This is by far the sweetest combination of EAST MEETS WEST. I officially declare these RABRI PANCAKES as a delectable dessert and not just a breakfast food. The inspiration of this derives from one of my most favorite INDIAN SWEETS called MALPUA-RABRI. Malpua are sort of Indian pancakes served by itself or with RABRI(which is made from reduced milk, saffron, sugar and dry fruits poured over malpua like we do syrup for pancakes).
A little trivia- Malpua are like pancakes but flatter which are then fried in GHEE or OIL and dipped in sugar syrup or honey. They are made from several flours like barley & maida (all purpose flour) with some sooji (semolina) for the crispy texture. Some regions in India even make them with the fruits like banana and flavor it with coconut, cardamom and more. So if you think the idea of pancakes with syrup and malpua-rabri is pretty similar. To be honest I was really skeptical about this recipe but when I tried it, I was totally blown away. The fluffiness of pancakes yet the malpua like fried crust & the richness of rabri....yummmmmm. My mouth is already watering reminiscing the moments I tried this dessert.
Now if you scout the recipes for malpua they are very technical dessert to make unlike pancakes which can be made easily with the ready made batter available. So the combination works well for a fusion recipe like mine. Rabri is not very difficult to make but it's bit time consuming. So if you plan to make this pancakes for dessert than just make the Rabri in advance and enjoy it when you are ready to just make these pancakes. Are you excited already to make these east meets west RABRI PANCAKES then here it is the list of ingredients and the instructions. I purposely made them in mini size so it brings in the texture similar to malpua. Please follow them exactly for the pancakes, you can make the rabri to your liking if you already follow a recipe of your own.
PREP TIME - 30 Mins COOK TIME- 60 Mins Serves- Makes 8/10 pancakes
You will still have some rabri left from the below quantity which you can enjoy by itself.
Ingredients for RABRI
500 ml Whole milk
500 ml heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar (I like my rabri less sweet if you want more add 1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon saffron strands (kesar)
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 tea spoon kewra water or essence
1 tea spoon rose water
pinch of crushed fennel seeds
1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios & almonds (add more if you like)
*In a deep pot or pan add in the milk and heavy cream and let it simmer on low-medium heat till its reduced in half. Add in the saffron,cardamom powder chopped nuts, fennel seeds & sugar at this point and again let is reduce in half. keep an eye on it and keep stirring to prevent from sticking to bottom.
*You'll notice the milk to start becoming thick and grainy in consistency. Keep cooking for the consistency or rabri you like. I kept mine in semi thick pouring consistency. once done add in the kewra & rose water give it a quick mix and turn off flame. Let it cool.
*you can even serve the rabri chilled. just let it come to room temp and then refrigerate it for 2-3 hours for it to be cold.
Ingredients for Pancakes
1 Cup buttermilk & honey pancake (waffle )mix (see pics for the one i used)
CHOOSE the one lets you substitute egg with yogurt
1 tea spoon roughly crushed fennel seeds
1 tablespoon sooji (semolina)
2 tbsp sugar
1.5 table spoon yogurt
pinch of cardamom powder
some oil to shallow fry pancakes
water as required
*In a bowl add the ready made pancake mix, yogurt, sugar, sooji, cardamom powder, a spoon of oil and mix well. add in the water to package instructions for thin pancakes. mix well to get rid of lumps and get a smooth pouring consistency batter.
*heat a small pan and add in a spoon of oil, with a small ladle add in pancake mix and make a small pancake. let the sides of it fry and get crisp and golden brown. Cook by gently applying pressure on both sides and done. Repeat process till you make all the pancakes.
For Serving- Take the pancakes and pour over the rabri like syrup (more or less to your liking and add some chopped pistachios and almonds on it). You can serve the rabri hot or cold to your liking with the pancakes. SLIDE BELOW FOR THE PICS.
NOTE- if you want the rabri to cook faster add khoa as a substitute for heavy cream. just add 1 liter of milk and let it reduce in less than half and then add khoa. or just scout online for a rabri recipe with khoa or mawa.
