malpua (syrupy Indian pancakes) rabdi and holi

Saffronstreaks wishes its readers a very Happy Holi.

Malpuas, the delectable Indian sweet , fennel scented fluffy Indian pancakes drenched in sugary syrup and when served along with rabri becomes heavenly delicious, a deadly combo which can never go wrong and make the festival of color and joy all the more delicious and sweet.

sweet syrupy malpua served with apple rabdi

Malpua enjoys a very strong integral relationship with Holi and there is a small story behind it.

“In early 16th century Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a Hindu saint and social reformer in eastern India, and one of the proponenet of Bhakti movement once visited Vrindavan where he observed this festival of Holi. Later after returning to Bengal, he wants to introduce the festival but in a different version. He named it “dolyatra” and told his disciple to go to Lord Krishna’s temple and apply red color to Krishna and play with color among themselves. And those who gave red color to others will also feed them with malpua / malpoa, the delectable sweet. The concept behind this festival is that the very thought of Krishna filled the people’s mind with joy, and these vibrations also produce a corresponding vibrations in Krishna’s mind. Thus spreading the ripples of love and joy and that signifies the festival of color -Holi.”

Adapted from the verses of Shri Shri Anandamurti, published in the Speakingtree.

There are lots of versions of making Malpua , but I follows the one which is being traditionally being made at our home during Holi (or dol purnima as we call it in Bengali).

Malpua

Print Recipe

Bengali rice flour malpua (syrupy Indian pancakes) with rabdi

Fluffy syrupy deep fried Indian pancakes served with apple rabri, a delicious dessert for festive ocassions like Holi.

Prep Time7 mins

Cook Time1 hr 20 mins

Resting Time6 hrs

Total Time7 hrs 27 mins

Course: Sweet Dish

Cuisine: Bengali, Indian

Keyword: Bengali Malpua Recipe, Malpua recipe with rice flour, rice flour malpua

Servings: 12 malpuas

Author: Sukanya Ghosh

Ingredients

• Oil and ghee for deep frying
• Pistachio nuts for garnishing

For Malpua / Pancakes batter

• 1 cup Rice flour
• 1 ¼ cup Milk plus if requires more
• ¼ cup Sugar
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp Roasted fennel seeds / saunf

For Sugar syrup

• 2 cup Sugar
• 1 cup Water
• Rose essence / saffron
• 2-3 Cardamoms

For Apple Rabri

• 500 ml Milk
• 1 cup Apple grated, peeled and cored
• 1 tsp Cornflour
• ½ cup Soaked almonds and pistachios for garnishing

Instructions

How to make syrup

• Warm a deep bottom vessel and prepare the syrup by mixing water and sugar with a dash of rose essence or throw few strands of saffron in it.
• Sprinkle the cardamom and keep on boiling on medium heat first and then lower the heat till you get a desired consistency of two thread or it should coat the back of a spoon.

How to prepare the malpua batter

• In a wide mixing bowl, sift the rice flour with salt.
• Dissolve the sugar in milk and add the milk at room temperature to the flour mix.
• Keep on blending till no lumps are visible and the batter should have a pouring consistency, neither too thick nor too thin.
• Sprinkle the roasted fennel seeds all over it and mix lightly.
• Keep the batter to sit for 6 hour or overnight. Malpua batter will slightly get fermented and will become lighter.

Deep frying the pancakes / malpua

• Now heat the required oil for deep frying the malpuas. Oil should be smoking hot and check the temperature by drop few drops of batter in it. It should not stick to the bottom and should gradually come to the surface of oil.
• Once you are convinced about the oil, with the help of a flat spoon, add the batter, half or a spoonful of batter should be right.
• It should form a circular pancakes on its own.
• Flip the side once it is evenly browned and remember to flip only once.
• Drain the excess oil on a tissue paper and dunked in warm syrup for 30 seconds. Remove it and place it on a serving plate.
• Continue with the batter and this measurement will yield around 10 -12 malpuas.
• Garnish the malpuas with pistachio nuts and serve warm or cold.
• You can dunk the malpuas in syrup or can have it dry or to make it more delectable by serving it with rabri.

How to make apple rabri

• Boil the milk till it reduced to its 1/4th measure.
• Dissolve the cornflour in one teaspoon of warm milk and mix it with the reduced milk.
• It will thicken the milk and you will get the desired texture.
• Add the grated apple in the thickened milk and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes.
• Take off from the heat and garnish with dry fruits.
• Serve alone or with the warm malpuas or jalebis.

Notes

Variations:
You can also add mashed banana in the malpua batter, to make it more delectable.
You can also make plain rabdi simply garnished with almonds and pistachios or you can try apple rabdi or mango rabdi, infused with any fruits of your choice.

Rabdi :

Rabri is the thickened and creamy milk and can be flavoured with dry fruits or even fruits.

This is the recipe of apple rabdi I have adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor’s book.

Verdict:

Malpuas were fluffy, crispy at the edges and soft in the middle, exactly the way we wanted it. Rabri was excellent and the two makes it heavenly delicious !

Enjoy the Holi, spare the water balloons, go for Eco-friendly colors, stay away from harmful chemicals. In short enjoy it in healthy way and make the event enjoyable and memorable to others also.

Happy Holi

Sukanya