Malpua / Indian Fried Pancake Recipe

Malpua is a traditional dessert popular in Indian states of Rajasthan , Uttar Pradesh , Bihar , West Bengal ,Orissa and Maharashtra. It is basically a fried pancake coated in sugar syrup and served with rabdi (sweetened thickened milk). Malpua are delicious sweet treats, soft and fluffy in the center and crisp at the edges. Dipped in sugar syrup and served warm with rabdi, this combo is simply heavenly!

There are many variations of Malpua , based on the region it is prepared. It is very popular dish in Odisha , where it is served to Lord Jagannath of Puri. The batter for malpua in some areas is prepared by crushing ripe bananas , or coconut , adding flour and water or milk. The mixture is sometimes delicately seasoned with cardamoms. It is deep fried in oil and served hot. In Odisha the malpua fritters are dipped in syrup after they are fried. The Bihar version of the dish has sugar added to the batter prior to frying. Other variations of Malpua use pineapples or mangoes instead of bananas. Bengali , Mailthili and Odia malpua is traditionally made only with thickened milk and a little flour ( sometimes rice flour instead of wheat flour). Malpua in northern India, particularly in Uttar Pradesh , Bihar and Rajasthan, don't contain fruit. The batter is made using flour, semolina, yogurt , milk , khoya. There are several variations , using some or all of these ingredients. The batter is left to stand for a few hours and then spooned into a kadhai of hot oil to form , bubbling pancake which should be crisp around the edges. The pancakes are then immersed in thick sugar syrup . Malpua is a popular sweet during Hindu festivals like Holi , Diwali , Sankranti. It is also a famous dish during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Source : Wikipedia

Malpua was on my to-do list from quite a long time. Actually i hold myself back every time i thought of making this dish , as it is very rich and heavy on calories and the recipes i looked for, called for use of all purpose flour . If you follow my blog, you must have noticed that i rarely use refined flour in my recipes and almost all my bakes replace maida with whole wheat flour. I thought of giving Malpua also a try with whole wheat flour. Results were far better than my expectations. I am not too fond of sweets , but this one proved to be far good. I have made the batter of malpua using whole wheat flour, curd , milk and khoya. Have used home made khoya as i prefer it over store bought one. Used fennel seeds and cardamom to flavor the pancakes. Again to cut down a few calories , i have shallow fried the malpua in ghee. I did not dip the malpua in sugar syrup and added little sugar to the batter before frying it instead . Finally garnished the malpua with pistachio slivers and saffron strands and served it with kesar rabdi . The rabdi malpua combo simply melted in our mouth and my family just loved it to the core. I was happy too , as i had a guilt free affair !

                                     

Holi is just around the corner so our #FoodieMondayBlogHop team decided to share Holi special recipes for #133rd week with a theme #HolyOnMyPlatter. This delectable Malpua with Kesar Rabdi is my contribution to this lovely theme. Do check out my fellow bloggers post as well for some lovely festive treats .

Preparation Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Makes : 12 pancakes

Ingredients: Measurements used 1 cup= 200 ml

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup milk or as required
• 3 tablespoon curd
• 1/4 cup Khoya ( i have used home made)
• 2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 2-3 green cardamom pods
• 2 pinches of baking soda
• Ghee for shallow frying the Malpua

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, take whole wheat flour. Add crushed fennel seeds , pounded cardamom and baking soda. Mix well.

2. In another bowl , take khoya and curd. Whisk it well to get lump free mix. Add half the quantity of milk to it and mix well. Next add sugar to it and stir until the sugar dissolves completely.

3. Add the khoya milk mix to the flour and blend well. Add the remaining milk and make a smooth , lump free batter.

4. Allow the batter to rest for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Now heat 2-3 tablespoon of ghee in a frying pan and drop spoon-full of batter in the ghee. Allow it to spread on its own. Shallow fry the pancake on low heat until the edges gets golden , now flip it slowly with the help of a slotted ladle and cook for another 1-2 minute or until it turns golden brown .

5. Using a slotted ladle, drain the malpua and keep it on a plate lined with absorbent paper. Repeat the same for rest of the batter. Keep adding little ghee after 1-2 batch of shallow frying if required.

  6. Garnish the malpua with pistachio slivers and saffron strands and serve warm with kesar rabdi.

  Notes:

• If you do not have khoya, you can substitute it with equal amount of milk powder in the recipe.
• I have shallow fried the pancakes , you may deep fry them if you wish too.
• Also i skipped the step of adding the fried malpua to sugar syrup to cut down the calories.
• The malpua tastes best when served warm with rabdi.

I hope you would love to try out this delectable dessert on Holi , if you do so, please feel free to share your feedback with us. Follow me on #Facebook , #Instagram , #Twitter and #Google+ for more recipes and new updates.

For more Holi recipes, do check my posts on 

• Gulkand Flavored Mava Gujiya

                                     

• Thandai recipe from scratch

                                  

• Colorful Matri

                                   

• Sponge Rasgulla

                                   

• Dahi Papdi Chat

                                  

• Kiwi Strawberry Orange Popsicle

                                 

• Puran Poli

                                 

• Kesar Badam Matka Kulfi