Malpua

Crispy malpuas in a sweet syrup is the ideal dessert for Holi! My recipe helps you make almost an instant version of this famous Indian sweet!

Course Desserts

Cuisine Indian

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 30

Resting Time 30

Total Time 1 5

Servings People

Calories 245kcal

Author Richa

Crumble or grate mawa if it's like a block.
In a mixing bowl, add mawa and milk and whisk it well until it's almost smooth. Add maida, semolina, and the rest of the milk, and mix well to make a smooth batter. Ensure there are no lumps in the batter. Beat the batter for 5 minutes with a whisk or fork. You can also use a hand blender.
Rest the batter for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Add salt, sugar, and crushed fennel seeds and beat the batter again for 1-2 minutes. The batter should be the consistency of lassi or condensed milk. A very thick batter will make the malpuas too dense and fat.

In a pan, add sugar and water and bring it to a quick boil. Add saffron strands and let this simmer for 2-3 minutes. The chashni or sugar syrup should not be thick and should be like the consistency of oil.
To prevent the syrup from crystallizing, add a few drops of lemon juice to the syrup. If the syrup gets thick, mix a teaspoon or two of water to adjust the consistency again.

Heat 1 ½ inch deep ghee in a thick-bottomed frying pan or skillet. It's important to use a flat pan - a kadhai or wok will not work.
Give the batter a quick whisk before each malpua and pour ⅛ cup or 2 tablespoons of the batter into the ghee without spreading it. The batter will spread by itself into a round shape. Lower the heat and you will see in a minute that the Malpua starts to float.
Fry the malpua on low heat. When one side is light golden, gently turn over and fry the second side until light golden. Fry until both sides are golden, flipping malpua as needed for a couple of times.
Transfer the malpua immediately to the sugar syrup. Soak them in sugar syrup for 1-2 minutes.
Immediately remove them onto a serving tray. Prepare the rest of the malpuas in the same manner. You can also serve these with rabdi and garnish with almonds & pistachios.

Mawa or Khoya is made of either dried whole milk or milk thickened by heating it slowly in an open iron pan. Easily available in grocery stores across India and Indian Grocery stores for those living outside India.
I love adding sooji to the batter as it makes them crispy. It's not traditional and totally optional.
It's important to rest the batter for at least 30 minutes before frying.
It’s important to use a thick-bottomed flat pan or skillet for deep frying the Malpuas so that they spread out while frying.