sugar 11/4cup….i got very hard n crumbled texture…. I need to make like sweet shop mysore pak…
..
swasthi says
Hi Srivani
I made mysore pak with several variations. But the recipe shared in this post always yields me the best. It comes close to the authentic traditional mysore pak. Not hard at all but with a right crunch. Any changes may alter the texture and taste. Second time you got is hard may be because you altered the quantities or overcooked.
Srivani says
Hi… I wanna try this… Can I reduce oil or ghee.. Can I use non-stick pan for this… Please suggest any good brand nonstick… We stays in bangalore…
swasthi says
Hi Srivani
I haven’t tried it. But a reader mentioned in one of the comments below that he reduced the ghee/oil and turned out good. You can scroll down to read it. I don’t suggest non-stick for this. I have already shared in the post that non-stick did not work out well for me. Look for stainless steel cookware with heavy bottom. I have seen steel cookware from stellar brand in Bangalore. Check if you can get it. Hope this helps
Srivani says
Thank you….
Arpitha says
Hi swasthi, I tried your recipe.. has come out excellently well.. and me being an amateur at making sweets, I personally felt that it was a very easy and comfortable recipe to follow. I have one doubt.. my Mysore oak has the same texture as the one you have made, but the colour is very very light. As light as the colour of raw besan. Any tips to help me with that ?? Thank you so much…
swasthi says
Hello Arpitha
Glad it turned out good. I always wonder why store bought besan comes in different shades. Some are too light in color and some are too yellowish. I think the lighter color in your mysore pak is due to the color of your besan. After cooking besan in hot boiling sugar syrup and pouring hot oil it will surely cook well. As long as you don’t feel the raw taste in the mysore pak it’s fine. The store bough mysore pak is deep golden to light brown color as they use iron kadai. This may be another reason. Making it in a nonstick or steel pan may not give the same dark color. But you should get something like mine. Hope this helps.
🙂
Laxmi Abhilash S says
Mysore pak Recipe is just simply super. The detailed description of making along with video n pictures are so so helpful for beginners..The first trial itself came so well.. Thank you so much !!! 🤗🤗
swasthi says
Hello Laxmi,
You are welcome. So glad the recipe worked well for you!. Thank you!
Nithya says
First time tried mysore pak. Came out exceptionally well. Measurements were perfect. Thank You!
swasthi says
Glad to know Nithya
Thank you
Aaditi says
Why haven’t you roasted the besan? In most of the other recipes its roasted and I am curious to know why you haven’t. Also which one tastes better? Ideally what should be the texture of Mysore Pak?
Have gone through several recipes and some look like burfi, some are porous, some are slightly porous.
I am confused as to what Mysore Pak exactly should be like.
I am Keen on trying out your recipe today!
Looks appealing and on point.
swasthi says
Hi Aaditi,
Sorry forgot to reply you. Besan is never roasted for mysore pak. Hot oil and ghee is poured to the mixture which sizzles and roasts the besan. Ideally the texture should be porus.
Vaidhei says
Hello Akka,
I don’t have a tray like yours. What can I use. Can I use a plate or box?
swasthi says
Hi Vaidhei,
You can use any box or a deep plate.
Chandana says
Hello,I tried the same but after transferring to bowl it has become dry..no moisture..What might have gone wrong?
swasthi says
Hi Chandana,
Yes the mixture will turn dry and will firm up after you pour to the tray. But do you mean it became powder? If yes it means the mixture has been over cooked. Do let me know clearly how it turned out so that I can help you out.
Chandana says
Hello,mixture didn’t hold proper shape when I tried to cut it as it was dry by the time I transferred even when hot..and some of it became powder.Taste was good 🙂
swasthi says
Hi Chandana,
The mixture got over cooked. It should have been removed from the pan a bit earlier. Do give another try with half the quantity and remove little earlier. Hope this helps
Namit Arora says
Can I change the quantity of sugar?Thanks for this great recipe.
swasthi says
Welcome Namit Arora
You can make the recipe by reducing the sugar to 1.25 cups and skipping oil completely. But the texture of mysore pak will change and it will not turn porous, light with a sight crunch. It will turn just like any other burfi but not mysore pak. I think you should go ahead and try the recipe as it is.
Jayanthi says
Hi Swasthi,
Superb Mysore pak recipe. As a kid I would watch a halwai making this in our backyard for special occasions. Always remember ghee overflowing on the mysore pak. Assumed it is made that way. When I saw this recipe i gave a quick try and just loved the way it turned out. Stunning texture. Thank you.
swasthi says
Hi Jayanthi,
Thanks for trying and the comment too. The excess ghee is usually absorbed by the mysore pak.
Soumya says
Wow! 😮 I & my MIL ventured into making this mysore pak. It came out so good In fact better than the sweet shop mysore pak. Thanks for sharing the recipe
swasthi says
Welcome Soumya
So glad to know it came out good. Thank you very much for the comment. You made my day!
🙂
Anu says
Looks gorgeous!!! Will be trying it soon. I tried a lot of your recipes and they all turned awesome. Thank you
swasthi says
Welcome Anu
Thanks for trying. Yes do try the mysore pak.
Hema says
I made these yesterday with the hope they will come out good. They turned out Fantastic. Thank you and keep inspiring us!
swasthi says
Welcome Hema
Very happy to know mysore pak came out good. Thank you so much
Jaya says
My mysore pak turned out awesome. Too good. I had friends home and it vanished in less than 30 minutes. I also made many recipes from here and they turn out awesome always. Thanks a lot for putting up your recipes online.
swasthi says
Welcome Jaya
Thanks for trying
Gayathri says
I have never tried this because I don’t like Mysore pak even though I am a sweet lover. It came very nice n the quantities of ingredients are perfectly said. Now I became a Mysore pak lover ?.
Thanks for the recipe.
swasthi says
Welcome Gayathri
Thanks for trying and the comment.
I guess earlier you didn’t like mysore pak either since it is too hard & crunchy or it is too soft.
I too never like something like that. This one is good with a light and just perfect texture.
Vinitha says
I tried this..but the mixture became too powdery n didnt came out as pieces.Followed exact measurements as mentioned.what would have went wrong?Can u suggest.
swasthi says
Hi Vinitha,
You have overcooked the mixture hence it turned powdery. Leaving it in the pan even for a few seconds once it is done will overcook the mixture and ruin it. Give another try and make sure you don’t overcook. When the mixture turns porous transfer it to the tray quickly.
Mohini says
Nice…
Tina says
Came out very very good. Thanks a lot. Keep posting
shamanth says
Hello. I did as shown it came good and i used less oil but it was good
Thank you
swasthi says
Hi Shamanth
Happy to know it turned out good. Can you please share exactly how much ghee and how much oil you used. It will help others if they want to reduce.
shamanth says
Well i used 100 gm of ghee and 100 oil for 250 grm besan flour and sugar
swasthi says
Thanks for sharing. I make soft mysore pak like sri krishna sweets which comes close to the proportions mentioned by you but it is made with only ghee, so turns soft. Thanks again for your time.