Khana Pakana

This is an English translation of Chef Afzal Nizami's video presentation of the technique of making Pateesa, a deliciously flaky dessert. The ingredient list includes American measurements in parentheses. KhanaPakana team cordially thanks Feryall Rahman for composing this recipe and sharing it with all the Soan Papri lovers.

1. Have ready one baking pan or tray filled with room temperature, not cold, water.

2. Mix flour, besan and ghee in a pot over very low heat, stirring continuously for about 15-20 minutes. Do not allow to scorch or acquire color. As soon as aroma of ghee and cooking is released, remove from heat. Place on tray filled with water to cool, but continue stirring for 5 more minutes or so to prevent possible scorching, as contents will still be hot. Remove pot from tray bath and set aside once cooled.

3. Have ready a bowl with water and a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth.

4. In a separate pot, add sugar and water over medium heat to make sugar syrup. The syrup will be cooked to hard crack stage, the stage for making brittles. (300° F–310° F/150° C–155° C; sugar concentration: 99% with almost no water left in the syrup) To prevent crystallization along the sides, keep wiping the edge where the syrup meets the pot with a damp, not wet, wad of clean towel, dipped into a bowl of water and squeezed. Do not allow any water to drip to the sugar, as you are trying to reduce the water in the sugar syrup.

5. Add the liquid glucose before the sugar reaches the hard crack stage, about 5-7 minutes into cooking the sugar. Continue cooking syrup to just as it reaches the hard crack stage. (As the syrup reaches soft-crack stage, the bubbles on top will become smaller, thicker, and closer together. When syrup reaches hard crack stage, syrup dropped into ice water separates into hard, brittle threads that break when bent. Remove pot from heat while testing!)

6. Pour sugar onto second (clean and dry) baking tray or pan, and place pan over tray that was filled with water for the flour mixture to cool. Change water in cooling tray with room temperature water when water in it gets too warm. As sugar cools, check for consistency by trying to lift the sugar from one corner with the skewer. Eventually the sugar will cool enough to lift and fold on itself to gather into a ball. Lift up the sugar from the cooled edges and fold into the center a few times as the edges cool. Do not puncture the center, which will still be hot. Care must be taken during the whole process that no water comes in contact with the sugar syrup.

7. Meanwhile, while the sugar cools, mix in the food color (smallest amount to get a pale yellow color) and the crushed cardamom with the flour mixture. Now add the sugar ball, and using the skewers, incorporate sugar into flour mixture by folding and lifting and mixing. Keep folding and kneading (for those with hardy palms – the sugar is still quite hot) to form layers, until it resembles dough and starts to ball.

8. Place on a flat tray or plate, and spread using a rolling pin. Let cool slightly. Scatter slivered pistachios on top and roll gently to press in pistachios.

9. Periodically lift edges gently and place back. The bottom should start to look flaky. Do not cut until COMPLETELY cool, or pateesa will not flake properly.

10. Cut into squares when completely cool. Store in airtight container, wrapped in parchment paper.