FOOD TALK
Monsoon meetha
Pushpesh Pant

The much-awaited monsoon has finally arrived, or so it seems. It's not surprising that our thoughts are drifting again towards fried foods. No, we aren't talking of pakora, but of creamy malpua that melt in the mouth, making you crave for more. Descending from arguably the most ancient of Indian sweets, apoopa aka pua, it finds earliest mention in the Vedas.

When enriched with khoya/mawa, it is fondly renamed malpua. There are many regional variations from Punjab to Bengal. Some replace mawa with bananas; others lighten the delicacy by reducing the mawa content. Recently we had the good fortune to taste it in a most interesting avatar in Banaras. Namita Srivastava wedded to our young friend Sanjay prepared it with mawa, grated coconut and just a hint of bananas. Her concoction took our breath away. We gorged on this "mother of all pua" for breakfast and skipped lunch and dinner.

Kele-nariyal ka malpua

Ingredients
Maida 1 cup
Milk 2 cup
Khoya/mawa ½ cup
Freshly grated nariyal ½ cup
Banana (ripe but not overripe) ½
Kishmish 3 tbsp
Saunf 1 tsp
Chironji seeds 1 tsp
Chhoti elaichi powder ¼ tsp

For syrup:
Sugar 2 cup
Water 1 cup
Rosewater 1 tsp
Oil to deep fry.

Method

First, prepare a syrup of one-string consistency by boiling sugar and water together. Then cool it. Make a batter mixing maida and milk. Do not keep it too thin. Keep aside. Blend khoya with other ingredients in a bowl and divide in equal portions. Shape it in small balls that are slightly larger than a marble and flatten them a bit. Heat oil in a karahi and deep-fry the malpua after dipping them in batter on medium-low flame in batches till they puff up and are light golden. Turn carefully and drain excess fat on kitchen towels. Dip in syrup and serve after sprinkling a few drops of rose water.

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