ANARASI MALPUA

Anarash .... Ananas ...... Pineapple .... was not that much of a favourite of mine as I was of mango or litchi or even watermelon .... but if you have a mother like our's, you have to have all seasonal fruits. Until a certain stage, not much of a fruit variety except for mango, banana, apple, orange, guava, grapes, jamrul, shakalu, jackfruit were seen in our home unless there were special prayer meets. Once the father got transferred from one place to another given his nature of job, the mother got used to live with her two kids doing all kinds of household chores alone .... odd and even both. Going to the wet market all alone was something she learnt then and she did / does it pretty well .... courtesy .... our maternal grandfather. It is then she learnt how to check and buy a fresh fish or meat or vegetables. 

The mother gradually started buying fruits on a regular basis for her kids, which we had to have in the afternoons .... peeled, cut, dressed by the mom. How I regret now for never asking her ..... mani, do you need some help? No wonder that she will surprisingly ask me .... when did you learn so much mamoni? .... Her lazy little girl was always seen lying on the bed with a book .... undoubtedly a fiction .... either with that little detective boy Gogol or in the romantic world of Buddhadev Guha .... My brother is even lazier, but in the present day, who would stay together with the veteran mother and allow her freedom? I need not take any responsibility!

Until then, I did not have to hear from the senior of the chopsticks .... you know S, Buddhadeb Guha writes keeping in mind silly romantics like you .... I had never been within the justifiable limits of reasoning and I am absolutely fine with it .... I have some similar minded people as my confidant.... One of my dearest friend from college .... Swati Bhattacharya been one ... a voracious reader and an excellent cook who runs a small home catering unit. You would love her kaju bata pabdar jhol.... Where do we bond? ... We bond over music, poem, cooking and our indomitable love for fictions ... she named her only daughter who is doing final year of dentistry after a very famous character of Buddhadev Guha .... Kurchi.... Ahh! I have perhaps dated almost all the male characters of these writers .... I am not that good as I seem to be .... kind of woo-man .... The senior at home knows it well, hence the wifey has to lock herself in the kitchen often ... prepare goodies like this enthralling dessert .... Pineapple Malpua or Anarasi / Ananas Malpua.

Taking control of home comes naturally to me perhaps ... I am our mother's daughter and grandma's pet too .... besides ... a mariner's wife has to know all kinds of work, there cannot be any other way out .... we stay all alone for months, we ought to know everything from visiting the wet market, to the men's salon to near their toilet door ... that is when you have a rebel son grown up as much as not wanting to visit a women's parlour or toilet and a littler enough not to understand the embarrassment of the mother in such situations. I had been lucky to get compassionate males and females around me, perhaps so I fail to take sides... I had always been an worst example of women's lib, I always believe we compliment each other. 

That son goes to the salon alone these days.... mamma gets ample time to spend time in the kitchen, the island is too clean to have enough cockroaches to get the son run un to mamma's lap .... the one who did not know any other lap except of his mother.... hence the mumma cooks and cooks more ... her joy, comfort zone, stress reliever. This momma has few other kids .... laddu Gopal.... Ganesh .... I am pious but not crazy about been that as some .... spending hours in the prayer room .... I am everything in moderation except for been rational ... most of my readers have known it by now .... To stop them from leaving my blog, I have to arrange for some sweet treats on a regular basis. Moreover, Ganesh ji arrives shortly, I am not the kind who will cook and treat him with sweets each day of his stay but I definitely will do it my way .... I try to respect other's wishes, sentiments, emotions; though my shortsightedness, apathy to think and observe much does not support my feelings always .... here I am truly our daddy's girl .... carefree.... oblivious of what is happening around.

This Pineapple Malpua's idea happened for quite sometime .... then I thought let us do it sooner and share the joy with all of my readers, let Gonshu baba eat few of them besides modak. There is nothing too great about it but the syrup made with freshly made pineapple juice and sugar is something you will love. I have added some pineapple juice to the malpua batter too that has been made with the basic ingredients we usually use to prepare the malpua batter .... semolina, refined flour, rice flour, shredded coconut, mashed banana, sugar, milk. 

We have grown up eating malpua, so it is not a big deal for us to go ahead with it. Simultaneously, I did some basic bread baking too .... the men at home like both, hence they are regular at home, I am trying to be better at the making of these. Off course, malpua making is more in the comfort zone, the only satisfaction of taking up the harder job of baking a bread is that it is bleach free. The malpuas will go to the senior's office tomorrow. Besides the Indians there .... his colleagues from this island and the neighbouring country do say .... we love your Indian sweets ..... isn't that a reward enough to prepare often and pack them for the people who appreciate your effort? The happy cook would love doing these Indian style deep fried pancakes dunked in pineapple syrup together with you all.

INGREDIENTS : [for the pineapple syrup]

Pineapple : 1standard sized
Sugar : 1/2 small tea cup sized
Water : As Required
Green Cardamom : 3-4

INGREDIENTS : [for the Malpua]

Semolina : 1/2 coffee cup
Refined Flour : 1 coffee cup
Rice Flour : 2-3 tbsp
Boiled Milk at Room Temperature : 300-350ml 
Sugar : 4-5 tbsp [You may add more]
Banana : 2medium sized
Shredded Coconut : 1small tea cup
Fennel Seed : 1tsp
Oil : 150 -200ml + 1tsp

METHOD :

At first, we will soak the semolina in some milk and keep it like that for about 1/2 an hour.

Then we are to wash the pineapple and cut half. We have to scoop out the flesh and get the juice using a juicer, strain it.

We will add the refined flour, rice flour, rest of the milk, sugar, shredded coconut, banana to the semolina and milk mixture.

We will mash everything well until we get a smooth batter. We will add 1/4 of the pineapple juice to it.

Thereafter, we will add the fennel seeds and a little of oil to the batter and fold in well. We will keep it at rest for about 35-45 minutes before frying.

We will heat enough oil in a wok; use a round-shaped spoon to take the batter, the shape of the malpua has to be round. In my case, when I soak the malpuas in a syrup, I do not allow them to puff up! Hence, we would fry them in low heat!

When one side of the malpua / pancake turns golden brown, we will flip over and fry until the other side turns brown too.

We will keep them on to a tissue paper first before transferring them to a serving plate. 

Once we are done with  frying quite a few of the malpuas, we will prepare the pineapple syrup side by side. Take the pineapple juice, sugar, water and 2-3 torn green cardamom in a clean wok, switch on the gas stove burner.

We will simmer it until we get a sticky consistency. We will switch off the burner and let the syrup cool a bit. We will add each malpua gently, keep for 1-2 minutes and take out, arrange on the serving plate. We will pour the remaining juice atop!

We will serve them warm. We can refrigerate them up to 3-4 days. We need to take out an hour before serving, heat for about a minute before serving. An irresistible sweet / dessert suitable for any festival is ready to be served. Enjoy!