EATING OUT IN PUNE - For the SWEET TOOTH - MOUTHWATERING MEMORIES of MALPUA

Eating Out in Pune

For the Sweet Tooth

MOUTHWATERING PUNE MEMORIES
MALPUA
By 

VIKRAM KARVE

One evening, a few years ago, in the year 2006 to be precise, while on my evening walk on ITI Road in Aundh Pune, it suddenly started drizzling, so I ducked into the basement of the Ozone Mall where I discovered a sweet shop called Kadhai.

The voracious appetite created by the brisk walk and the tempting array of sweets and savouries on display made my mouth water and created an appetite in me, and I was wondering what to eat, when suddenly I discovered one of my favourite sweets “Malpua” displayed on the Menu Chart hung on the wall.

This was indeed a pleasant surprise, since I never imagined I would get Malpua in Pune.

And this pleasant surprise evoked nostalgic mouth-watering memories of the delicious Malpua-Kheer we savoured and devoured with gusto as a nourishing wholesome breakfast after bouts of heavy exercise on cold winter Sunday mornings long back in Varanasi.

We were young hungry youngsters and those were indeed the good old gastronomic days of high calorie energizing winter breakfasts like Malpua-Kheer and piping hot Jalebi or Lavang Lata with freshly boiled thick creamy Doodh [Milk] dipped and eaten the same way as one eats khari biscuits with Irani Chai.
   

I asked for Malpua and Kheer.

But, surprisingly, there was no Kheer, so I ordered a plate of Malpua and eagerly put a piece of the rich brown syrupy Malpua in my mouth.

It was terrible – the Malpua tasted like boiled rubber drenched in sugar syrup. 

It did not melt in the mouth, or dissolve gracefully on the palate, but disintegrated into brittle fragments and left a stodgy aftertaste.
   

The soft fluffy succulent lusciousness, 

the sweet-sour tang of banana and curd fermentation, 

the spicy fragrance of cardamom, 

and most important, 

the distinctive taste and classic flavour of saunf (badishep), 

which are the hallmarks of authentic Malpua, 

were conspicuous by their absence.
   

I was so disappointed that I called the “Maharaj” and asked him how he had managed to so terribly bungle and botch this exquisite delicacy and churn out this inexcusably appalling stuff masquerading as Malpua.

“Simple,” he said, “Boil enough Milk till it becomes Rabdi, mix in Maida and make a smooth batter, fry the pancakes in pure Ghee and soak in sugar syrup.”
   

“Just Milk and Maida? That’s not how you make Malpua,” I told him, “What about the Banana, Saunf, Cardamom, Spices, Coconut, Dry Fruit, Curds…?”
   

“This is the Rajasthani Style Malpua,” he said sheepishly and disappeared.
   

There are many versions of Malpua all over India – I have tasted the Rajasthani, Bengali, Karnataka, Maharashtrian, Gujarati, MP and UP versions.

Then there are improvisations like potato malpua, pineapple malpua, orange malpua et al.

There is also the inimitable, slurpy rich heavy duty invigorating and energizing hearty Malpua, braced and fortified with eggs, prepared in the evenings and nights during the holy month of Ramzan by Suleman Mithaiwala at Mohammed Ali Road near Minara Masjid in Mumbai. 

This rich and heavy malpua is a meal in itself, but if you want you really want to do justice it is better to start off with Kababs, relish the Malpua, and top up with cool sweet soothing Phirnee.
   

Tell me, in which genre of cuisine should Malpua be classified...?

I’ll tell you – genuine Malpua is Bihari Cuisine.

That’s right, no doubt about it, Malpua is a speciality of Bihar, like Khaja, and the best authentic Malpua is made Bihari Style, and this is how a Bihari friend of mine, an expert cook, taught me to make Malpua, long back.

MALPUA - The Recipe
   

Make a smooth batter with Maida, a pinch of soda and salt, fresh banana pulp, fresh full buffalo milk, cardamom [choti elaichi] pods and powder, a small pinch of nutmeg powder, freshly grated coconut, powdered and whole saunf, beaten curds and water. 

Beat well with your hands till the batter becomes light and fluffy. 

Cover and leave aside for an hour or more for a bit of fermentation.
   

Add one cup sugar to one cup water and prepare 1:1 sugar syrup seasoned with cardamom and cloves. 

Sprinkle a little rosewater, saffron or essence, if you want. 

Keep the syrup hot, at least warm, to facilitate easy ingress into the malpua and to keep it soft and succulent.
   

Now take the fermented batter and mix and whip well with your hands, adding water if required, to get a smooth batter of pouring consistency, and deep-fry the pua (pancake) in pure ghee till nice and brown, soft and cooked, not too crisp. 

 

When ready take out the fried pua , drain excess ghee, and dip the pua  in the hot sugar syrup completely for a minute to enable just enough permeation, but to obviate over-sogginess. 

 

With the sugar syrup absorbed, the pua has now become malpua and is ready to be eaten with deliciously sweet lip smacking Kheer. 

 

Now don’t tell me you don’t know how to make delicious Kheer. 

Well I prefer delicious Rice Kheer, but if you want you can try it out with vermicelli (seviyan) kheer as long as you don't make it too thick.
   

Malpua must be eaten with Kheer.

 

Malpua and Kheer is not a dessert, a pudding, or a snack, but a complete nourishing breakfast in its entirety, in fact, it can even substitute a full meal. 

The luscious wholesome combination is heavenly and you will be overwhelmed with a wonderful feeling of blissful satiation.

And do tell us if you know where I can relish authentic Malpua in Pune.

HAPPY EATING

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

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About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

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