Malpua is the festive pancake of the region — a batter of flour, semolina and milk, fried in ghee to lacy-edged rounds and steeped in cardamom-and-saffron syrup, often crowned with reduced milk (rabri). In many Maithil homes it is the sweet of Holi, sometimes eaten, remarkably, alongside a mutton curry.
A simple method: whisk flour, a little semolina, milk and fennel to a smooth batter and rest it; fry spoonfuls in ghee until golden at the edges; dip in warm saffron syrup and serve with rabri and pistachios.