ExpressExoticDailyCooking

Malpua (Fennel Pancake)

Hi All,

Holi is just round the corner and from the part of the country I come, Malpua is a must on this day. I have always cherished this dish, though I must admit I am not a sweet tooth person but I like this mildly sweet and flavored with traditional fennel seeds Malpua.

Ingredients.

Khoya (Solidified milk) 1/2 Cup Maida (all Purpose Flour) 1/2 Cup Milk 500 ml Fennel Seeds 1- 1/2 Tsp Saffron few Strands Sugar 1 Cup Water 2 cups Ghee (Clarified Butter) 1 cup

Method

Grate the khoya.

Heat the milk and should be warm enough but not boiling. Add ½ cup to the grated Khoya and mix it well. All the lumps should disappear.

One you make a smooth paste add the flour/Maida. Mix it well. At this point your batter will become lumpy once again. Now keep adding little milk at a time and mix it well to make a fine batter. Ensure that the batter is of dosa/Pancake consistency. If you need little more milk (i.e. more than 500ml) add but ensure it’s of pouring consistency. If your batter is thick you will get a thick center and will not soak the sugar syrup well. So please keep an eye on the batter consistency. It should neither be runny nor very thick. 

Add the fennel seeds and let the batter sit for 10 minutes.

In the meanwhile make the sugar syrup. Bring the water to a boil and add the sugar. Let it boil.

You should take out few drops and check when cooled, the syrup should be slightly slimy and just about sticking your fingers when you pinch them. Once you reach this stage shut the heat and add the saffron strands to the syrup and let it cool.

Next you take a nonstick frying pan and add the ghee (clarified butter). Let the ghee heat up and now after reducing the flame pour the flour batter in small round shapes and let it fry. Flip it to the other side only when you start seeing brown edges around the corner.  PLEASE NOTE: FRY IT IN LOW FLAME ONLY OTHERWISE IT WILL NOT GET COOKED UNIFORMLY.

One more thing to check is; when you pour the batter on the pan, the Malpua (Pancake) should not solidify or thicken in the center. If so then your batter need to be thinned little bit by adding more milk.

Once the Malpuas (Pancakes) are fried remove them and cool them for few minutes and then dip them in the sugar syrup. Keep it dipped for 2 minutes only and then remove the Malpua (Pancake) and keep it aside where you want to store. At this point your Malpua (Pancake) will be crispy and you might feel the syrup is not soaked enough but the syrup which is already on the Malpua (Pancake) will get soaked.

Serve it garnished with slithered pistachios and almonds .

Always serve this dish hot and you can also accompany the same with some vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy your Holi with these mouth watering Malpuas.

Thank you