Zero sugar, 28g protein: Mumbai nutritionist shares apple malpuas recipe for Diwali

Diwali is incomplete without the irresistible spread of traditional Indian sweets. From barfis and laddos to jalebis and gulab jamuns, these sweet treats make the celebrations even more special. Among the plethora of options, malpuas often take centre stage. Soft and fluffy with crispy edges and an indulgent, rich taste, they are hailed as a festive favourite. But malpuas are often deep-fried, coated in sugar syrup, and topped with creamy rabdi, which can lead to too much calorie intake. But Mumbai nutritionist Vanshika Khurana seems to have found a healthier alternative.

In one of her latest Instagram entries, the Mumbai nutritionist, in collaboration with Bengaluru-based food influencer Adhya Subramanian, shared the recipe for a tasty and healthy malpua recipe, packed with 28g of protein and contains zero sugar.

3 malpuas: Ingredients required

3-4 thin apple slices


45g whole wheat atta

10g fine sooji

100ml toned milk for batter

Zero-calorie sweetener, to taste

1 tsp fennel seeds

3–4 cardamom pods

1 tsp ghee

100 g high-protein paneer

300ml toned milk for rabdi

Zero-calorie sweetener, to taste

Cardamom powder

3–4 strands saffron

150ml water for syrup

3 tbsp zero-calorie sweetener for syrup

3–4 strands saffron for syrup

Cardamom powder for syrup

Chopped pistachios, for garnish

2 tsp rose water

How to make

For the protein rabdi

To make the rabdi, pour 300ml toned milk into a pan, bringing it to a boil. Add crumbled high-protein paneer and zero-calorie sweetener after it reduces slightly. Stir thoroughly and let it cook. After that, add some cardamom powder and saffron. Make sure to continue reducing until the mixture thickens.

Next, take out around 2 serving spoons of the milk-paneer mixture and blend until smooth. Pour the blended mixture back into the pan and stir until the rabdi thickens. Then, switch off the flame and let the rabdi cool before refrigerating it.

For apple malpuas

For the apple malpuas, pound the fennel seeds and cardamom pods together before combining whole wheat atta, sooji, zero-calorie sweetener, and the pounded fennel and cardamom. Next, add milk and ghee and mix them together into a smoothly flowing pancake batter. You can adjust the milk as needed.

After that, dip the apple slices into the batter and coat them well. Next, lightly grease a pan with ghee, place the coated apple slices on the pan and cook on a low to medium flame. You have to slow-cook them until they turn golden brown on both sides.

For saffron syrup

For the saffron syrup, add water, zero-calorie sweetener, saffron, rose water and cardamom powder to a pan. After that, simmer for 3–4 minutes.

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A post shared by Vanshika Khurana (@fit.khurana)

After all’s done, dip the cooked apple malpuas in the saffron syrup for 3–4 minutes, remove and serve with chilled rabdi kept in the refrigerator.