Mysore Pak in world's top 50 street foods sweets list: All you need to know about 100-year-old sweet which was first made for The Maharaja of Mysore

As far as sweets are concerned, every town in India has its own specialties. But among them, Mysore Pak, which was invented in the royal kitchen of Mysore kings, has carved a niche for itself in the international market while highlighting the rich culinary heritage of India. Recently, Mysore Pak was ranked 14th among the 50 best street-food sweets worldwide making Karnataka proud again.

 

 

With a rating of 4.4, Mysore Pak is among the top 50 snacks in the world on the online market.

 

Taste Atlas has released its Top 50 list of the world's best street food sweets, in which Mysore Pak has been ranked 14th with a rating of 4.4 while Kulfi has been ranked 18th with a rating of 4.3 followed by Faluda ranked 32nd with a rating of 4.0.

 

 

This Mysuru cuisine was born during the reign of Mysore kings. 90-years-ago, Madappa, the royal chef in the Wodeyar kingdom of Mysuru, one day noticed that there was no dessert or sweet dish on the plate when the then-king Krishna Raja Wadiyar as he sat for dinner. And that is when he got an idea, he prepared a mixture of sugar-ghee-peanut flour. The sweet dish was highly praised by the Maharaja.

 

Speaking to ANI, Shivananda, grandson of Tatsar Madappa, the man who invented Mysore Pak, said, “It’s a proud thing for every Kannadiga, especially for Mysorains. It’s also great news for every Indian. Mysore Pak was invented during King Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. My grandfather Tatsar Madappa used to prepare Mysore Pak whenever guests used to come home. When king asked what's the name, they didn't have a name for it. Later the king named it Mysore (place) and Pak (sweet). Since then people started calling it Mysore Pak. we are continuing same sweetness, trend and tradition.”

 

“Kannadigas are proud that Mysore Pak was first prepared in our Mysore. Mysore betel nut, Mysore silk, Mysore jasmine have also gained international fame. All these products will be exported from Mysore to the country and abroad. Mysore is also one of the favourite places in the world. Mysore is known as the city of palaces. Every day thousands of people come here to enjoy the beauty of this place,” he added.

 

The deputy chief minister of Karnataka DK Shivakumar took to Twitter on Friday and shared his happiness over Mysore Pak being named among the world's best street food sweets. "Kannadigas are proud that Mysore Pak has been ranked 14th among the world's top 50 street sweets published by Taste Atlas. My childhood memories of sharing mysore pak when my father and relatives who came home often brought me still. The hard work and skill of millions of chefs lies behind the Mysore Pak, which was born in the Mysore Palace and reaches every household today. All of them deserve credit for this," he tweeted.

 

 

 

The Mysore Pak was first prepared by Kakasura Madappa. This sweet was prepared when Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV was the king of the erstwhile Mysore. Kakasura Madappa was the chief chef of the Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and was known for preparing the sweets.

Once he prepared a special sweet by using the ghee, gram flour and sugar. Kakasura Madappa didn’t name the sweet he had prepared. It was Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV who named it as the Royal Sweet Mysore Pak. Like everything else, the history of Mysore Pak also involves an accidental discovery.

“According to our forefathers, my great grandfather was asked to prepare various sweets for the guests. While preparing other sweets he tried a new combination which eventually becomes royal sweet,” said Kumar and his brother Shivanand.

The king loved the sweet so much so that he wanted the public to get a taste of this royal delicacy and hence asked Madappa to open a sweet shop outside the premises of the place. This could be the beginning of Guru Sweets as well.

According to Kumar, they have all the documents to show that this sweet is prepared first in the kitchens of the Mysuru Palace. Even though Mysore Pak is an Iconic dish from Karnataka, no Geographical Indication (GI) tag has been conferred to this product yet as it is a generic product.