Pancakes

What comes into your mind when you think pancake :-/

 A cake made on a pan?? or something very thick and like  a cake...???cmon, not everybody in the world knows a pancake!! 

Well neither....its like a "foreign Uthappam"..lol..well if uthappam is classified as Indian style pancake and dosa ,neerdosa ,cheela and pithi can also be classified as pancake.. y not vice versa..( i did not classify them as pancakes wikipedia did)

The picture that comes into my mind when i think pancake is of pancakes with pancake syrup drizzling over them and one drop of that ready to fall from the  pancake to the plate...sssllluuurrrpppp...  i tried capturing this on my camera... hehehhehe... but was a flop.. still posting the pic!!

cud not get it fall beautifully and we were so hungry that we did not try more)

Pancakes , i mean the original ones were not part of the indian breakfast till sometime back.. nowadays with globalisation in the food world pancakes, pastas,lasagna,sushi,tortillas, etc  have all entered our  kitchen and end up on our table.. More variety .. great... Variety is the spice of life!!!


What exactly is  a  pancake?


A pancake is a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter, and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads, which use a quick leavening agent such as baking powder, while some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Typically, pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side. Depending on the region, pancakes may be served at any time of day, with a variety of toppings or fillings including jam, chocolate chips, fruit, syrup or meat.( from wiki .. well i would not like to sit and define  a pancake.. i prefer the Ctrl C and Ctrl V buttons!!!!)

Another interesting thing i found was that there is  a pancake day .Eggs are forbidden during lent and hence they are made on Shrove Tuesday(Mardi Gras) so that the eggs could be used up.

I had seen the pancake recipe on joyofbaking and wanted to try it some day.Last Friday N and i got up late( we sit up late previous night so thatt we get up late... but unfortuately for N late is around 8:30-9 am!!!and for me it is 11am..but i always get up around N's time)Our favourite Friday breakfast recipes are puttu,poori masala etc.. but  i was in no mood for that ... I showed him the video on joyofbaking and he said " Aaj main banata hoon", :)


So both of us made the breakfast together.We were like kids.. who will make the next pancake .. and both of us wud go "me", "me""me"!!!! It was fun


N's verdict: Awesome pancakes.Even in Chevron I have not had such tasty pancakes"( chevron is the american company with which N has sailed ) :x

Recipe adapted from joyofbaking. I love this website and Stephanie Jowarsky is one of my Baking Gurus!!

Ingredients:

( This makes about 8  pancakes..i forgot to count.. but we just had one remaining and we are only 2 people)

All purpose flour(maida)-1 cup(130 gms)
Baking powder-1 1/2 tspn
Salt-1/4 tspn
Sugar -2 tablespoon( i would like to add a tablespoon or 2 more..)
Egg- 1 lightly beaten
Milk-1 cup ( can use full cream or toned(low fat))-full cream will give fluffier pancakes.)
Unsalted butter(melted)- 2 tbsn( i used salted butter)
extra butter for greasing pan
Vanilla essence-1 tspn( thats my addition and was not there  in original recipe)




























Method:

Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a bowl( sugar,flour,baking powder).In another bowl mix together milk, egg and melted butter.


Now make  a well in the middle of the dry mixture and pour in all the egg mixture into it.Stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon till well combined. Some small  lumps may be there ,ignore it.

DO NOT over mix the batter the pancakes will be tough.

Heat a non-stick  pan( dosa or chapathi pan will be good).Grease with butter.
Just like we make uthappam, take the batter in a ladle and pour into heated saucepan.Do not spread.The mixture will spread a little by itself.

Keep on medium -high.

Small bubbles will start appearing on the top  surface of the pancake. You can also check by lifting the pancake a little. (This will take about 2-3 minutes)The bottom should have turned into a golden brown colour.Flip the pancake.Let the other side cook,say about a minute or two.

Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve immediately with maple syrup /nutella/jam or pancake syrup.

Note:It will be better not to pile up the pancakes one on top of other .The bottom ones may turn soggy.
In India,it is better to sieve the maida/flour as lumps may be there.