Sunday, October 28, 2007

Malpuas, Hot and Sweet



90% of my working life has been in the hotel business, having done my hotel management. I loved working in that industry especially in the Food & Beverage department (no prizes for guessing why!!! I guess my interest in food was just blossoming then). But when I settled into work, I gravitated towards the Banquets which was very interesting. I helped in planning menus and execution of the dinners/parties/weddings. It helped me really develop an interest in food and understand the whole concept of menu planning. However much all this is taught theoretically, it is only when you do something practically that it is understood well. Also, I learnt a lot about the various cuisines of India because wedding menu planning is whole different ball game compared to dinner menus.

One very special dish on the menu which was often requested for, particularly for weddings would be hot Malpuas made on the spot and served along with Rabdi or vanilla ice cream. It was simply divine. I looked forward to this being featured on the menu because then I would have a yummy dessert to look forward to after a hard day's work. That was back in the day when I did not even look at the calorie count of anything. The combination of really piping hot Malpuas with ice cold rabdi or vanilla ice cream has to be tasted to be believed. It is the ultimate waistline busting dessert. It is so calorie laden, that even one look at it makes one gain a few pounds.

Malpuas are usually made of full cream mixed with flour and fried (albeit shallow, that is it's only saving grace) in ghee. It is then dipped into a hot sugar syrup flavored delicately with saffron and cardamom. And if one thought that the calorie intake was not enough at this point, it is served with chilled Rabdi.

Simply typing all this is making me feel I have put on a couple of pounds.


But now everything cannot be forsaken in life, can it? We have to have these treats every now and then.


So I lightened up the recipe and made it a little less calorie dense. Used milk instead of cream and shallow fried it in oil instead of ghee and on a non stick so that reduced the oil. This at least made me feel better about eating Malpuas.



So let me quickly move on to the recipe....


Ingredients:

100 grams Maida (all purpose flour)
100 grams fine Rava (semolina)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup milk
A few strands saffron
4 cardamoms peeled and coarsely powdered

For the syrup:
1 cup sugar
½ cup water
1 tablespoon rose water (optional)

Oil/ghee to fry

Method:

Make a batter with maida, rava, sugar and milk. The batter should be thick like idly batter. Add a little more milk if the batter is too thick. Add the saffron and cardamom to it. Keep aside for ½ an hour.
In a deep dish mix the sugar and water and boil till it becomes thick. Skim off any impurities. Add the rose water.
Heat the oil or ghee is a shallow frying pan till medium hot. Pour in a little batter and make a small circle of about 3 inches diameter.
Fry till it is golden and turn over and fry the other side as well.
Dip into the sugar syrup for a minute and strain.
Serve hot along with chilled rabdi.

16 comments:

FH said...

How beautiful Kamini. Looks like a great sweet pancakes and rabdi, I can imagine the taste! YUM!!:)
You can send this to RCI Bihar if they make Malpuas there!

Kamini said...

ASha asha you saviour.. I just figured out that I missed the Tamil Nadu Festival series. your suggestion is perfect. I am sure they make Malpuas there in Bihar.

Finla said...

Wow your description of the dessert served with cold ice cream made me want to have them. They look just super delicious

Anonymous said...

Nice recipe Kamini! Reading it makes me forget about the pounds :)

sagari said...

looks delecious kamini ,till today i am not success in making this, i will defenetly try your recipe

Rajitha said...

yumm..and pounds..please..great food and pounds go hand in hand unfortunately...salads, soups are great...but samosas and malpuas are somehow fantastic ;)

sunita said...

That looks lovely...and yes, great ones for piling on the pounds...but, then once in a while isn't going to do any harm, is it(that's my sweet ooth speaking) :-)

TBC said...

Looks delicious! I want some...NOW!!:-)

amna said...

lovely! we serve it with some sweet malai here :)

Suganya said...

Why didn't you send this to RCI? Sweets deep fried in ghee is a luxury now. I have never had anything fried in ghee. I should at least once, to live back those days when calorie was merely a term, than a way of life.

Pooja Na(i)rayan said...

Dont you love when you can eat good food without any calories. Keep coming up with low fat version recipes and I will love every one. Good one.

Padma said...

Those Malpuas looks freaking awesome. I wanna have it right now!

Namratha said...

Oh my I'm drooling at the Malpuas Kamini, I read about them recently because of RCI bihar, you really should send this in! And also its nice to know you were in the hotel business, my family is in it too..I love it! :)

bee said...

dear kamini,
this would be the perfect entry for RCI-Bihar.
http://ghar-ka-khana.blogspot.com/2007/10/rci-cuisine-of-bihar.html

bee said...

oops, i just saw asha's comment. they definitely make malpuas in bihar.

Raks said...

malpuas looks great and perfect...I like them..:))soon will try it out..!!