{"id":8483,"date":"2026-10-26T18:39:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:39:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/?post_type=sweetlore&p=8483"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:50:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T09:50:46","slug":"mysore-pak","status":"publish","type":"sweetlore","link":"https:\/\/parade.kyoto\/en\/sweetlore\/mysore-pak\/","title":{"rendered":"Mysore Pak"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mysore Pak (\u0cae\u0cc8\u0cb8\u0cc2\u0cb0\u0cc1 \u0caa\u0cbe\u0c95\u0ccd) is a South Indian sweet made mainly from chickpea flour, sugar and ghee. It is best known cut into squares, and its yellow-to-brown cross-section may show fine holes or be densely packed and smooth. Chickpea flour, sugar syrup and fat are cooked together in a pan, then transferred to a mold to be shaped.<\/p>\n

In what order to combine the three ingredients<\/h2>\n

The main ingredient, besan, is flour ground from chickpeas. Ghee, milk fat with water and milk solids removed, adds a rich flavor of fat to the chickpea flour. The sugar syrup provides sweetness and also helps hold the sweet together once it is taken out of the pan.<\/p>\n

Methods differ in their order. In a recipe (ingredient proportions and method) published by an international pulse-industry association, melted ghee and besan are first mixed until free of lumps. Sugar and water are boiled in a separate pan to a consistency that forms a thin thread between the fingers, and the chickpea flour and ghee mixture is added to it little by little. It is cooked with constant stirring until the whole mass puffs up and pulls away from the sides of the pan.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, a Karnataka state cuisine guide also includes a method in which sifted chickpea flour is combined with the syrup and warmed oil and ghee are added. Whether the flour and fat are mixed in advance or combined in the pan, the work is repeated so that no lumps of flour remain and the flour is blended evenly into the syrup and fat.<\/p>\n

The cooked mixture is transferred to a greased plate or mold. One method is to score it while it is still hot and then cut it apart along those lines once it has cooled completely. This is because its firmness differs between when it is poured into the mold and when it has cooled enough to be removed. Cutting it into neat, square-cornered pieces without breaking the crumbly edges is also part of finishing this sweet.<\/p>\n

\n\"Cross-section\n
A piece of Mysore Pak (April 26, 2007; location unknown). The cut surface shows a texture with fine grains and holes. Photo: Charles Haynes\uff0fWikimedia Commons<\/a>\uff0fCC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>. Downscaled version obtained from Commons. No content alterations or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Versions with fine holes, and dense, smooth versions<\/h2>\n

Mysore Pak comes in a crumbly, porous form and a smooth, dense form that melts in the mouth. Each differs in how it breaks apart when bitten and in how the fat spreads across the palate. The state cuisine guide also lists both as varieties of the same sweet.<\/p>\n

Precisely because there are only three ingredients, differences in proportions and heating show clearly. The amount of ghee, how far the syrup is reduced and at what point the mixture is taken off the heat after mixing all affect the state of the product. Each shop\u2019s proportions and degree of cooking create a range of firmness and mouthfeel. At Guru Sweets in Mysuru, at the time of an interview with the family in 2021, the shop offered a grainy, firmer version made with a solid vegetable fat called vanaspati, and a soft, smooth version made with ghee. The choice of fat, too, creates different textures within the same shop.<\/p>\n

The counter at Guru Sweets displayed six varieties: ghee, ghee and milk, jaggery, almond, dried fruit and cashew. Beyond the fat, customers can also choose flavors that vary the sweetener or the nuts. Jaggery is a minimally refined brown sweetener and offers an option that adds a flavor different from sugar.<\/p>\n

Some versions add cardamom, and some methods use oil together with ghee, but the basic principle of cooking besan, sugar or another sweetener, and fat is shared.<\/p>\n

\n\"Mysore\n
The counter at Sangam in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Bengaluru (August 2, 2026). Mysore Pak is arranged in takeaway containers. Photo: Gpkp\uff0fWikimedia Commons<\/a>\uff0fCC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Downscaled version obtained from Commons. No content alterations or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n
\n\"A\n
An item the same shop sells under the name Crispy Mysore Pak (August 2, 2026). Pieces with conspicuous fine holes are displayed separately from the neighboring product. Photo: Gpkp\uff0fWikimedia Commons<\/a>\uff0fCC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Downscaled version obtained from Commons. No content alterations or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

A story tied to the Mysuru court<\/h2>\n

Mysore, in the name, is the city in Karnataka now written as Mysuru, Mys\u016bru and in other forms. The sweet\u2019s origin is tied to the kitchens of the palace there. According to legend, the court cook Kakasura Madappa created a new sweet from chickpea flour, sugar and ghee and served it to the king.<\/p>\n

The court best known in this story is that of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV. One telling says that when the king asked the sweet\u2019s name, it was named after the city, but accounts differ on who gave it the name on that occasion. This story is a family origin account handed down around the palace kitchen and the name of the craftsman.<\/p>\n

Pak, or paaka, is a word used in connection with sugar syrup and cooking. In the sweet\u2019s name, it is joined to the name of the city to mark a local specialty. At Guru Sweets, which carries on that lineage, fourth-generation brothers have made sweets in a kitchen near their home and sold them at a shopfront in the market. Visitors come both to eat the warm sweets on the spot and to have them boxed as souvenirs. Today, the sweets of a shop that carries the story of a court origin can be eaten at the market or taken home.<\/p>\n

\n\"Ghee\n
Ghee Mysore Pak (November 13, 2020; location unknown). Yellow pieces are arranged on a plate and in a wooden box and photographed together with a lit lamp. Photo: Vaidehi Pujary\uff0fWikimedia Commons<\/a>\uff0fCC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>. Downscaled version obtained from Commons. No content alterations or cropping on our part.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Smooth Mysurpa, developed in Coimbatore<\/h2>\n

In Coimbatore, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Sri Krishna Sweets developed a smooth, melt-in-the-mouth Mysurpa into its signature product. According to the history told by the family\u2019s second generation, this Mysurpa is a product the founder created through repeated trials while expanding the business from a small eatery started in 1948. It is known as this shop\u2019s product, one that puts the flavor of milk fat and a texture that melts away at the forefront.<\/p>\n

In 1996 the shop also opened in Chennai, expanding sales to gifts brought on visits and to festival sweet boxes. Packaging that holds the sweets neatly was refined again and again, and the sweet\u2019s use expanded from something eaten at the shop to the contents of boxes given to others. Today it is made not only within Karnataka but throughout South India, and it is served at weddings, festivals and celebrations for expectant mothers. The sweet bearing the city\u2019s name has spread to many places, and items with different textures have come to be made within each shop\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

Glossary<\/h2>\n

Besan<\/strong>: Chickpea flour. In Mysore Pak, it is the main ingredient combined with syrup and fat.<\/p>

Ghee<\/strong>: Milk fat with water and milk solids removed. It affects the sweet\u2019s flavor and mouthfeel.<\/p>

Kakasura Madappa<\/strong>: The cook said to have made Mysore Pak at the Mysuru court.<\/p>

Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV<\/strong>: The king of Mysuru linked to the court origin of Mysore Pak.<\/p>

Paaka<\/strong>: A word related to sugar syrup and cooking. It is linked to the second half of the sweet\u2019s name.<\/p>

Vanaspati<\/strong>: A solid vegetable fat used in Indian cooking and confectionery.<\/p>

Guru Sweets<\/strong>: A sweet shop in Mysuru that carries on the lineage of the court cook\u2019s family.<\/p>

Sri Krishna Sweets<\/strong>: A sweet shop that began in Coimbatore. It developed smooth Mysurpa into its signature product.<\/p>

Mysurpa<\/strong>: The name of the smooth, melt-in-the-mouth product offered by Sri Krishna Sweets.<\/p>

Jaggery<\/strong>: A minimally refined sugar made by boiling down the juice of sugarcane or similar plants. In this article, it is the name used in Guru Sweets\u2019 product labeling.<\/p>

References<\/h2>\n
  1. Karnataka Tourism, \u201cCuisine of Karnataka\u201d<\/a> \u2014 p.40 and the recipe: ingredients, the two textures and the process.<\/li>
  2. Mysuru District, \u201cMysuru Specialities\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Lore about the court and the sweet.<\/li>
  3. Global Pulse Confederation, \u201cMysore Pak\u201d<\/a> \u2014 Ingredients, syrup, mixing, molding and cutting.<\/li>
  4. Uttarakhand Open University, \u201cRegional Cuisines of India II,\u201d p.223<\/a> \u2014 Uses in celebrations.<\/li>
  5. The New Indian Express, \u201cHow Mysore Pak became south India\u2019s pioneer sweet,\u201d 2021<\/a> \u2014 Interview with the people behind Guru Sweets; differences in texture depending on the fat.<\/li>
  6. Confederation of Indian Industry, \u201cInspirational Entrepreneurs,\u201d pp.41\u201344<\/a> \u2014 Interview with Sri Krishna Sweets; the trials behind Mysurpa and gift packaging.<\/li>
  7. mar, \u201cGuru Sweet Mart\u201d (on-site visit account)<\/a> \u2014 Varieties at the shop counter and the purchasing experience, from an on-site visit account.<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Mysore Pak (\u0cae\u0cc8\u0cb8\u0cc2\u0cb0\u0cc1 \u0caa\u0cbe\u0c95\u0ccd) is a South Indian sweet made mainly from chickpea flour, sugar and ghee. It is best known cut into squares, and its yellow-to-brown cross-section may show fine holes or be densely packed and smooth. Chickpea flour, sugar syrup and fat are cooked together in a pan, then transferred to a mold to be shaped.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7548,"menu_order":254,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_parade_sweetlore_meta":{"en":"Mysore Pak","subtitle":"A sweet of chickpea flour, ghee and sugar syrup cooked together","topics":"Chickpea flour, sugar syrup and ghee\uff0fPorous versus dense, melt-in-the-mouth textures\uff0fA story tied to the Mysuru court","country":"Mysuru, Karnataka, India","show_toc":true,"ingredients":[],"texture":[],"occasion":[],"method":["cooked"],"season":[]},"footnotes":""},"sweetlore_category":[159],"class_list":["post-8483","sweetlore","type-sweetlore","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"sweetlore_related_products":null,"sweetlore_related_faqs":null,"sweetlore_related_voices":null,"sweetlore_related_mode":"auto","sweetlore_related_articles":null},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t