Mulayum pak
Soft gram flour fudge with nuts, edible gum and saffron milk syrup
Mulayum pak is a soft, rich Gujarati sweet of gram flour rubbed with ghee and milk (dhraba), roasted golden with puffed edible gum (gund) and plenty of nuts, then set with a saffron milk syrup. It's fragrant with cardamom, nutmeg and mace and melts in the mouth. Makes about 42 squares; serve at Diwali or keep in a tin for guests.
- Total time
- 115 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 21
Ingredients
For the dhraba
For the pak
For the syrup
To decorate
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Rub 2 tbsp ghee and 3 tbsp milk into 7 oz gram flour (besan) with your fingertips until it looks like damp breadcrumbs. Leave for 1 hour.
60 minStep 2: Push the mixture through a coarse sieve so it's evenly crumbly.
Step 3: Heat 8 oz ghee in a heavy pan over a low heat and roast the gram flour mixture, stirring all the time, until golden brown and nutty-smelling.
15 minStep 4: Add 5 ½ oz gum arabica (edible gum, gund), coarsely ground a little at a time and let it puff up in the hot ghee.
3 minStep 5: Take off the heat and stir in 6 ½ oz almonds, coarsely ground, 3 ⅛ oz pistachios, coarsely ground, 4 oz cashew nuts, coarsely ground, 5 oz desiccated coconut, 2 tbsp ground cardamom, 1 tbsp ground nutmeg and 1 tbsp ground mace. Mix well.
Step 6: Boil 10 ½ oz sugar, 3 ¼ cups milk and ¼ tsp saffron, powdered in a heavy pan, stirring now and then, to a three-thread syrup: a cooled drop pressed between thumb and finger forms three strings (see the sugar syrup recipe).
25 minStep 7: Pour the syrup into the pak mixture and mix thoroughly. Spread and press into a greased 15 × 18 cm tray.
Step 8: Decorate with 2 tbsp almond and pistachio flakes and press them in. When cool, cut into 3.5 cm squares.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 25 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mulayum pak take?
- About 115 minutes in total: 75 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 21 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
- What can I use instead of ghee?
- Butter, same amount (keep the heat a little lower, butter burns sooner).
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