PAAL CAKE / FRIED MILK CAKE - TEASTALL SWEET

Paal Cake / Fried Milk cake

Kerala snacks are loved by most of the malayalis and even these snacks are very popular among present generation also. Some authentic malabar snacks or kerala snacks always impart  a nostalgic taste like pazham pori, neyyvada, unnakaya, unniappam, chattipathiri, neyyappam, paal cake, kalthappam etc. Recently I have shared a detailed recipe blog and video showing how to make neyvada at home. This time am with yet another kerala Teastall snack or sweet recipe. Paal Cake is a very popular teastall sweet or snack and it's taste resembles almost that of neyvada. For me, paal cake is a sweet accompaniment to evening tea especially when it is raining outside. Those rainy days with gloomy skies and me with a cup of black tea without sugar accompanied with this paal cake, a nostalgic feel , right? But this snack is surprisingly lesser known even in other districts of kerala. Really it's a mouthwatering sweet for me. Though this cake is named as paal cake which means milk cake, it is a sweet without milk. Paal cake has a crispy crust with soft juicy inside. So do try my paal cake recipe and drop your feedback. 

INGREDIENTS

All purpose flour / maida- 2 cups (1 cup = 250 ml)

Butter - 1 tbsp, softened

Ghee- quarter a cup, softened 

Baking powder -  1 tsp

Baking soda - a pinch, do not add more

Yogurt - 3 tbsp, thick and less sour

Sugar - 2 tbsp, do not add more 

Egg  white - of one egg

Vegetable oil or sunflower oil  - for deep frying

FOR SUGAR SYRUP

Sugar   - 2 cups

Water  - 1 cup

Lemon juice  - 1 tsp

Cardamom -  2 nos

PREPARATION

please watch the video below 

• In a large bowl, sieve together All-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Sieving the flour mixture is very important. (both baking powder and baking soda  is must in this recipe.)
• Mix this flour mixture  well with a spoon and then add softened butter. Combine well with your fingers.
• To this, add the melted ghee little by little. The ghee must be mixed well with the flour. Combine well to form a bread crumbs texture. 
• For kneading this flour mixture to a soft dough, combine together egg white, curd, and sugar in another bowl..  Add this egg mixture little by little to the flour mixture and knead well to form a  soft dough. You must knead the dough very well. Keep this dough aside covered for half an hour.
• Meanwhile let's make the sugar syrup. Boil sugar, water and cardamom in a pan until it form a one string consistency. Then add lemon juice.  Mix well and off the flame.
• Now the dough for paal cake will be ready. Do not knead the dough at this stage, but roll  and flatten the dough using a rolling pin to form a rectangular shape with minimum thickness.
• Then cut it into desired shapes or same like pal cake. 
• Heat a pan with oil for deep frying.  Once hot, drop the prepared cakes to the oil and then make the flame to medium low. You must cook the cakes over a medium flame only else results in an uncooked paal cakes.
• Fry until both sides turn golden.
• When done, transfer it to a plate and immediately put them in warm sugar syrup for 3 to 5 minutes or until the next batch is ready. (you can heat the sugar syrup for a minute if it is cooled). 
• Do not keep the cakes in syrup for more time.
• After 3 to 5 minutes, transfer it to the plate and allow it to cool down before serving for best result. You can store them in the refrigerator  for 2-3 days.