I used to love My Disney Kitchen as a child. The computer game, where you potter around the kitchen, baking cakes and popping corn? No clue? Thought so much. Normal childhood, huh?
But, seriously. Nothing evoked the psychic phase of my childhood digestion (read: salivation), like that cartoon picture of a stack of pancakes, with the maple syrup dripping off it, and a white square of butter occupying the place of pride.
I practically nagged everyone going to the USA to bring back those cheerfully-yellow packs of Bisquick (back then, Madras didn't stock them. Trust me, I tried hunting them down). Ninth-standard cookery classes paid off though: I finally learnt how to make pancakes from scratch. Do I hear the green-carders heaving a sigh of relief?
It's easy to screw up pancakes (Read: rubbery, heavy, holey pancakes). Just as easy to churn out the perfect stack of fluffy, steaming pancakes, though.
It's also easy to buy yourself a pack of Bisquick or Betty Crocker's pancake mix. It's even easier to go down the DIY route. Easier, and more fulfilling.
You need two bowls, one griddle, and things that could be dug out of the average Indian pantry. Make it your own, putting in whatever you like-chocolate chips, fruit, nuts. Reserve some batter for the old-fashioned type pancakes-with-syrup and butter, though.
Pancakes!
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
1/4 cup sugar, powdered
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup yoghurt (does not have to be thick)
1 cup milk
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
Method:
1) Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. All your dry ingredients, basically. Mix well.
2)In another bowl, combine the milk, yoghurt, melted butter and eggs. Whisk it. I say, Whisk it. Whisk it good. Teh teh teh teh teh.
I'll stop singing.
3)Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Fold in the wet batter. DO NOT OVERMIX.
It's OK if there are little lumps or streaks of flour. To overmix would be the Dementor's kiss to the pancakes.
4)Heat the griddle (any normal non-stick dosa tawa would do). Mildly grease it with butter/cooking spray. You do not have to keep adding butter or oil for each pancake. Yay.
5)Ladle out some of the batter (around 1/4 cup) onto the warm griddle). Make mini-pancakes or a nice big one, but you need a thickness of atleast 1.5 cm.
Add in the chocolate chips/nuts/apple bits if you are planning to.
When you see bubbles burst on the surface, flip them over. They should be a nice, golden brown on the cooked side. A couple of minutes on each side would be my guesstimate.
You could also try shapes. When I do, though, people play "Let's guess what it is?!" over breakfast.
6)Best served straight off the griddle, but if you want to keep them all warm until later, stow them away in the oven set to "Keep Warm" option. If you don't have that option, just reflip them until warm on the griddle again. I would not recommend this though.
Recipe: Adapted from AJ's Cooking Secrets.
Serving options:
You can have them straight, but they won't satiate your sweet tooth, if you have one. So, here you go.
Honey+butter.
Chocolate chips in the batter+chocolate sauce
Chocolate chips batter+chocolate sauce+chocolate ice cream/whipped cream. (Just kidding. Mostly).
Pecans/walnuts/almonds in the batter+Maple syrup.
Sprinkling of powdered sugar (if you can't stand syrup early in the morning.)
Fruits+whipped cream.
Bananas+Nutella.
Strawberry Coulis.
Strawberry Coulis:
1 cup strawberries, hulled.
2 tbsp water (I used the liquid left over from a cherry tin for an extra twang)
2 tbsp white sugar
1)Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.
2)Cool, beat with a hand-blender or in a mixie. Sieve.
I completely skipped this step (as you can see), because I'd crossed my threshold by then. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week, covered. Leaps better than any storebought cough-syrupy strawberry topping.
.
Ooh. One more very important step. Dig in.
But, seriously. Nothing evoked the psychic phase of my childhood digestion (read: salivation), like that cartoon picture of a stack of pancakes, with the maple syrup dripping off it, and a white square of butter occupying the place of pride.
I practically nagged everyone going to the USA to bring back those cheerfully-yellow packs of Bisquick (back then, Madras didn't stock them. Trust me, I tried hunting them down). Ninth-standard cookery classes paid off though: I finally learnt how to make pancakes from scratch. Do I hear the green-carders heaving a sigh of relief?
It's easy to screw up pancakes (Read: rubbery, heavy, holey pancakes). Just as easy to churn out the perfect stack of fluffy, steaming pancakes, though.
It's also easy to buy yourself a pack of Bisquick or Betty Crocker's pancake mix. It's even easier to go down the DIY route. Easier, and more fulfilling.
You need two bowls, one griddle, and things that could be dug out of the average Indian pantry. Make it your own, putting in whatever you like-chocolate chips, fruit, nuts. Reserve some batter for the old-fashioned type pancakes-with-syrup and butter, though.
Pancakes!
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
1/4 cup sugar, powdered
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup yoghurt (does not have to be thick)
1 cup milk
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
Method:
1) Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. All your dry ingredients, basically. Mix well.
 |
| This is the only time I've advocated the use of homemade or lowfat yoghurt! |
2)In another bowl, combine the milk, yoghurt, melted butter and eggs. Whisk it. I say, Whisk it. Whisk it good. Teh teh teh teh teh.
I'll stop singing.
3)Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Fold in the wet batter. DO NOT OVERMIX.
It's OK if there are little lumps or streaks of flour. To overmix would be the Dementor's kiss to the pancakes.
4)Heat the griddle (any normal non-stick dosa tawa would do). Mildly grease it with butter/cooking spray. You do not have to keep adding butter or oil for each pancake. Yay.
5)Ladle out some of the batter (around 1/4 cup) onto the warm griddle). Make mini-pancakes or a nice big one, but you need a thickness of atleast 1.5 cm.
 |
| Ideal time to flip it over! |
Add in the chocolate chips/nuts/apple bits if you are planning to.
When you see bubbles burst on the surface, flip them over. They should be a nice, golden brown on the cooked side. A couple of minutes on each side would be my guesstimate.
You could also try shapes. When I do, though, people play "Let's guess what it is?!" over breakfast.
 |
| It's a heart, OK? Once I'm done cutting the bits off, at least. |
 |
| A couple of teaspoons of Hershey's chocolate sauce finishes it off! |
6)Best served straight off the griddle, but if you want to keep them all warm until later, stow them away in the oven set to "Keep Warm" option. If you don't have that option, just reflip them until warm on the griddle again. I would not recommend this though.
Recipe: Adapted from AJ's Cooking Secrets.
Serving options:
You can have them straight, but they won't satiate your sweet tooth, if you have one. So, here you go.
Honey+butter.
Chocolate chips in the batter+chocolate sauce
Chocolate chips batter+chocolate sauce+chocolate ice cream/whipped cream. (Just kidding. Mostly).
Pecans/walnuts/almonds in the batter+Maple syrup.
Sprinkling of powdered sugar (if you can't stand syrup early in the morning.)
Fruits+whipped cream.
Bananas+Nutella.
Strawberry Coulis.
Strawberry Coulis:
1 cup strawberries, hulled.
2 tbsp water (I used the liquid left over from a cherry tin for an extra twang)
2 tbsp white sugar
1)Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.
2)Cool, beat with a hand-blender or in a mixie. Sieve.
 |
| It tastes way better than it looks! |
I completely skipped this step (as you can see), because I'd crossed my threshold by then. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week, covered. Leaps better than any storebought cough-syrupy strawberry topping.
.
Ooh. One more very important step. Dig in.
Assaklamu alikkum,
ReplyDeleteThe pan cake you eat in Nihad's house is your recipe.I am suggesting you to do one recipe in every Sunday and post it. Save your purse as well as you stomach .