Rice Flour Pancakes

A shortage of munitions in the kitchen with a corresponding failure to consider the solution the night before, combined with a desire to produce something for dinner without resorting to pizza delivery or dining out, resulted in a focus on staples.

Pancakes were an obvious choice, especially when you can salvage the last few peppers from the vine along with some vibrant green parsley. A comforting treat any time of day, I adapted this Dosa recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian to suit my tummy. Delightfully satisfying for breakfast, lunch or dinner, serve with some chutney, such as Fresh Tomato Chutney, or as a bread alongside an Indian meal as a substitute for Naan.

Indian Rice Flour Pancakes

1 cup of unbleached white flour
1 cup of rice flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
1 cup of yogurt
3/4 cup of water
2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 - 3 jalapenos or hot green chilies, finely chopped
dash of cayenne
dash of ground coriander
dash of cumin
dash of turmeric

peanut oil for frying

Combine the flours, salt and yogurt in a food processor. Add the water and process until you have a smooth batter. Add the remaining ingredients, pulse for a few quick seconds and transfer the mixture to a bowl. Stir a few times.

Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium low heat. When hot, pour in roughly 1/3 cup of batter. Swirl it around a bit so you get a roughly 6 - 7 inch pancake. Add another teaspoon or so of oil to the edges of the pan, cover and cook for roughly 6 minutes, or until the bottom of the pancake is reddish brown. Gently flip the pancake and cook, uncovered, for another 5 minutes or so. Transfer the pancake to a plate, cover with foil and repeat the process with the remaining batter.

Makes roughly 8 pancakes.

Other Indian fried savories to be enjoyed:

Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Crushed Peas and Cilantro (Pudla)
Savory Rice and Urad Dal Pancakes (Dosa)
Savoury Mung Dal Pancakes