Recipe: This winter, ditch chai and coffee to try these warm chocolate malpua

While Tea, coffee and hot chocolate have naturally dominated the mood and the table every winter, it is easy to forget then that the Indian kitchens have, for centuries, stored an exquisite variety of recipes that can match the indulgent mood of the cold weather besides your conventional winter recipes. The easy recipe of chocolate malpua below is enough to back our claim.

Pineapple (thinly sliced)-1 medium

Refine flour – ½ cup

Cocoa powder – ¼ cup

Milk – ½ cup

Sugar – ½ cup

Saffron – 2 or 3 strands

Cinnamon – 1 stick

Oil – for frying

Method:

Prepare a batter by mixing refine flour, cocoa powder and milk. In parallel, heat oil in a pan and dip the pineapple slices in prepared batter. Coat the slices evenly and fry them.

Fry both the sides on medium flame, until it becomes golden brown in colour and crispy in texture.

Method for sugar syrup:

Add sugar, cinnamon stick, saffron strands and water in a frying pan and cook for 5- 6 minutes until the sugar dissolves completely and the texture achieves syrupy consistency.

Take off hot Malpuas from frying pan and drop them in the sugar syrup. Allow the Malpua to soak for 2 minutes. Drain the Malpuas from syrup and serve hot.

(Recipe: Chef Ranveer Brar, Hershey India)

Benefits:

Pineapples are loaded with nutrients and contain disease-fighting antioxidants along with enzymes that can ease digestion. Their consumption may help reduce the risk of cancer, boost immunity, ease the symptoms of arthritis, suppress inflammation and speed up recovery after a surgery or strenuous exercise.

Cocoa has the capacity to stimulate the brain to release endorphins that helps elevate one’s mood. The unsweetened cacao powder is a source of magnesium and other minerals and lacks the high-calorie cocoa butter or sugars found in garden-variety chocolate.