Malpua Recipe - Oldest Indian Sweet

Malpua is a delicious Indian dessert recipe with crispy edges and a soft and fluffy center. These Indian sweets are so flavorful and addictive that I bet you cannot stop eating them. They will satisfy all your sweet cravings!

Recipe card

Malpua Recipe - Oldest Indian Sweet

Kushi

Malpua is a delicious Indian dessert recipe with crispy edges and a soft and fluffy center. These Indian sweets are so flavorful and addictive that I bet you cannot stop eating them. They will satisfy all your sweet cravings!

5 from 15 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Desserts, sweets

Cuisine Indian

Servings 10

Calories 141 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Pan

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For malpua batter

• ▢ 1 ¼ cups All purpose flour maida check tips
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Sugar
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder
• ▢ 1 ½ cups Milk adjust to consistency
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon Baking powder pinch
• ▢ Oil ghee for frying

For sugar syrup

• ▢ ½ cup Sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup Water
• ▢ 8 Saffron threads
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Lemon juice
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder

For garnish

• ▢ 1 tablespoon Pistachios chopped
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Almonds chopped

Instructions

 

Make the batter

• Add flour, sugar, cardamom powder, and baking powder in a bowl. Mix well.
  1 ¼ cups All purpose flour, 2 tablespoon Sugar, ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder, ⅛ teaspoon Baking powder
• Now, add milk little by little and whisk to form a batter. See that there are no lumps.
  1 ½ cups Milk
• The batter should be of flowing consistency and not too thick or too thin. Based on the consistency of the batter, you can make thick or thin malpuas.
• Cover and keep it aside till you prepare the sugar syrup.

Prepare the sugar syrup

• Add sugar, saffron threads, and water to a pan. Dissolve sugar. Continue to boil until it becomes sticky or forms a one-string consistency.
  ½ cup Sugar, ¼ cup Water, 8 Saffron threads
• Add the cardamom powder and mix well. To prevent crystallization, add drops of lemon juice.
  ¼ teaspoon Cardamom powder, ½ teaspoon Lemon juice

Frying the malpuas - other options are given in the tip section

• Heat oil in a non-stick pan for frying.
  Oil
• Once the oil is hot, drop 2 to 3 tbsps of batter on a medium flame, one malpua at a time.
• The batter spreads based on its consistency. If you want thin malpuas, you can thin down the batter by adding milk.
• Leave it undisturbed for a minute. Then, using a slotted spoon, flip it to the other side and fry until it is golden brown on both sides.
• Transfer this to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
• Repeat the process for the remaining batter.
• While they are still warm, soak each malpua in the sugar syrup for about a minute and transfer it to a serving plate.
• Garnish it with the dried chopped nuts of your choice. You can also serve this with rabri or whipped cream.
  1 tablespoon Pistachios chopped, 1 tablespoon Almonds chopped

Notes

• If you want to avoid frying, prepare pancakes (dosa) from the same batter and soak them in sugar syrup.
• I highly recommend using only a non-stick pan for frying. Otherwise, the batter may stick to the bottom of the pan.
• You can also prepare appe (paniyaram) using the same batter.
• After the batter rests, add 1 or 2 tablespoon of milk if you feel it is really thick.
• Fry this on a medium flame to get a nice caramelized golden brown color.
• For better flavor and texture, you can make the batter for 3 to 4 hours. 
• Use whole wheat flour (atta), rice flour, or 1:1 flour with semolina or atta instead of flour. 
• Some even add fruits like mashed banana, mango, and pineapples to the batter. 

Nutrition

Calories: 141kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 3gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 20mgPotassium: 96mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 64IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 55mgIron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Malpua Indian sweet

Malpuri is a type of Indian pancake with crisp edges and a soft center soaked in sugar syrup. This can be served as it is or with rabri (rabdi), whipped cream, etc.
Malpura is a popular Indian dessert prepared during festivals like Holi, Navratri, and Diwali in North India. In South India, this sweet is also called adhirasam.

• There are variations of the Malpuri recipe, and a popular type called amalu is part of the Chappan bhog offered to lord Jagannath in the Puri temple.
• During the fourth day of Navratri, it is believed that offering malpua to the Goddess in the form of naivedyam (or blog) and then partaking in it as prasadam improves the intellect and decision-making ability of all the devotees.
• During the holy month of Ramadan, malpua is also made during iftar.

Ingredients

Flour: For best results, use all-purpose flour. However, you can also use 1:1 flour, semolina, or atta. 

Milk: Use whole milk for rich flavor. 

Flavorings: Use cardamom and saffron. 

Lemon juice: To prevent crystalization. 

Oil: I have used vegetable oil. Use coconut oil, or, for traditional flavor, fry in desi ghee. 

Check out the recipe card for the full list of the ingredients.

Step-by-step instructions

Make the batter

• Add flour, sugar, cardamom powder, and baking powder in a bowl. Mix well.
• Now, add milk little by little and whisk to form a batter. See that there are no lumps. 
• The batter should be of flowing consistency and not too thick or too thin. Based on the consistency of the batter, you can make thick or thin malpuas. 
•  Cover and keep it aside till you prepare the sugar syrup.

Prepare the sugar syrup

• Add sugar, saffron threads, and water to a pan. Dissolve sugar. Continue to boil until it becomes sticky or forms a one-string consistency. 
• Add the cardamom powder and mix well. To prevent crystallization, add drops of lemon juice. 

Frying the malpuas - other options are given in the tip section

• Heat oil in a non-stick pan for frying.
• Once the oil is hot, drop 2 to 3 tbsps of batter on a medium flame, one malpua at a time. 
• The batter spreads based on its consistency. If you want thin malpuas, you can thin down the batter by adding milk. 
• Leave it undisturbed for a minute. Then, using a slotted spoon, flip it to the other side and fry until it is golden brown on both sides.
• Transfer this to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
• Repeat the process for the remaining batter.
• While they are still warm, soak each malpua in the sugar syrup for about a minute and transfer it to a serving plate.
• Garnish it with the dried chopped nuts of your choice. You can also serve this with rabri or whipped cream.

Tips

• If you want to avoid frying, prepare pancakes (dosa) from the same batter and soak them in sugar syrup.
• I highly recommend using only a non-stick pan for frying. Otherwise, the batter may stick to the bottom of the pan.
• You can also prepare appe (paniyaram) using the same batter.
• After the batter rests, add 1 or 2 tablespoon of milk if you feel it is really thick.
• Fry this on a medium flame to get a nice caramelized golden brown color.
• For better flavor and texture, you can make the batter for 3 to 4 hours. 
• Use whole wheat flour (atta), rice flour, or 1:1 flour with semolina or atta instead of flour. 
• Some even add fruits like mashed banana, mango, and pineapples to the batter. 

Recipe FAQs

More Indian festival sweets

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Note: We originally posted this oldest Indian dessert malpua in Sept 2016. It has now been modified in Feb 2024 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.