Malpua - Indian sweet prepared for Vibrant spring time Festival of Colors - Holi.

Malpua is a very  addictive  festive sweet from North India especially  prepared during Holi festival. They  are prepared  in different parts of India with  some variation. I have attempted making them few times. These malpuas were prepared  last year but I could not post during holi time so posting it now. I repeated making them this year and served it  with  Rabdi/ Rabri. It was pure joy to prepare malpua  during pleasant spring time and savor them for holi festival. I like malpuas for soft, sweet syrupy texture and  aromatic combination of banana, fennel seeds, saffron and cardamom. This post has lots of Malpua images covering two years of preparation. Enjoy!!

Colors of Holi

Ingredients :-

• 1 Cup Maida/all purpose flour
• 1/4 Cup - Rawa / Rava
• 1/4 Cup freshly grated coconut
• 1 Cup mashed ripe banana (two small size bananas)
• 3 Tb.spoon - sweetened condensed milk
• 1 Cup milk + 1/2 cup as needed.
• 15 Cashews - powdered
• 8-10 Almonds - powdered (with skin is fine)
• 1 T.spoon whole fennel seeds / saunf / badishep
• 1 T.spoon coarse powder of fennel seeds

Ingredients for sugar syrup :-

• 2 Cup Sugar
• 2.5 Cup water
• 7-8 Cardamom seeds - finely powdered
• 2 pinches saffron strands

Method of Preparation for Malpua

Step 1 -Preparing Malpua batter

1. Make coarse powder of 1 teaspoon fennel seeds.
2. 15 cashews + 6-7 almonds - grind to fine powder. I used Microplane fine grater.
3. Take one medium  size deep bowl. Grate or smash two small size ripe bananas to thick paste.
4. Add 1/4 cup rava, 1/4 cup fresh grated coconut, 3 tbsp condensed milk, cashew+almond powder, whole fennel seeds+ fennel seed powder, combine all together with spoon or whisk.
5. Now slowly add maida/all purpose flour and rigorously stir with spoon in circular motion until roughly combined.
6. Now start adding milk to the batter. I used 2.5 cup milk. Keep stirring.  For more smooth flowing  consistency I used immersion blender/ stick blender, just give one minute of swirl to the batter. Cover,  keep it aside and move to prepare sugar syrup.

Step 2 - Preparing sugar syrup

Combine 2.5 cups water, 2 cup sugar in a 3 quart pot, simmer at medium heat. Once water starts to boil add cardamom power and saffron strands. Continue to simmer for 10-12 minutes over medium heat. Now increase heat to medium high and let syrup boil, do stir at regular interval. You don't have to achieve one thread syrup consistency but boil until it reaches oil like consistency. This will take around 20 minutes. Shut off the heat and let syrup pot stay on the gas burner. After you start frying malpuas, you need to keep syrup warm by switching heat  on to the lowest setting.

Step 3 - Frying and Dipping Malpus in sugar syrup.

1. Heat 2.5 cups oil in a Kadhai/ Wok. My Kadhai was 10 inch in diameter. Maintain medium heat temperature. Fill around 2 tbsp batter in a laddle, lower laddle near to the oil and  consistently pour batter in the oil. It will form around 2.5 to 3 inch in diameter malpua. If you get thicker and smaller size malpua then add 1 tbspoon water.
2. Once first one is done well then continue pouring multiple malpus in Kadhai. I made 3-4 at a time. (Check this years Kadhai pictures) Each side will take more than one minute to get golden brown color. After they are  fried, hold them in a slotted spoon / Zara and gently shake to drip off excess oil.
3. Quickly place  them in a sugar  syrup pot. Gently press with spoon and immerse in the syrup, wait for one minute before you turn and immerse other side. ( For more sweet taste soak in sugar for 4-5 minutes turning one time.)  Before removing Malpua  from sugar syrup, press malpua with spoon on the side of the pot, give light pressure so that few drops of syrup is drained out. Place malpuas in a plate covered with parchment paper. You can make around 20-25 malpuas.
4. Pouring batter in oil needs a bit practice, if you find it difficult then take open saute pan and shallow fry Malpuas. I shallow fried malpua during my first attempt, they were more thicker and larger. (check second last image.)

Malpua served with fresh fruits, nuts and  fresh mango+cream puree.

Malpua - Holi special Sweet.

Sugar syrup/Pak  in early simmering stage.

Mixing Malpoa Ingredients

Mapua batter

Malpuas are  deep fried in kadhai and soaked in sugar syrup.

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This years Malpua preparation :

I maintained the same recipe, only change I made was in two ingredients that is Maida and Rava. I used  extra superfine rava  instead of coarse. Regular Maida / all purpose flour was replaced with Arrowhead Mills Organic enriched unbleached white flour. I think this white flour made few malpus puff like puri which didn't happen last year with regular maida. I made Rabdi / Rabri  to savor malpuas in more traditional way. Recipe for Rabadi follows....

 Malpua with Rabdi.

Rabadi Recipe :

Take a look at the picture below, top right corner - milk is boiling for Rabadi. I took 4 cups 2% low fat milk. Use thick bottomed heavy gauge pot or encapsulated bottom pot. Once it started to boil I added 2 pinches of saffron strands and reduced heat to lowest setting and continued frying malpuas on the side burner. After half an hour I added cardamom powder from 5-6 cardamoms. I stirred  milk  at regular intervals. This continued for almost 1.5 hours. If you are going to attend and monitor boiling process then increase the heat to medium low  so that cooking time can be cut down. I reduced milk to little less than two cups. There was lot of roughage of cream layer created while boiling the milk. I  gave one quick few seconds swirl with immersion blender. Lastly added 3 tbsp sugar, 10-12 finely chopped pistachios, 6-7 finely chopped cashew nuts and served Malpuas with rabdi.

Year 2012 - Malpua Preparation.

Malpuha dipped in sugar syrup.

Bradford pear flowers are dipped in Gulal and other Holi colors.

My first time attempted Malpuas.