Chef’s Nectar, “Malpua Rabdi” Awesome Dessert !

Ingredients for Batter

• 1 cup all purpose flour or 125 grams
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds – kept whole or crushed
• 3 to 4 green cardamoms – crushed or
• ⅓ teaspoon cardamom powder
• 3 pinches baking soda or
• ⅛ teaspoon baking soda½ cup water or 125 ml water or add as required
• 3 tablespoon khoya (mawa or dried evaporated milk solids) or about 50 grams khoya or 3 tablespoon whole milk powder
• 3 tablespoon curd (yogurt)

• 3 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter) for frying

for sugar syrup

for rabdi

• 1.25 litres milk
• 2.5 to 3 tbsp sugar
• 5 to 6 green cardamoms
• ½ tsp cardamom powder
• 2 pinches of saffron strands
• 1 tsp rose water or kewra water
• 2 tbsp almonds – blanched and sliced
• 2 tbsp pistachios – blanched and sliced

Method of making the malpua

• In a mixing bowl take 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 3 to 4 cardamoms, crushed or 1/3 tsp cardamom powder. Mix the dry ingredients well.
• Add 3 tbsp khoya and 3 tbsp curd/yogurt. Please use fresh yogurt. Instead of khoya you can also use milk powder.
• Add 1/2 cup water and begin to stir to a thick flowing batter without lumps.
• Allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile when the batter is resting blanch the almonds and pistachios in hot water. Keep them soaked in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes. Then peel and slice them. Keep aside.

Making of sugar syrup

• Also heat 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water. On a low flame simmer this mixture. Also stir well so that the sugar melts.
• You need to have a 1/2 inch string or 1 string consistency in the sugar syrup. If you cannot achieve these string consistencies than just make a sticky syrup. The sugar needs to be kept warm. For this keep the sugar syrup on a hot water bath so that it stays warm throughout and does not crystallize. Meaning keep the sugar syrup pan on a bowl or another pan filled with hot water. The hot water should touch the base of the pan containing the sugar syrup.

Making of malpua

• Heat ghee in a pan or griddle.
• When the ghee is heating up add 3 pinches soda or 1/8 tsp baking soda to the malpua batter.and mix well.
• Reduce the flame, take 2 tbsp to 3 tbsp of the batter and gently pour it on the hot ghee. Spread the batter lightly with the back of the spoon. Make 2 to 4 malpua depending on the size of the pan.
• Fry on a low to medium heat till crisp and golden flipping the malpua a couple of times.
• Drain them on paper towels to remove excess oil.

Soaking malpua to sugar syrup

• Then immediately place them in the warm sugar syrup. Gently coat the malpua with the sugar syrup with a spoon or small tongs.
• Immediately remove them and place them in a serving tray or plate. Prepare all malpua this way and coat them with the sugar syrup.
• Pour some rabri on top. Garnish with the chopped almonds and pistachios. Serve the malpua with rabdi hot. You can also just serve them coated with the sugar syrup and garnished with the dry fruits.

Making rabri to serve with malpua

• In a broad thick bottomed pan or sauce pan or a kadai take 1.25 litres of full fat whole milk and bring it first to boil.
• Lower the flame and continue to simmer the milk. Stir at intervals.
• Bring the clotted cream/malai which forms on top of the milk to the sides of the pan. Also keep on scraping the dried milk from the sides and add them back to the milk.
• Do stir and scrape often so that the milk does not get browned or burnt from the bottom as well as the sides.
• Keep on simmering, stirring, removing the clotted cream and scraping.
• Switch off when the milk has reduced and become thickened.
• Add sugar. Stir well so that the sugar dissolves.
• Next add crushed saffron or saffron powder along with kewra water (pandanus water) or rose water. Add the sliced almonds and pistachios.
• It will take about 1 hour for the milk to thicken on a low flame.
• Remove the rabri in a bowl and serve it later with the malpua. Refrigerate if not using it immediately. The combo of malpua rabdi taste good and is liked by many people. Its best and recommended to have malpua with rabdi hot to get the actual taste of it.
• some are serving it to make sandwich out of it, its up to you how you want to serve it, you can garnished it with some crushed or whole nuts as well.

Please Note there are so many different version as well, please have a look and choose one which suits your palate

• For a low fat version, you can also cook the malpua like pancakes by just adding a bit of oil or ghee.
• Sugar can be added to the batter and you can make sweet malpua. This way you don’t need to make sugar syrup or rabdi.
• Whole wheat flour can be substituted. You need to add some more water if using whole wheat flour. Please seive the whole wheat flour before making the batter.
• You can also fry them in oil instead of ghee.
• If you are not in a hurry, then allow the malpua batter to ferment for 6 to 7 hours. If you ferment the batter then you don’t need to add baking soda.
• Fruits like mashed bananas or applesauce or mango pulp can also be added to the batter.