• Home
• Recipes
• Indian pancakes with saffron & rosewater cream (malpua & rabri)

Indian pancakes with saffron & rosewater cream (malpua & rabri)

• Roopa Gulati

Save recipe

Serves 4 - 6

More effort

Prep: 50 mins

Cook: 50 mins

0 reviews

loading...

Enjoy Indian fried pancakes as a sweet treat. Often served at the festival Holi, they are steeped in saffron-cardamom syrup and topped with a rosewater cream

Vegetarian

Print

Ad

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Loading...

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Gujiya

A star rating of 0 out of 5.0 ratings

Thandai

A star rating of 4.5 out of 5.2 ratings

Saffron flatbread filled with lentils & jaggery (puran poli)

A star rating of 5 out of 5.1 rating

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

For the rabri (rosewater cream)

• 1l full-cream Jersey milk

• 25g caster sugar

• ¼ tsp saffron strands

  soaked in 1 tbsp milk

• 1 tsp rosewater

For the malpua (pancakes)

• 75g plain flour

• ¼ tsp fine salt

• 75g whole milk powder

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• 250ml whole milk

• ghee

  for shallow frying

For the cardamom and saffron syrup

• 250g caster sugar

• 6 green cardamom pods

  pierced

• ½ tsp saffron strands

  soaked in 4 tbsp warm water for 1 hour

To serve

• 25g pistachios

  chopped

• dried rose petals

  (optional)

Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.

Nutrition: Per serving

• kcal460
• fat18g
• saturates8g
• carbs64g
• sugars54g
• fibre1g
• protein10g
• salt0.4g

Ad

Method

• step 1

  To make the rabri, heat the milk over a medium heat, then boil until it reduces to a cream. It’s best to use a wok, karahi or a sturdy casserole for this – you want the milk to reduce quickly so that it retains its creamy colour without browning. Stir continuously, scraping down the sides of the pan as it cooks.

• step 2

  After about 20 mins, the milk will have reduced by two-thirds and have the consistency of double cream. Stir in the caster sugar and continue cooking until the sugar has dissolved. Add the saffron strands along with the soaking milk and the rosewater. Spoon the cream into a bowl and leave to cool, before transferring to the fridge.

• step 3

  To make the malpua batter, sieve the flour and salt into a medium bowl and mix in the milk powder and fennel seeds. Make a well in the middle of the flour and whisk in enough milk to make a smooth batter – aim for the consistency of double cream. Cover and leave it to rest at room temperature for 20 mins.

• step 4

  To make the syrup, put the sugar in a pan with 300ml water, heat gently, stirring, to dissolve (do not let the water boil). Add the cardamom pods, then simmer for 5 mins. Turn off the heat and gradually stir through the saffron along with its soaking water. Cover the pan and keep the syrup warm while you make the pancakes.

• step 5

  Heat enough ghee in a deep-sided frying pan to create a depth of 3cm when melted. Whisk the batter – it will have thickened slightly and should now have a coating consistency. Add a little more milk if needed.

• step 6

  Once the ghee reaches 130C, or when a cube of bread dropped in browns in 1 min, carefully drop in tablespoons of the batter, leaving room for them to spread. Each pancake should be about 7cm in diameter when it spreads. Take care not to overcrowd the pan.

• step 7

  Cook the pancakes in batches for 2-3 mins. Once the batter has set, increase the heat slightly, and continue cooking until the pancakes are golden. Remove from the oil using a fish slice and drain on kitchen paper.

• step 8

  Add the hot pancakes to the warm syrup in batches, letting them steep for 2-3 mins. Drain the pancakes, then transfer to a serving plate and cover to keep them warm. Repeat the process with the remaining batter and syrup – there should be 14-16 small pancakes.

• step 9

  Spoon any extra saffron and cardamom syrup around the pancakes and top each with a generous helping of chilled rabri. To serve, scatter with chopped pistachios and rose petals, if you like.

Ad

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

0 reviews

Ad

Ad

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access for just £6. Find triple-tested recipes that take the stress out of deciding what to cook, spend less time planning, and more time enjoying the season.

Subscribe now

Loading...

Ad

Loading...

Loading...