Pua/Malpua

by Svetla Verma, UK

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Author's note: Malpua/pua is a traditional Bihari (and probably Rajasthani also) dessert that is relished particularly during Holi. But I don't wait for Holi to enjoy it, I make it quite often. :-). Let me share with you this malpua/pua recipe that has a mixture of what I have learnt from my mother and my mother-in-law and my own original ideas.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain flour (Maida)
• 1 cup sugar (put it as per your taste, I prefer less sugar)
• 2 bananas
• Groundnuts, Almonds, Cashew nuts chopped.
• 5-6 tbsp saunf
• 1 cup grated coconut
• Milk to add (I prefer semi-skimmed milk as it's a balance of fatless and creamy milk. Fully skimmed milk is rather watery and whole milk is fatty. You can choose as per your preference)
• Oil (Groundnut/Sunflower)

Ingredients for sugar solution (Chaashni)

• Sugar 2-3 cups
• 2 cups of water

(Prepare chaashni by putting sugar in boiling water and stirring it until a thick consistent solution is attained)

Steps:
1. Mix flour, Coconut, bananas, saunf, sugar, chopped dry fruits in a bowl.
2. Add enough milk to make this into a paste.
3. Heat a non-stick tawa (flat griddle) and put 2-3 tbsp. oil in it and spread it with wooden spatula.
4. Take a small katori full of paste and spread it in round fashion in the heated tawa. Make 2-3 rounds of paste depending upon how big your pan is. Cook it in the slow heat for some time and then turn all puas to other side using a thin flat spatula.
6. When you feel its done (10-12 minutes) put it in an absorbent paper for a while (so that the oil can be absorbed).

Alternatively, you can also deep fry the paste in a pan in making round shapes, but I prefer the non stick tawa way as it is remarkably less oily.

The above is the recipe for pua that can be eaten both hot and cold.

For malpua, soon after you take the pua from the tawa you dip it in the chaashni.

Thank you Mrs. Verma for making this traditional Bihari recipe available to the visitors of PatnaDaily.Com.

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