Malpua is an Indian pancake dish which is usually shallow fried and dipped in sugar syrup before serving. It is usually served as a dessert during various festivals in India. Diwali being just a few days away, this recipe is a nostalgia dish through which i plan to celebrate my first Diwali home style, away from home.

Just last Diwali, my mother made malpuas for Diwali and was the first time i learnt how to make them. The recipe was quick to make and i was so proud to have learnt this dish. This time i won’t be celebrating Diwali in India and i was really feeling nostalgic and home sick about it. So, i thought of re-creating those moments here in Montreal and i am so glad i am doing this recipe.

I love the taste of malpuas !! They are soft, dripping with sugary syrup and have crispy edges. Often laced with dry fruits, saffron and cardamom, the joy of having pipping hot malpuas is one ‘out of the world’ experience for me. They are sort of an Indian version of a pancake but in my opinion they taste nothing like the typical pancakes.. they are really rich, gourmet and flavourful.

The usual recipe consists of batter prepared of flour/ semolina mixed with yoghurt/milk and then shallow fried in ghee (clarified butter). I took my malpua recipe one notch richer and incorporated almonds in the batter itself. For the syrup i actually found the idea of using maple syrup very interesting and i made a saffron infused sugar-maple syrup for my Almond Malpuas.

ALMOND MALPUA IN MAPLE SYRUP

Almond Malpua in maple syrup Recipe Preparation time : 10 minutes Cooking time : About 1-2 minutes for each malpua Makes about 10 malpuas of 3′ dia For the Malpuas 2 heaped tablespoons of All purpose flour (maida)

1 heaped tablespoon of Almond flour/ powdered almond (to prepare almond powder at home, take about 10 almonds and grind them to a powder)

1 tsp of fennel seeds

pods of 1 cardamom, crushed (optional)

1/2 cup water/ full fat milk (2% – 3.25% fat or more)

3-4 tsp ghee (clarified butter) or 1/3 cup oil for shallow frying For the maple-sugar syrup 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons maple syrup

3-4 strands of saffron (soak the saffron in 1 tsp of lukewarm milk for about 10 mins. The saffron strands will swell up. Crush the strands between your fingers to release the flavor and color in the milk) Method Take a bowl. Sieve in the all purpose flour and the almond flour. Combine well. To this, add in the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time and mix well till a smooth and slightly thin batter is formed. Add in more milk as required to achieve a thin batter. Make sure that the batter has no lumps. Add in the fennel seeds and the crushed cardamom and combine. Keep aside. Meanwhile, prepare the maple-sugar syrup. For the syrup, take a saucepan and to it add sugar and water and put the saucepan to boil. Stir the mixture well till the sugar melts. Once the sugar water has come to a boil, Add in the saffron and the milk, reduce the flame to medium and cook till 1 thread syrup consistency is achieved (will take about 10 minutes). Remove from flame and add in the maple syrup. Let it cool down a little. Proceeding with making the malpuas, take a pan (small bottom preferred to consume less ghee/oil). To this, add 1 tsp of ghee and let it melt at medium flame. Once the ghee has melted, slowly pour half a ladle of malpua batter in the pan and let it fry for about 1 minute or till the edges start to get crispy. Turn on the other side and fry for another minute. Remove from the pan and immediately put it in the maple-sugar syrup so that the malpuas soak in the rich syrup. Repeat the process with the entire malpua batter. Almond Malpuas in maple syrup are ready to be served !!

These Malpuas taste royal and festive. The almond flour not only adds in a certain amount of richness, it brings in a unique texture to these malpuas. I was really tempted to use only maple syrup for my malpuas but i thought of using maple for flavoring. It worked great for this recipe as the consistency of the maple syrup was right and it infused really well with the saffron. These Malpuas were truly delicious. Me and my husband ended up having 2 malpuas just as i prepared them as they looked really tempting and we just could not wait for all of them to be made before being plated for serving 😛

Lucky for me, i managed to save a few for taking pics for the blog !! Maple syrup might not be easy to find in a few places. You can also try replacing maple syrup with 1 tablespoon of rose water in the syrup to create sugar-rose syrup for your Almond Malpuas.

If you looking for creating something new for your guests this Diwali, i recommend giving this recipe a try for sure 🙂

Divine Spice Box wishes all its readers a very happy and prosperous diwali !! May this diwali be happy, healthy and prosperous for you all 🙂

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