Malpua (without Khoya or Mawa)

It's Indian pancakes served as dessert alone but most of times with Rabri or Vanilla ice cream. It is a quite popular dessert in the north India, Bangladesh and Nepal. A lot times it is flavored with fruits like bananas, pineapple, mangoes, even coconuts.

The most commonly found are the simple Malpuas made with Khoya or Mawa and crushed Fennel seeds. We can use condensed milk too but today I have made Malpuas using Milk powder.

Ingredients :

for malpua

• 1/2 cup (60 grams) All purpose flour or Maida

• 1/2 cup (60 grams) Milk powder

• 2 tbsp Samolina or suji

• 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds or Saunf (I used the homemade saunf powder. We can also use crushed seeds too)

• 1 tbsp Powdered sugar

• a pinch Salt

• 1 cup Milk (room temperature)

• Ghee or Oil for frying ( I used both together)

for sugar syrup

• 1 tsp Cardamom

• 1 cup (250 grams) Sugar

• 1/2 cup Water

Method :

• Mix all the dry ingredients - maida, milk poder, suji, powdered sugar, salt and fennel seeds (or powder) in a bowl. Sieve the powdered sugar before adding as it absorbs moisture from the air and forms hard lumps.

• Whisk together and add the milk little by little to make a batter. Add 3/4 a cup first and check the consistency before adding the rest. I used the full 1 cup milk. (Malpuas can be made thick or thin. If you like them fluffy and thick then the consistency of batter must be slightly thicker but of pouring consistency. If you like them very thin then make a free flowing batter.) Cover and rest then batter for half an hour.

• In a pan heat the oil or ghee on medium flame. Using a spoon pour a spoonful in it and let it cook. As it cooks it will come up and float.

• Using a ladle splash the oil on the top of the Malpuas. Turn it upside down to fry on both sides. These should puff like the poories. The semolina which we added will keep the sides crisp.

• Fry them till they are golden brown in color and then drain the Malpuas onto the kitchen tissues or towel to remove excess oil.

• In another pan make the sugar syrup by heating the sugar and water together till the sugar melts. Add a 1 tsp milk to it to check for any impurities.

• Strain the syrup (use a meter strainer) and keep back for boiling. Add cardamom or saffron =, whichever you have at home and wait till it comes to one thread consistency.

• Keep checking the consistency in between. For checking the consistency touch the syrup with a clean forefinger and then touch your thumb and forefinger together and pull apart gently. (One-thread consistency is when a single thread is formed and does not break when your forefinger and your thumb are pulled apart gently.)

• Soak the Malpuas for 10 minutes in the hot sugar syrup. Make sure that they have been soaked up on the both sides well.

• Then take them out on a serving plate (very gently if your Malpuas are thin) and garnish them with pistachios or any other nuts of your liking.