Elaichi Malpua! ^__^

Malpua is that quintessential Bengali sweet which probably gets made in most Bengali households. I have always found it fascinating that Malpua is one of those desserts which have taken various shapes and forms over years of tweaking the recipe by Bengali moms inside the kitchen. While Sweet shops in Bengal serve something that looks remarkably different from the Malpuas served at my home, my friend Sayantan's mom used to make Malpuas that were completely white and had a chewier texture. Thanks to his lack of interest from being inundated with the sweet, on most of his school days, Sayantan was happy enough to trade his Malpuas for my Sandwiches. Such fond memories from school, I tell you! Till this day Malpuas make me weirdly nostalgic about my school life and I get extra enthusiastic whenever Mom cooks up a batch for me. Here is an easy instant Elaichi Malpua recipe that mom has been using for decades. :D I like serving it with some Ice-cream and fruit compote in strawberry sauce. 

Ingredients 

For the Malpua>
1) 1 cup Plain flour.
2) 1 egg
3) 1 cup milk
4) 4 tbsp Castor Sugar
5) 1 tsp Baking Sugar
6) 2 tsp Cardamom Powder(Elaichi)
7) A pinch of salt.(Optional)
8) 1 cup oil for deep frying

For the Compote>
1) 1 cup chopped Fruits(I used pear, apple and banana).
2) 2 tbsp Sugar
3) 2 tsp White Vinegar(only if you are not using sour fruits.)
4) 1/2 cup water
5) 1 Bay leaf, 1 Cinnamon stick and 1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder.

Recipe

1) Mix all the ingredients to form a smooth Malpua batter. Do not make it very thick. Add extra milk if one requires to make the batter and Malpuas thinner.
2) Add a ladle of batter into the oil and fry on medium heat till golden brown.
3) Boil the fruits, the Bayleaf and the Cinnamon stick in the water. When the fruits are cooked, add the sugar and vinegar and stir until the liquid thickens.
4) Serve the Malpua with the Compote and some Ice-cream. Sprinkle the compote with some Cinnamon powder and drizzle it with Strawberry sauce.

Leave a comment @Oishiibites 

Use #oishiibites if you decide to try out the recipe and upload photographs to Facebook. Enjoy!!!