Malpua

Malpua 

It is interesting how one food enthusiast has mentioned that even with the best of ingredients one can produce mediocre food if one's heart is not in what one is doing. It got me thinking about the years I have been in the kitchen and I suddenly realized I am passionate about cooking. Now I am no expert and if by any means some items do come out well it is mostly due to the blessings of many a food enthusiast.  I realized how, one person I know who has not made any mistakes in her kitchen has taught me the secret tricks of the world inside a kitchen.

Now, Malpua is a dish which is made in many a households across India, while some churn out soft, fluffy deliciously syrups ones some have something missing.

This got me thinking that had that one person not taught me the few secrets mine would have always been not upto the mark. So this I dedicate to my M. It is not my mother.

The trick is to reduce the milk till its thick and creamy and to get the creamiest of reduced milk the trick is to add a spoonful of clarified butter or plain butter and stir the pot from time to time.

The only way to get a grip of cooking is patience. Nothing which is delicious can be made quickly without love for the dish. This is mostly a common recipe across Bengal except that I use saffron for the flavouring and leave out any spice in the batter except a bit of green cardamom.

Makes 12 Malpuas :

So the ingredients are simple

1 litre of full cream milk reduced to 600ml
1 tablespoon of clarified butter / butter
1 cup of sifted all purpose flour
a little less than a cup of semolina/sooji
2 green cardamom finely ground minus the skin
2 tablespoonful of sugar (ground)
Chopped pistachios
Refined oil for frying

For the syrup
water to sugar ratio is 1:1
A few strands of saffron
In case one doesn't have saffron green cardamom along with a pinch of nutmeg makes a wonderful flavouring.

One needs to mix the flour and semolina  bit by bit to make a batter with the milk and sugar and let it rest for at least 5 hours or more.

When frying the Malpua if one adds a bit of ghee/clarified butter to the oil it gives out a delicious aroma.
Take it off the heat and immediately put it in the single thread syrup and soak it for 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle the pistachios on top.

For the syrup one mixes the water and sugar and adds the flavourings and brings it to a boil and then simmers it for about 5 minutes to 10 minutes. The syrup should never be too thick for Malpuas else it wouldn't penetrate the malpua deep within to render it delicious and syrupy.

The most important point to remember is that the heat must be adjusted from medium to high to low. High heat throughout frying would burn the Malpua and leave dark patches or a dark edge but at the same time you cannot keep the heat to a low throughout the process because if the heat is too less the Mapluas will not fluff up properly.