Malpua - Sweet Indian pancakes in syrup

Amidst all the Christmas festivities and the numerous cakes and desserts to be seen at this time of the year, there are days when I crave something totally ..well, "Desi"! By 'desi', I mean Indian. There are so many amazing desserts and sweets that we make during our festival season, that I am finding myself craving for so many of those these days!
Malpua - a sweet pancake dipped in syrup, and served with milk pudding(kheer), is one of my favourite dishes that my mom makes on some special occasions. The way we make it at home is way too cumbersome for me, and yes, I have tried it a few times, and failed on every occasion :-)
So I took the shorter route, and I can proudly say that it has been successful in each attempt. This one uses condensed milk. Here is the recipe

For the pancake
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (200 g/7 oz)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup semolina. (You can substitute it with all purpose flour if you can't find semolina)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup water
a pinch of salt
oil for deep frying
pistachios/nuts for garnish

For the syrup
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup water.

Prepare the syrup by bringing sugar and water to a boil. Keep it aside. I don't make my syrup too thick. Most people recommend a single thread consistency for this syrup. But I like it to be thin, and don't soak my pancakes in it for longer than a minute either. The condensed milk adds sufficient sweetness for my taste.
For the pancake - mix in all the dry ingredients. Then add the condensed milk, and water to form the batter. Deep fry these pancakes in hot oil for a about a minute each side - until they turn golden brown.
Dip these in syrup for about a minute. Serve them on a plate and garnish with pistachios.
These are served with milk pudding, but I didn't make any. So I served it with ice-cream. Vanilla ice-cream would be just perfect with these babies. Share