Pancake Day Recipe Ideas
Pancake Day Ideas to Make it A Bit Different
Listen to the podcast series on veganuary here: listen nowHow to make a basic pancake?
The most basic pancake recipe is to whisk flour, egg and add milk in a bowl then leave it to rest for half an hour or so, although resting it isn’t necessary if you are in a rush.
- Beat together 5 tablespoons of flour, 1 egg and half a mug of milk (multiply up if you want more)
- Heat a pan and add butter oil
- Pour in some batter
- Wait until you see some small holes appear and the top looks set
- Brave version: toss; not so brave version: flip using a spatula
- Cook on the other side
- Transfer to a plate with a spatula
How to make pancakes for different dietary requirements?
When catering for others you may need to think about:
- how to make pancakes for vegetarians who don’t eat eggs?
- how to make pancakes for vegans/how to make pancakes with milk alternatives?
- how to make vegans for gluten intolerant
Read on for more ideas on traditional pancakes from around the world that don’t require eggs or milk. But if you want to stick to what you know there are lots of alternative milks out there and you can substitute the eggs for an egg alternative or simply leave them out.
How to add va va voom to your base
make your pancake interesting by adding:
- salt and pepper, obvs
- herbs and spices
- make it sweet by adding sugar
- add mashed fruit – try mixing in banana and less milk
- add a small pinch of bicarbonate of soda for a fluffy pancake
- add cocoa powder for chocolate pancakes
- seeds for texture
- ground oats or almonds
Experiment with different flours
When anyone mentions pancakes I immediately think of pancakes made from plain flour. But we have been making pancakes using different types of flour for centuries. I’m Indian and we have countless dishes that are pancakes but I never thought about them as pancakes. Think about the popular South Indian dish dosa made from fermented rice and lentils which are then ground to make wonderful thin and crispy base which is served with curry and chutneys. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!
We also make pancakes using semolina flour to make a popular dish called upma. Here are some other bases we use to make pancakes instead of plain flour:
- chick pea flour
- semolina flour
- fermented rice and lentils
- ground sprouted mung beans
When using different fours or bases you don’t need eggs – just adding water and maybe some flour e.g. arrow root flour, is enough. This makes it a great choice for people who prefer not to consume eggs or milk.
Pancake topping ideas
Pancakes don’t have to be sweet. I love serving pancakes for mains on pancake day of course followed by a sweet pancake for dessert. Here are some amazing and different toppings:
- mushrooms in white sauce
- curry
- ratatouille
- fried sliced aubergine in tomato sauce topped with mozzarella
- chicken, herbs and cream
- mincemeat with cumin, ginger, garlic and chillies
How to serve pancakes
Growing up, I always had pancakes on a plate topped with lemon and sugar then rolled up. Then one pancake day I served up savoury mushroom pancakes in layers. It was like a lasagna with each layer separated by fried mushrooms and a garlic creamy sauce. On top I sprinkled mozzarella and breadcrumbs then baked it to perfection. It was truly memorable.
Or why not make mini pancakes and serve them as canapés? Make them a bit thicker and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda so that they are airy which will help them to hold their shape.
Or you can make them in an enchilada style and roll up the pancakes with the filling and place them in a dish and then cover with sauce and cheese and bake.
Or if you make thick pancakes with bicarbonate of soda you could make a sort of sandwich. The ideas are endless.
Experiment
Over to You
What will you make?
So now you must have lots of ideas buzzing around in your head and be confident that you can make pancakes with very little effort. Let me know how you get on. If you want some help injecting that flavour into you pancake then why not try my flavour heroes box to make it even easier 🙂
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Dare to Dream
Do you remember a time when the milkman delivered milk in bottles which you rinsed and left out for him to collect and reuse once you were done with them? I do! Whatever happened to valuing the resource we have available to us, about respecting it and preserving what we have? It seems that now everything we buy is packaged in some form or other, sometimes triple packed, and we rarely give a thought to the necessity of the packaging. There have been steps taken to reduce packaging – the carrier bag charge goes some way towards it but nowhere near enough. Recycling initiatives are progress but recycling still consumes energy and resources. Best to not use it in the first place. I look forward to a time when we stop this mindless fixation on consumption, I dream of a day when we can take our own containers to the shop and decant our food and drinks…can you imagine decanting milk into your own bottle, buying chocolate by the gram and having no packaging to throw away? Please let your imagination free and help us to achieve a less wasteful future. Dare to dream.