Oreo Malpua Recipe for Durga Puja: How to Get Perfectly Crisp Edges

Written by Hanna Thomas | September 19, 2025

Why Oreo Malpua Is Perfect for Durga Puja

Malpuas are one of the popular treats in Navratri bhog. It is often prepared on various festivals, such as Holi, Diwali, and Janmashtami. In Odisha, for example, malpua is part of the famous Chhappan Bhog, which is offered to Lord Jagannath. Malpua is a sattvic preparation, made using ingredients such as milk, jaggery, flour, and fruits like bananas. The traditional recipe is often offered as a prasad to God, and as it is rich and loaded with ghee, it is considered a symbol of abundance and prosperity. Malpua is therefore a significant treat for Durga Puja during Navratri.

There are many variations of classic malpua. Dessert chefs always strive to introduce innovations into malpua to make it more appealing to people who enjoy trying something adventurous. From flavors like chocolate to vanilla, everything has been experimented with using a simple malpua recipe, and with every experiment, it always becomes more interesting. Since malpua is made with a mildly flavored base, it provides numerous opportunities to introduce additional flavors. This recipe gives an even more interesting twist to Malpua with the addition of Oreo cookies. Oreo cookies bring a chocolatey flavor along with a crispy texture, making malpuas more indulgent. The addition of Oreo cookies to malpua batter adds an interesting flavor that tastes much better than fruit. You can further enhance it by adding more dark chocolate and other flavorings. This recipe is perfect for both adults and children. While introducing a new twist, it retains its traditional value, serving as an elegant treat that appeals to everyone. Try out this recipe and prepare it for Durga Puja to make the festival even more memorable.

Ingredients for Oreo Malpua

Ingredients:

• Take out the cream and crush the biscuits before adding them to the batter.
• 10–12 Oreo biscuits with cream removed
• 1/2 cup maida (all-purpose flour)
• 1/4 cup semolina (sooji/rava)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp sugar or jaggery
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds (saunf)
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Ghee/oil

For Sugar Syrup:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• A few saffron strands
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder

How to Make Oreo Malpua

Step 1: Prepare Sugar Syrup

Add sugar to water and bring it to a boil until the sugar dissolves, forming a syrup with a one-string consistency. One-string consistency means that when you rub the syrup between your index finger and thumb, then pull your fingers apart, a string forms, which confirms that the syrup is thick enough. After that, flavor the syrup with cardamom powder and saffron. Keep it warm so it absorbs well in malpua.

Make sure to keep the syrup warm, but do not let it boil while you fry your malpuas.

Step 2: Make the Malpua Batter

Crush Oreo cookies into a fine powder, then mix it with flour, semolina, sugar, fennel seeds, and cardamom powder. Now, gradually add milk to the mixture to turn it into a smooth pancake-like batter. Add some baking powder to help the malpua puff up. Baking powder will make malpua spongy and delicious.

To prepare an Oreo malpua recipe, make sure the batter is neither too thick nor too runny, like pancake batter.

Let the batter sit for 30 minutes before frying so that the semolina can soak up some liquid from the mixture.

Step 3: Fry the Malpuas

Add ghee to a shallow pan for frying malpuas. Ladle some batter onto heated ghee and press it down slightly to make it flat and spread evenly. You can spread it out as big as you want to make massive malpua or bite-sized malpua. Remember to be creative! Fry malpua on medium heat until it turns golden brown and crisp on the edges. Take the malpua out and keep a paper towel to soak up extra oil.

Make sure to keep the ghee at medium flame. If you let the ghee get too hot, your malpua will be browned on the outside but undercooked from the inside.

Step 4: Dip in Syrup & Serve

Once the malpua is fried, soak it immediately in the prepared warm sugar syrup for about 30 to 40 seconds. Remove it from the sugar syrup, drain excess syrup, and garnish with a few Oreo crumbs and nuts.

Soak each malpua in the syrup for half to two-thirds of a minute to ensure it soaks up enough liquid without becoming overly soft.

Tips to Get Perfect Crisp Edges for Oreo Malpua

Get the Batter Consistency Right

• The key to making perfectly crisp malpua lies in the batter. When the batter is too thin, malpuas will turn out to be soggy, and more oil will get absorbed into them, which ruins the whole experience. When the batter is too thick, malpuas will become dense and remain uncooked in the center. Therefore, the batter should have a pancake-like consistency.
• The proper batter is neither too thin nor too thick. It is spreadable yet holds up well together when fried.
• Let the batter rest for 10-15 minutes before frying so that the semolina can absorb some moisture and the batter gets set to the required consistency.
• Using semolina in the batter adds texture and helps make malpuas crispy.

Fry at the Right Temperature

• Fry malpuas on medium flame. When you fry on low heat, it absorbs more oil, making the malpuas oily. When you fry at high heat, the edges burn, while the center remains uncooked and soggy.
• As a simple test, just drop a little bit of the batter in the hot ghee or oil; it should sizzle and bubble up a little bit before turning brown.

Avoid Overcrowding the Pan

• Only fry a few malpuas at a time, leaving room in between them, because adding more than that may lead to lowering the temperature of the ghee or oil, and the malpuas would turn out oily and not crisp.

Don't Over-Soak the Malpua

• Dip malpuas in sugar syrup while they are still hot and not cooled. Hot malpuas absorb syrup while retaining their crunch. Cooled-down malpuas will become soggy after dipping.
• To get a crispy-edged chocolate malpua recipe, reduce the time of soaking to about 30-40 seconds; soaking for too long increases the chances of the edges getting soggy.

Serving Ideas for Oreo Malpua

• Garnish hot malpuas with Oreo crumbs for extra cookie flavor and texture.
• Top it with chopped nuts like almonds, pistachios, or cashews.
• Add a dollop of optional rabri or cream to make it more substantial.
• And finally, give it all a nice garnish of crushed Oreo biscuits, just before serving.