Malpua with Rabdi – Holi special
Malpua are rich fluffy Indian dessert pancakes made using flour, milk spices dipped in sugar syrup and served with warm rabdi.
Malpua is made with flour, milk and spices like fennel and cardamom, and then they shallow fried until it has crispy edges and soft center. These are usually made during festivals and special occasions. The milk makes them richer in taste. Mostly in northern part of India they are very famous.
Gujaratis also make malpua but they are made by different method. I would say they are less rich in taste but equally delicious. We also add khus-khus on top. I will share that variation someday too.
There is also a version of malpua prepared by muslim families during Eid festival and they often include egg in their recipe. Some traditional recipes also call for fermentation of the batter overnight specially the ones that use yogurt.
I love malpua and so I made some last year for holi but it never got posted here on the blog. Firstly, you can eat malpua by itself as they are dunked in sugar syrup but eating or serving them with rabdi make it more indulgent and special.
I am going to share few different things that can be added or skipped out, depending on your interest.
Khoya (milk solids)
Coconut milk or Coconut milk powder
Milk Powder
Yogurt
Banana
Ricotta
Tips / Suggestions
- Let batter sit for some time before frying the malpuas. It helps relax the batter.
- Don’t skip the spices.
- Shallow fry them at low -medium temperature.
- Don’t worry if edges look slightly extra brown, those crispy edges taste so good. It has milk or khoya, so it is bound to happen as it caramelizes further when you fry it. Malpuas fried in ghee taste supreme, however you can fry them in oil or a mix of both ghee and oil.
- When you dip the pua’s in sugar syrup, both should be slightly warm specially syrup.
- You can always add more sugar, but all three layers will have some sugar so, remember that. Rabdi should be cool while serving. You can make rabdi while the batter is resting and then let it cool down a bit at room temperature and then store it in the fridge.
Malpua With Rabdi
Ingredients
Malpua
- ½ cup All Purpose flour
- 2 tbsp milk powder
- 1 tbsp almond meal optinal
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp fennel seeds coarsely crushed
- 1 tsp cardamom powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper fine
- ¼ cup whole milk
- Ghee or oil for frying
Sugar Syrup
- Sugar Syrup
- Pinch of saffron
- 1/3 cup sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 2 pods crushed cardamom.
Rabdi
- 2 cup milk
- ¼ cup sugar you can add ½ cup if you prefer sweeter
- ¼ cup milk powder
- 2-3 tbsp almond meal
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 1-2 tbsp dry roasted nuts chopped
- Optional garnishes
- Rose petals saffron & edible silver
Instructions
Malpua
- In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients like all-purpose flour, almond meal, milk powder, spices, and mix.
- Stir in the milk and sugar and mix well. There is should be no lumps. The batter is not too thick, its slightly runny. It should not spread too much when you fry it.
- Let is rest for 15 mins.
- Shallow fry – Take ghee or a combination of ghee and oil in a shallow pan on medium high heat. Once the the ghee is hot, spoon some batter of malpua in the ghee carefully. Unlike pancakes, this batter should be slightly runny.
- Once the edges look golden and crisp, flip them and cook them on the other side. Finish with all the remaining batter. Remove the fried pancakes on cooling rack.
Sugar Syrup
- Meanwhile, make sugar syrup. In a deep pot, add sugar water and cardamom, saffron and bring it to boil until it resembles syrup. Its not a thick syrup. You should be able to dip each malpua in sugar syrup. But make sure all the sugar is melted and extra water is evaporated.
- Dip the malpua one by one in warm syrup for 30 seconds- a minute.
- Garnish it with nuts, rose petals etc. You can serve it now, with
Rabdi
- In a deep pot on medium heat, add milk, sugar, almond meal and simmer it until it thickens and reduces. Keep stirring in between orelse milk with stick to the bottom of the pan. Add cardamom powder. Once the rabdi thickens, it is done. Turn off the heat. You can always add more sugar, but all three layers will have some sugar so, remember that. Rabdi should be cool while serving.
- Rest of the garnish can also be added, but reserve some for final serving.
Notes
Holi wishes and if you want to try more desserts ! Click here.