Gulab Pak – A classic fudge made-with fragrant heirloom roses

A few years back if you had asked me to buy a cookbook in Gujarati ( my mother-tongue) I would have never listened to you. If you told me to make any mithai that looked like burfi or peda I would have frowned upon the idea. Making mawa from scratch was an unappealing option simply because  it was easily available in the market and after all, I never wanted to make mithai that used mawa!! Well, that was me. Someone who ate regular food, knew how to cook it but never preferred  to cook. Although I love the overly sweet Indian mithais,  I  never dared making it. I still call myself chashni (string consistency sugar syrup that is so integral to firming up of the Indian sweets) challenged. My inability to get the chashni right is one thing that prevents me to try making Indian sweets at home. The past couple of years have been different though.  The reason for this transformation is this blog I write. I have now begun working to overcome my chashni handicap hopefully, will  begin  making all those pak and burfis with confidence pretty soon. The more I explore, the more I fall in love with my foods.  The discoveries have helped me respect, appreciate and cherish the people surrounding our foods and food practices. I do not run away from Gujarati or vernacular cookbooks anymore. I comprehend and deeply admire the effort that goes into making a cookbook. The quest to find documents on regional and local foods of Gujarat has lead me to acquire books by various inspiring women writers. Amongst these, I laid my hands on ‘Farsu etle Farsan’ and ‘Gadyu etlu Gadyu’ by the co-sisters-in law Rukshmaniben Danthi and Binduben Danthi is a treasure. The family has its roots in Kutch and the books share numerous recipes native to that region. The tremendous efforts they have put in to document all that they have learnt from their mother-in-law plus more does calls for applause. The books are remarkable in all aspects. Simple, lucid, extensive, educative and very carefully written. I also spoke the Binduben who briefed me about their compendium of 4 cookbooks. I plan to speak to her about the recipes I have made from their books to share here on the blog. Will update this blog post once that interaction happens.

Gulab Pak, the recipe I share here today is native to Kutch. I first tasted Gulab Pak almost a decade ago during one of our visits to Bhuj. A very popular mithai shop called Khavda sweets sells the best Gulab Pak in the region. I was told they have special farms that supply desi gulab to make the Gulab Pak. The salesman also took pride in saying their sweet isn’t made from the discarded roses offered at the temples (which might be the case). So when I read the recipe of Gulab Pak in Gadyu Etlu Gadyu I couldn’t resist the urge of making it by myself. It had my attention also because it did not require any chashni.  All I needed were some good pesticide-free roses. I did manage to find both red and pink roses in Avani’s garden. Good quality desi roses aren’t an easy find, in Ahmedabad, most gardens face frequent invasions by langur monkeys and tender rose leaves and buds are amongst their favourite foods. Desi roses are available at the flower markets, but their quality is highly questionable given the number of pesticides that get sprayed on them.

The recipe is easy to make once you have mawa/khoya is place. I have made this Gulab Pak using homemade mawa. I urge you to make it with good quality milk, I made it with Amul’s buffalo milk and the result was fabulous danedar mawa. Once you have mawa in place the recipe is a breeze. I did not feel the need to add slivered nuts to it, but if you want you may use them for garnish.

Remember, the mithai continues to cook as it cools so turn off the heat once you see some bubbles at the bottom.

Hope you get to make this gorgeous Gulab Pak this festive season…

❤️