Plantain Pancakes.

I am on my plantain craze. I keep buying them when I see them, nostalgically thinking of all the wonderful Kerala dishes I can conjure up but then they are not ripe enough or get too ripe by the time I find time to cook. Visions of a whole bunch of bananas with the bottom half ripening, hanging in the shops in Calicut dances before my eyes as I pick them from an assorted bunch of ripe and unripe ones here.
I buy them when they are yellow with a little green streaks outside and firm to the touch and let it ripen on my sunny window side. They are ripe for cooking when the ends turn black and dried up. As they get blacker on the outside they are still good for eating but cook too fast and breakdown.

This is for one of those mornings when the kids are having their pancakes and you crave something a little different. It doesn't taste like fritters (Pazham Pori) but it doesn't taste like pancakes anymore. The rice flour and the black sesame seeds gives it a Kerala taste. This same mix can be used for dipping and deep frying the plantains but it soaks up a lot of oil unlike the original fritter's recipe. It tastes very crunchy though. Yum!! So spreading some oil on top and bottom lets it crisp up and cooks the banana too. Use bananas that are ripe but not too ripe.
Use store bought pancake mix (yes, I know it has preservatives but still it is easier to use that on a weekday rushed morning) or make the pancake batter from scratch using this recipe. For those who don't like messing with their Plantain Fritters (Pazham Pori)try the original Plantain Fritter recipe.
You will need: For about 6 pancakes
Fully ripe plantains-1
Pancake Mix-1 cup
Rice flour- 1 tbsp
Sugar -1tbsp
Black sesame seeds- 1/4 tsp
Water - 1/4 cup
Oil /Butter
Preparation:
Peel and cut the banana into diagonal slices of about half inch thickness.
Mix all the dry ingredients together and then add water slowly while whisking to make a smooth thick paste. It should be lump free and not too watery. If it does become watery, add a little more flour.
Heat the pancake griddle and spread a bit of oil or butter. Lower the heat to a medium and pour the mix as you would for pancakes and place one or two slices of the plantain on it, taking care to let the banana slices sink into the batter. Cover the banana slice with a thin layer of batter.
Cover the pancake with a lid for half a minute. When the first side is cooked, bubbles would cover the pancake surface and begin to pop. Spread a tsp of oil or butter on this side and flip the pancake over and after it gets cooked, remove onto plate. Serve with the syrup of choice or eat it plain.
This definitely doesn't taste good after some time so serve it hot.


Stuffed Pancakes, Pancakes, Food Blog, Plantain, Breakfast