FUDGE - PAK
Doodh Pak
2-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup rice
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp chopped peanuts
1 tbsp silvered almonds
1 tbsp chopped pistas
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
Heat milk in a heavy saucepan. When it boils, stir in the rice. Simmer for 1/2 hour, stirring frequently. Add sugar and nuts. Continue cooking until mixture has thickened. Offer hot or cold sprinkled with cardamom.
Goondh Pak
1 cup Goondh (edible gum) crushed not too fine
1-1/4 cups Almonds crushed not too fine
1-1/4 cups Dessicated coconut grated
1 cup Ghee (clarified butter)
1-1/2 cups Sugar
1 tbsp. Wheat flour
1 tsp. Cardamom powder
Put almonds, coconut, and cardamom in a large shallow dish. Make syrup of 2-1/2 thread or soft ball consistency. Heat ghee in a large heavy pan. Add wheat flour and fry lightly till pinkish. Add gum crystals, allow to pop completely, stirring continuously. Take off fire, crush them lightly with a wooden mallet or base of a steel cup. Add to dry mixture. Add hot syrup (not boiling) to mixture. Mix well with 2 spatulas till it thickens. Press down into a greased walled plate or tray, about 1" thick. Allow to cool to warm before marking and cutting squares or diamonds. Cool and pry out carefully, store in airtight container until ready to offer.
Karnataka Kaju Mysore Pak
1/3 cup cashewnuts, powdered
1/3 cup plain flour (maida)
1/2 cup melted ghee, warm
1/2 teaspoon cardamom (elaichi) powder
3/4 cup sugar
For pouring into the flour mixture:
3-1/2 cups melted ghee, hot
In a bowl, combine the cashewnuts, flour, ghee and cardamom powder and mix well. Set aside. In another pan, combine the sugar with 1/3 cup of water and bring to a boil. Simmer till the syrup is of 1 string consistency. Add the cashewnuts and flour mixture and mix well, over a slow flame, stirring in one direction. Pour the hot ghee, a little at a time, from a height so that it trickles in a thin stream into the cashewnut mixture. Keep stirring with a ladle in a clockwise direction, adding larger quantities of the ghee towards the end. When the Mysore pak expands and some ghee separates, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of cold water on the pak. If it is ready, the Mysore pak will sizzle indicating that it is ready to be poured out. Pour the mixture into a tray or a thali approximately 4" in diameter. The sides of the thali should be at least 2" high. Allow it to set a little. Then, crack a small hole on one side and drain out all the excess ghee. Approximately 2 to 2 1/2 cups will get drained out. Cut into 12 squares and store in an air-tight container.
Mysore Badam Pak
Badam (Almonds) - 10 to 12
Besan - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 2 cups
Ghee - ¼ cup
Soak about 10 - 12 almonds in boiling water for an hour. Peel and grind into a fine paste adding very little water. In a dry pan, fry the besan until it is slightly brown in color. Heat up a heavy bottomed pan and add the ground almond paste and sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. When it thickens, add the besan and stir continuously. Simultaneously, heat up 1/4 cup ghee and when it starts to smoke, pour over the besan - sugar - almond mixture and mix uniformly. Reduce the heat to low and keep stirring until the sweet becomes porous. (When poured using a spoon, it should fall as a semi-solid and not flow uniformly). Immediately remove from the heat and pour over a greased plate. Tap the plate gently a few times for the sweet to settle uniformly. While it is still warm, cut into diamond shaped pieces. If you like, sprinkle 1 tsp sugar all over the top, before cutting, then offer.
Mysore Pak
Bengal gram flour 1 cup
Sugar 2 cups
Ghee 2 cups
Water as needed
Grease a plate evenly with ghee and set aside. Heat 1 cup ghee, add the Bengal gram flour, stir well and keep aside. Heat the sugar on a low heat, adding sufficient water to just cover the sugar. Make a syrup of one string consistency. Strain the syrup to remove the scum. Meanwhile heat the remaining one cup ghee. Add the Bengal gram flour-ghee mixture to the sugar syrup and keep stirring on a low heat to remove lumps if any. Gradually add the remaining heated ghee and keep stirring till the ghee separates and floats on top. When the mixture froths up, pour quickly onto a greased plate and shake the plate gently to spread the Mysore Pak. When it is partly cooled, cut into pieces with a sharp greased knife. 9. Store in an airtight container.
