MALPUA RABDI – मालपुआ राबड़ी (Indian style Pancakes w/ Thick Creamy Pudding)

WISHING A VERY HAPPY DEEPAVALI TO THOSE CELEBRATING

After my promise, every Holi, I am finally sharing my malpua rabdi recipe. This is the ultimate dessert in my book. It is decadent and what I like the best about this dessert is the combination of flavours and textures. The hot malpua topped with chilled rabdi is absolute indulgence, one, that should not be missed. Thanks to fried and sweetened malpua, this dessert is as much laden with calories as it is with taste therefore it is not your everyday dessert. It is reserved for special occasions and festival celebrations.

Now for those who have no idea what malpua is, well, it would be unfair to call it an Indian pancake coz it is not exactly a pancake. It has no egg or leavener and does not come together in minutes and is not made in a greased pan. So, what is it? Sure, it is shaped like a pancake but the similarity ends right there. It is thinner and delicate in its texture, with crispy edges and soft centre. It is made using sweetened and fermented all purpose flour batter (however, we are making an instant version here). It is deep fried and then sweetened by immersing it in sugar or jaggery syrup that is perfumed with cardamom powder and saffron before being served with rabdi.

Rabdi is a rich, thick and creamy pudding made with only milk that has been cooked on low, gentle and simmering heat till it thickens. The rabdi is perfumed with cardamom or saffron (choose your aromatic) and sweetened with either jaggery or sugar.

It is a dessert fit for kings and one that is perfect for festive celebrations. Making this dessert is a bit time consuming, no doubt, but totally worth it. The good part is that the malpua can be made two days ahead of the festival. Keep the malpua refrigerated in the syrup and re-heat it before serving. Same goes for Rabdi; it can be made a day or two ahead of when you intend to serve it.

For Rabdi / Rabri

1½ Litre full fat Milk

2 tbsp warm Milk (For soaking the saffron)

2 tbsp Sugar or Jaggery

½ tsp Cardamom Powder

A pinch Saffron

1 tablespoon of finely chopped nuts of your choice

Add saffron in the warm milk and leave it to soak. (I prefer to soak it for at least two hours)

Meanwhile transfer one and a half litre milk in a heavy bottom pot and place the pot on heat. Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to minimum and simmer the milk. You need to ensure that you stir the milk every now and then and scrap the sides back into the milk.

Cook the milk till it thickens and reduces to nearly one forth the original quantity. (Once the milk begins to thicken it will require frequent stirring else it will catch at the bottom.)

Add cardamom, sugar and saffron and cook for another minute or two.

Switch off the heat. The rabdi is ready and needs to cool down before you refrigerate it. (it can be served hot, warm or chilled, depending on how you like to enjoy it)

For Syrup

2 C Sugar

1 C Water

Juice of half a Lime

1 pinch Saffron

Heat the water and sugar and bring to a boil. 

Add saffron and simmer the water till it becomes syrupy or attains one string consistency. 

Stir in the lime juice (it will prevent sugar from crystallizing) 

Transfer the syrup to a warmer and keep it covered.

For Malpua

2 C plus 2 tbsp full fat Milk

120 grams Khoya / Mawa

1½ C Maida (all purpose flour)

½ tsp Cardamom Powder

1 tsp Ghee (for batter)

Ghee for frying

2 tbsp finely chopped mixed nuts, for garnish

Heat the milk till becomes more than warm (since we need to dissolve the khoya)

Transfer it to a mixing bowl and add grated khoya. Whisk them well till a smooth consistency is attained. Add ghee and mix it well.

Now add maida along with cardamom powder and whisk the contents till you attain a smooth batter. Cover the batter and keep aside for approximately an hour. (Adjust consistency at this point. If it is thick, add a little milk and if it is thin as a little maida)

Heat ghee in a flat and broad pan or kadahi and reduce heat.

Mix the batter well and take two tablespoons of the batter and pour it into the ghee. Do not stir or try to spread the batter as it will do that job itself. Depending on how big your pan is, add two to three malpuas at a time on low medium heat.

Flip carefully to cook the other side. Fry both the sides till they turn golden brown in colour. The edges, especially, need to be brownish in colour.

Remove the malpua on an absorbent sheet to remove excess ghee. Then transfer it to the syrup. Soak till the malpua softens. I mostly keep it soaked till it is time to serve it. (I store the malpua in the syrup in a container and it stays for nearly a week in the fridge)

Once done, remove the malpua with a slotted spoon, to get rid of extra syrup, and place on serving plate. Serve garnished with nuts and chilled rabdi. Enjoy!

Yield – 20 Malpua (3½ – 4 inch)

Thanks for your visit and see you soon again with another exciting recipe!

15 thoughts on “MALPUA RABDI – मालपुआ राबड़ी (Indian style Pancakes w/ Thick Creamy Pudding)

    1. Thank you Angie. Khoya/ Mawa is milk reduced till it loses most of its moistness and turns into dry mass. It is rich and used often in Indian desserts.

  1. WOW! I so wish I could be there celebrating deepavali there with you. But then I would probably take this plate of pancakes and pudding into another room and have it all to myself. 🙂 Gorgeous presentation and pictures!

  2. This is beautiful! And sounds amazing! The “pancakes” look and sound so flavor and textur-ful! And that custard, oh, my! What a treat!

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