Mysore Pak

Ingredients

• 150g fine gram flour (besan), sifted
• 300g caster sugar
• 120ml water
• 300g ghee
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Before you cook

• Sift the gram flour twice so there are no lumps at all.
• Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper and brush it generously with ghee.
• Set a bowl of cold water and a small plate beside the hob for testing the syrup.

Steps

1. Melt the ghee in a small pan over a low heat and keep it hot on the back of the hob. Cold ghee will seize the mixture, so it must stay liquid and hot throughout.
2. Set a dry heavy pan over a low heat and add the sifted gram flour.
3. Roast the flour for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it smells nutty but has barely changed colour, then tip it into a bowl.
4. Stir 4 tablespoons of the hot ghee into the roasted flour to make a loose, lump-free paste. This step is what stops lumps forming later.
5. Put the sugar and water in a wide heavy-bottomed pan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.
6. Boil the syrup without stirring for 5 to 7 minutes, until it reaches the one-thread stage. Test it by lifting a little between finger and thumb, cooled first in cold water, and looking for a single thread that holds as you pull them apart.
7. Turn the heat to low and pour the gram flour paste into the syrup in a steady stream, whisking hard the whole time.
8. Keep stirring for 3 minutes as the mixture thickens and turns glossy.
9. Add the hot ghee about two tablespoons at a time, stirring after each addition and waiting until the ghee is fully absorbed before adding more.
10. Continue in this way for 12 to 15 minutes. The mixture will froth, then swell with tiny bubbles, and finally start refusing to take any more ghee, with a little pooling at the edges.
11. Watch for the moment the mass turns porous and lifts cleanly away from the sides of the pan in one lump. This is the point of no return, so have the tin ready.
12. Stir in the cardamom and pour the mixture into the prepared tin immediately, without scraping the pan.
13. Tap the tin once on the worktop to level the surface.
14. Wait 5 minutes, then score the slab into squares with a greased knife while it is still warm.
15. Leave the mysore pak to cool for 30 minutes before breaking the pieces apart along the score lines.