Easy Desserts: Sooji Ka Malpua by Chandrani Jana

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing good and staying safe! Welcome to Chandrani's Kitchen.

The lockdown period is going on for quite some time and we can only stay indoors during this time. Bengalis always crave for sweets, more so during such crisis times. So, today I will tell you about such a homemade sweet which can be made quickly with sooji (semolina), milk, and sugar. Let's get started, then!

Ingredients:

Sooji (semolina) - 200gm

Milk - 500ml

Sugar - 500gm

Cardamon - 4 pieces

Desi ghee - 2 tablespoons

Cashew nuts - 15-16 pieces whole, grind them with the help of a grinder.

Process:

• Take a wide pan or kadhai and switch on the gas on a medium flame.
• Add sooji, sugar, and mix for 5 minutes. 

• Add milk in small parts and mix well to make it consistent without any lumps.

• When the mixture is completely dry, switch off the flame and keep aside for 30 mins.

• While the mixture is getting cooled, let's prepare the sugar syrup. Take a deep pan and switch on the gas.
• Add sugar, water and melt the sugar on a low to medium flame. Stir continuously until sugar dissolves completely.

• Boil for 5 minutes after sugar dissolves and add the crushed cardamons.
• When the syrup turns brownish and sticky but not too thick, switch off the flame and keep it aside.

• Now, knead the cooked and cooled sooji mixture like atta/flour dough. Take a flat panned container and put 1 tablespoon of desi ghee. Now, mix the sooji dough with ghee well.

• Keep kneading until the sooji mixture turns into a semi-sticky dough like atta/flour. Divide this dough into equal shaped small balls.

• Take chakla belan (flat-bread roller) and add a few drops of oil. Now roll these balls into flat-breads like chapatis and cut into round pieces with the help of small round cutter (or a small bottle lid if you don't have a cutter).

• Take a kadhai and heat oil on a medium flame. When the oil is boiling hot, add the round flat-breads one by one and fry until these turn golden on both sides and puffy.

• Strain these puffed-up fried flat-breads and dip into the sugar syrup.

• Take these out from sugar syrup and garnish by sprinkling ground cashew nuts on top. These lip-smacking homemade sooji sweets are ready to be served and savored.