343) MALPURI

MALPURI

A DELICIOUS, SWEET, FRAGRANT KONKANI DEEP-FRIED DESSERT

Ingredients:

     1)    Bombay rava (fine wheat semolina) – 400 gm.

     2)    Maida (white wheat flour / all-purpose flour) – 100 gm.

     3)    Sugar – 250 gm.

     4)    Milk – 500 ml.

     5)    Water – 500 ml.

     6)    Cardamom pods – 6 Nos.

     7)    Saffron – 2 pinches

     8)    Oil to deep fry (cooking oil / ghee / hydrogenated vegetable oil) – 500 ml.

     9)    Powdered sugar for dusting (optional) – 100 gm.

To prepare:

          Put a thick bottomed pan on medium heat. Tip in the rava. Stir continuously so that the rava heats up without browning or burning in the least. As soon as the rava is uniformly hot, switch off the heat (there is no need to roast the rava, but only to heat it up so that the puris become soft and fluffy without adding any baking powder or other raising agent).

Crush the cardamom and transfer to a mixing bowl. Tip in the maida, the heated rava, the sugar, the saffron, the milk and the water. Use a blender to beat the mixture thoroughly (or just grind it for 10 seconds in your food processor). Let the batter rest for 4 hours.

To make:

          Set a deep, thick cast-iron wok or non-stick wok on high heat. Pour in the cooking oil. Use a ladle (of 125 ml. capacity) to stir the batter thoroughly. As soon as the oil is hot (it should not smoke), stir the batter and pour a ladleful in the center. The malpuri will rise beautifully.

          Use a perforated spatula to splash the hot oil carefully over the risen puri. Once it rises fully, gently flip it over. A minute later, turn down the heat a bit and lift out the puri. Drain off the excess oil. Deep-fry the rest of the malpuris likewise, taking care to stir the batter each time. You may have to adjust the heat to keep the oil from overheating.

          Serve warm or cold. They are equally delicious either way and taste even better the second day.

Enjoy!!!

Notes:

     1)    I have used just enough sugar in the batter for the perfect mildly sweet taste and softness so that you can enjoy many many more puris. If you like them sweeter, please dust the powdered sugar over the hot puris and enjoy!

     2)    If you like to have a crispy golden frill around your malpuri, just add half a cup more water to the batter. The thinner batter makes thinner puris.

     3)    The most important ingredient in malpuri which lends it its golden colour, richness and aroma is saffron. Take care to use original good quality saffron since duplicate shredded coloured paper saffron is plentiful in the market.