Savory Pancakes: Home Cooking Dish of the Month (Nov. 2012)

[L.Nightshade]

Welcome to the reporting thread for November's Home Cooking Dish of the Month, Savory Pancakes!

If you are interested in how we got here, please take a look at the voting thread:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/875168
And the nomination thread here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/874340
There is always a lot of interesting discussion in the preliminary threads.

We've got a broad category this month, one that can encompass many world-wide cuisines. I thought Westminstress offered a particularly useful description of savory pancakes in the voting thread:
"… a savory batter, often containing veggies or protein, cooked in a skillet or on a griddle. Can be large or small. Love potato pancakes, okonomiyaki, and especially pa jun (Korean pancakes), but there are so many other good ones. Zucchini, sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, cabbage - all can be grated and turned into delicious pancakes! Add bacon, chopped shrimp, herbs, cheese, even oysters. (not all at the same time of course!)"

What we are cooking this month is a pancake with savory ingredients in the batter (or dough, in some cases), not a plain pancake with savory fillings. If you need inspiration, dkennedy did a lot of legwork, and presented a list of links here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8751...

Everyone is welcome to participate, whether you've been a chowhound for years, or you're dipping in for the first time. You can make savory pancakes once, or every day. You can prepare a new recipe, an old favorite, or just invent something. Once you've made your pancakes, come back here and share your experience. Tell us a bit about your recipe, your ingredients, your preparation, and your results. Photographs are always welcome. If you are the first person to report on a recipe, please hit the reply button in this post. If you are responding to someone else's post, please hit the reply button in that post.

Please remember to paraphrase any recipes that are not your own; verbatim copying of recipes to the boards is a violation of the copyright of the original author. Posts with copied recipes will be removed.

I'll leave you with a Maltese proverb: "He who goes to bed hungry dreams of pancakes."
I'm not sure what that means, but let's start dreaming!

[mariacarmen]

got it in just under the wire! okonomiyaki - japanese pancakes. i made them loosely following this recipe: http://droolfactor.wordpress.com/2011...

i didn't have any dashi, so i used chicken broth. my fillings (besides the cabbage and the scallions) were sliced chinese sausage, bacon, shrimp - or a combo of any of the three. i loved these, they were creamy in the center but crisp on the outside. should have taken a pic of the underside with the nicely browned shrimp and/or bacon/sausage pieces. i topped them with kewie mayo and totoyaki sauce (that's all i had - i added a little worcestershire to mimic okonomiyaki sauce), and katsu fumi furikake on mine (shaved bonito, sesame seed, seaweed). And some pickled ginger on the side (store-bought).

i can see making these a lot, there are so many possible permutations.

[inaplasticcup]

Almost forgot to post these!

My mom brought me some of her jun batter (using some special kind of Korean flour) earlier this month, so I ended up making a poor woman's haemoohl pahjun (Korean seafood green onion pancake) using the last of a package of surimi I had sitting in the fridge, chives, fresh jalapenos, and green perilla.

A spicy soy dipping sauce to go with.

I did also have some superdelicious banh cuon (Vietnamese steamed rice flour crepes stuffed with a ground pork and woodear mushroom filling) for Thanksgiving, but those were bought in Little Saigon. :)

Hoping to make one more savory pancake before the month is out. I'm thinking a cheese arepa/pupusa type dealie for breakfast sometime this week...

[gimlis1mum]

ooo that looks delicious! You pour the batter over the veggies already in the pan? I haven't had much luck doing that - I always seem to burn things, or the batter cooks too fast and veggies don't get incorporated evenly - so I usually stir them into the batter then pour it all into the pan....do you spread the batter over the veggies or just let it run over them?

[inaplasticcup]

I make them your way too, but sometimes I like the extra char I get on the veg when I put them in the pan first, and when I do that, I pour the batter in a circle and then use my spatula to spread it around a bit.

[mariacarmen]

i saw that char and imagined it tasted delish!

i'm going to try to make the japanese version this week - okonomiyaki. maybe i'll do one like yours, and the other with the veggies mixed on.

[mariacarmen]

beautiful as usual, ina!

[inaplasticcup]

Thanks, mc! Okonomiyaki also sounds like a great idea. Do you like yours with the sauce?

[Cynsa]

remember to add the katsuobushi topping - I love to see bonita flakes waving/dancing on top of the okonomiyaki

[mariacarmen]

oh, it's katsuo fumi furikake i have - bonita shavings plus! going to be excellent!

[mariacarmen]

i do! and the kewpi mayo...you know, i've only had the dish once, and fell in love with it.

and i'll have to get some bonita flakes, as cynsa suggests below. i have other toppings, togarashi and some other similar ones (don't know the names), that i think would be good on it too.

hah - i had dreams i was making one last night - i had better do it for sure this week!

[fame da lupo]

Funny, okonomiyaki reminds me of "oikonomia", ancient Greek term meaning "household management." These "what do I have lying around" mixed pancakes are symbolic of oikonomia! (Sort of like the pancake equivalent of bubble and squeak)

[mariacarmen]

too funny!

[L.Nightshade]

Don't stop with all the wonderful savory pancake reports, but do start thinking about December's Dish of the Month. The nomination thread is up here:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/878496

[mariacarmen]

i think crabcakes and such count as savory pancakes, right? these are very pedestrian, but my old dad's favorite - tuna fish cakes. Solid white tuna, mixed with diced onions, breadcrumbs, italian herbs, raw eggs, s&p, and a healthy dose of mayo - my mom's secret for moistness - kind of like a fried tuna fish sandwich! made into little patties, fried until golden. actually, they're must tastier than they sound.. with that, he likes a cooked salsa of tomatoes and onions, to which i added a little cilantro.

[gingershelley]

That sounds really good - a fried tuna sandwich!

[mariacarmen]

you're so nice.

[gingershelley]

Aaah, U too:) Crazy cooking friend:)

[SgtStens]

I made waffles for dinner the other night with ham and sharp cheddar cheese. Yum!

[Dirtywextraolives]

I've been meaning to try these, gotta dust off the old waffle iron!

[Cynsa]

Dungeness crab season opened on 11/15. Made crab cakes; crab with finely chopped onion, chopped red bell pepper, salt, pepper, parsley and a beaten egg. - add optional bread crumbs or panko, cayenne, lemon juice, Dijon mustard or mayonnaise and Worcestershire. Shape into patties and dust both sides with flour. Pan fry until golden on both sides. For Korean crab cakes: puree cooked rice and add to mixture with sesame oil, grated carrot and minced garlic.

[TorontoJo]

Oh, how interesting about pureeing cooked rice! Can you please tell me what sort of texture that adds to the final product? Is this a fairly typical technique in Korean cooking?

[Cynsa]

Not traditional but works in a pinch with leftover rice that I put through the food processor; sometimes it's with jook - rice porridge to replace the rice flour batter for the pancake. I know crispy is better, but I like it chewy. With hot sauce.

Here's one version: http://blogs.kcrw.com/goodfood/2012/0...

[mariacarmen]

FINALLY - i made pancakes. Smitten Kitchen's potato pancakes with the addition of finely minced carrots and parsley. my hands are sore from squeezing the mix dry - there's a LOT of liquid in potatoes/onions/etc.! but i'd totally make these again.

http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/1...
mine didn't look as pretty as hers, as i think she used the food processor for her potatoes, and got those long tendrils. i used a box grater.

served with homemade apple/onion sauce and some mexican crema. Inhaled by the BF and I.

a pic of the pancakes alone and one with the applesauce/crema.

[nomadchowwoman]

Yum.

[gingershelley]

Yum - and I love the apple/onion topping. On my to-try list!

[Dirtywextraolives]

Triple yum. Nice.

[whinendine]

Those look nice.

Just looked over that recipe and during the summer, I do a similar thing (squeezing out water) with zucchini, onion, flour (sometimes with egg, but mostly not) and chopped parsley. It makes a great appetizer.

For Thanksgiving, I made a potato and leek pancake. I boiled red potatoes, peeled them then grated them. I sauteed chopped leeks until almost done. I mixed the potato and leeks together, a tiny bit of chopped parsley and salt and pepper.

[gimlis1mum]

Last night I tried this okonomiyaki recipe from Just One Cookbook: http://justonecookbook.com/blog/recipes/okonomiyaki/

I’ve never eaten okonomiyaki before, or even seen one. I haven’t done much Japanese cooking either so I studied the recipe and looked up the ingredients on her pantry page, to make sure i had my shopping list right. Went to the local Japanese market and was so proud of myself for finding everything else on the list...or so I thought (foreshadowing!).

I followed the recipe pretty much as written. Grating the yam (nagaimo) was a little tricky - I peeled it first and it was very slippery. After looking at some other websites I see that they only peel the part that they are going to grate, and leave the rest of the peel on - I suppose to give you a better grip. Also, I think I should have used a finer grater, like a microplane.

Anyway I mixed up the batter, let it rest in the fridge, then added in the eggs, shrimp (a substitution for squid since my hubby doesn’t like it), other ingredients, and finally the finely sliced cabbage. The batter seemed a little liquidy to my but then I’d never made it before.

Heated a nonstick skillet, put a big scoop of batter in and laid on some slices of pork belly, covered and cooked for 5 minutes. On that first one the pan was tooo hot - the bottom burned a bit, and the pork belly started to curl up so it fell off when I tried to flip it. I sort of shoved it back under there and cooked for 5 more minutes.

Meanwhile my eye falls on the recipe again, and happens to see “tenkasu” in the ingredient list. I look at the item that I *thought* was tenkasu, and the labels reads “tonkatsu.”

Oops.

I turn the heat off under the pan off and go google “substitute for tenkasu.” The answers are panko or rice crispies - tenkasu is fried flour (aka tempura bits, I learn). Tonkatsu, however, is a sweetish brown sauce.

(I think what happened is that I looked up the wrong ingredient in the pantry list, because I remember seeing the bottle of sauce in the online picture).

So, I added 1 cup of panko to the batter (was supposed to be 1/2 cup of tenkasu but I thought i’d need more to make up for the extra 1/2 cup of liquid) and tried again, on lower heat. The next few came out better, not as burned, and I wonder if the better was more prone to burning because of that dang tonkatsu sauce? I had the keep the heat a lot lower than when I cook pajeon, even in the same pan on the same burner.

Also had more success with the pork belly on top with subsequent okonomiyaki, it stuck better and got cooked nicely. Had more luck with making them slightly smaller than the dinner-plate-size in the photos.

The flavor was interesting -I was surprised at how “shrimpy” they tasted. The interior was moist but not soggy, and the shrimp and cabbage were cooked. I drizzled them with
mayo but didn’t add any sauce on top since that’d gone in to the batter. Hubby liked them a lot, had a leftover one for breakfast with a fried egg on top.

I subsequently found this recipe at Okononmiyaki World http://okonomiyakiworld.com/best-okon... that I think I’ll try next. It has a greater ratio of flour to liquid and says to use bacon instead of pork belly - I think I’d like the smoky bacon flavor. Also might try adding some Chinese sausage instead of (or with) the shrimp.

[mariacarmen]

ooh forgive me for laughing - that's too funny about the tonkatsu sauce! it's the sort of mistake i would totally make. they sound like they turned out great. i really want to make one of these next. thanks for linking to the recipes.

[gimlis1mum]

Oh, no, please laugh - once I'd gotten over my ire at my mistake, we all laughed too :-)

[nomadchowwoman]

It doesn't sound like your mistake mattered that much--these sound really good!

[gimlis1mum]

I tried them again tonight, making a half-batch (same recipe). I used more of the yam and grated it on the finest side of my box grater. Used panko instead of tenkasu because the market wasn't open yet this morning when I drove by...Per suggestions on the okonomiyaki world website, I steamed two Chinese sausage links and sliced them thin to sub for the shrimp, also added some sliced green onions. Oh, and used bacon instead of sliced pork belly.

It was....really good. I liked the "mistake" version well enough, but this was soooo much better. The batter was much thicker and there was barely enough to coat the cabbage (see pics). No burning this time, so I think it twas the erroneous tonkatsu sauce that did me in before (though I still used a lower pan heat than for pajeon). The bacon stayed on the pancakes, for the most part.

Ate 'em drizzled with both mayo and tonkatsu sauce. Yum!

[nomadchowwoman]

What mouth-watering loveliness!

[Dirtywextraolives]

great! Good for you to stick with it! Yes that tonkatsu is delish w fried food, but you don't want to cook with it!

[gingershelley]

Hi all you CH pancake people!

A busy month and some computer issues has kept me from pkeeping up on DOTM until now for 'savory pancakes' . Last night I finally made what I had planned as my first foray for this thread;
Bahn Xeo - "Sizzling Saigon Crepes"!

This is often my first course order at a couple of favorite Vietnamese cafe's (and one Thai place that makes both cuisines). I have never made them at home, and was excited to try it. Had heard they are very delicate, and hard to get to release from the pan unless you use lot's of oil. Also, that the heat must be HIGH or they absorb too much oil and end up greasy - which is my chief complaint when ordering them out, and why I don't re-order them in some places where I like much of the other dishes.

This is the recipe I used: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/mem...

I made 1/3 the recipe as was cooking for just myself, which was a bit tricky to measure, so may be why my batter seemed very runny, and I added just a tblsp. more rice flour to it so it seemed like thin pancake batter, rather than thick water!

I also used some thinly shaved meaty pork belly rather than ground pork, as I had picked up a chunk of that at the Hung Long asian store. I sauteed that for a minute with a pinch of minced fresh ginger, dab of minced garlic, then added the onion & the shrimp. Proceeded with the recipe. My first one stuck and kind of crumbled,and was a tad soggy in the middle, but tasted good when wrapped and sauced, etc.
The second one turned out near-perfect, and is in the pictures.

I highly recomend these - pretty easy and tasty. The garnish and sauces make it extra special. I also served with plum sauce thinned with some lime and chili/garlic sauce, as my favorite place served both a salty and sweet sauce with this, and I wanted that too... all in all - a great foray into savory pancakes at home!

[soypower]

One of my favorite types of pancakes! Tell me, do you think the turmeric is absolutely necessary? I hate buying one-recipe spices. My rack is already full of them!

And was that asian store really called 'Hung Long'? Tee hee hee. Yes, I am a 12 year old...:o)

[gingershelley]

Soypower - I think you could do without the turmeric; it doesn't add that much in taste - it has an earthy, slightly spicy flavor - but I feel it is more color and fragrance it adds.I am just used to the bright yellow of this dish! I have it around for curry blends I make....

And - YES - Hung Long is really named that - I too must be 12 years old, as I can't pass up mentioning it's name when I say I went there - snicker!

[Dirtywextraolives]

Looks great, especially with that pork belly.....was it pre cooked first? We never have any leftover... Great job, gingershelley!

[gingershelley]

DWE, I really 'shaved' slivers off the side of the slab I have to get some pork for my filling. I am braising the whole belly piece today:) And thanks, they were tasty!

[Dirtywextraolives]

Yum, yes that's what it looks like, good job!

[nomadchowwoman]

Looks beautiful, gs!

[lagatta]

I love banh xeo and have never made them. Thanks for the tips.

[blue room]

This whole thread a keeper, just like the meatball thread!

[herby]

Potato and Leek Pancakes from Everyone Eats Well in Belgium - here is a link http://www.food.com/recipe/potato-and...

I am trying to clean out the fridge as much as I can because I am leaving on Monday for three weeks. Had a huge leek and one medium potato and adjusted recipe accordingly to make one yummy pancake. Served with scrambled eggs for breakfast. I fried the whole leek but only used half and it was pretty leek-y. Now what to do leftover fried leek?

[Dirtywextraolives]

Caramelize it with a sliced onion & some bacon. Top some dough.

[herby]

Thanks!

[L.Nightshade]

Pancakes of Leftover Vegetables.
I feel like I keep coming here to report on what I did with my leftovers! But, like meatballs, savory pancakes can lend themselves to using odds and ends.
We had a salmon dinner that utilized corn, shiitakes, and spinach. Having those vegetables left over, I decided to make pancakes. I sautéed chopped bacon and chopped onion, added that to the other vegetables, along with some chile flakes and cumin. A couple beaten eggs and a ration of flour made it all into a batter. After frying, I served them with a scoop of yogurt and chopped scallions. Delicious! Mr. NS has asked me to put them into regular rotation.

[herby]

Very clever use of leftover veggies, LN! Your pancakes look yummy.

Keep on posting, we all need ideas on using leftovers creatively, I know I do.

[mariacarmen]

those look so scrumptious.

[dkennedy]

I am very disappointed in myself. It is 1/2 through the month and I haven't made my first pancake - YET! I bought the ingredients for a risotto based pancake with hazelnuts and gruyere cheese but my DH has been traveling and then sick so I am waiting for him to be up for them. I also earmarked several in my street food book and my various Indian CBs. I know this is a thread I will keep referring back to, as I am sure is the case for many others, and I will continue to post long after Nov ends, but I wish I was posting more while everyone is reading and trying the recipes.

[mariacarmen]

me too! i have a ton of potatoes at home (sister bought too many at Costco), so i'm hoping to rectify that this weekend, although i do want to try others besides potato.

[blue room]

Turkish Zucchini Pancakes
Found an interesting one to try and tried it, glad I did. You can see the recipe here:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...
The ingedients include zucchini, feta cheese, green onions, and walnuts. The batter is eggs and flour. The seasonings are tarragon, parsley, dill, salt & pepper.
We loved 'em, wouldn't hesitate to have them again.

[Caitlin McGrath]

Wow, that looks and sounds terrific!

[herby]

I made similar ones from Turkey cookbook this summer - much enjoyed by all. Your recipe has more assertive ingredients - I will copy it into my pepperplate so that I do not forget to try these. Thank you for posting, BR!

[Cynsa]

My zucchini pancakes were almost yours... grated two zucchini into shreds and spread on dish towel for 20 minutes, rolled towel and squeezed out excess moisture. Mixed with 2 beaten eggs and 1 cup of flour, 2 green onion chopped, crumbled feta cheese, salt and pepper to taste... recipe called for one bunch of mint chopped and one bunch of Italian parsley chopped - I substituted 3 Tablespoons of cilantro chutney and 2 Tablespoons of pesto. The cilantro chutney had one hot jalapeno chili chopped so there was a tiny kick added. Spooned into hot skillet that was lightly oiled, they cooked two minutes on each side. Served with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and the last of our heirloom tomatoes.

[TorontoJo]

OK, I haven't made this in November because I'm in a temporary house with a crappy kitchen, but I wanted to share my mom's recipe for Chinese green onion pancakes.

These are fairly easy to find in Chinese restaurants, but few have come close to the chewy, flaky, savory goodness of my mom's. Many restaurants deep fry rather than pan fry, and most take short cuts in making the pancake and don't have all the lovely layers that make these so good (these are sometime also called "thousand layer pancakes").

My apologies for the lack of measurements -- this is one of those things that my mom has always done by feel.

Green Onion Pancakes/Thousand Layer Pancakes

2 cups all purpose flour
About 1 cup of water
bacon fat (yes, bacon fat -- you can sub with a neutral veg oil instead, but I really, really recommend trying it with bacon fat once!)
5 or 6 green onions, sliced thinly (you may need more if you like a lot of onions)
salt to taste

Mix the flour with a 3/4 cup of water and mix until the water is incorporated. Mix the dough, adding a bit more water as needed until the dough is moist and slightly sticky. Turn dough out onto the counter and knead firmly for about 10 minutes until it's smooth and easy to handle. Thorough kneading is important here to develop the gluten to get the toothsome chew in the final pancake. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rest at room temp for at least 30 mins.

Cut off a chunk of the dough (size depends on how big you want the final product to be -- I recommend dividing the dough into 6ths) and cover the rest with a damp cloth. Roll the dough out thin. I mean really thin, the thinner the better! There will be a lot of stretch in the dough, which is natural. Once the chunk is rolled out, spread a thin, but thorough layer of the bacon fat or other oil over the entire surface. Sprinkle with salt -- use a bit more than you might think, as the dough itself isn't salted. Sprinkle with green onions.

Now pick up an edge and roll up the dough into a cigar, like a jelly roll. You want to be fairly tight in the roll (i.e., no big air gaps). If you rolled the dough really thin, it may tear here and there, which is ok. Now you'll have a long cylinder of dough. Pull the cylinder so that it gets a bit longer, then make a spiral with the cylinder, tucking the end under and pressing the whole thing flat. Roll out this spiral into a flat pancake again. You won't be able to get it as thin as the first time around, but that's fine. Repeat the steps of adding layer of fat, a bit of salt and green onions. Then repeat the roll up, spiral and roll flat again.

Repeat for the rest of the dough. Heat some bacon fat or oil in a frying pan. Fry the pancakes one at a time, flipping when the bottom turns golden brown, about 2 minutes a side. Remove completed pancakes to a rack to drain and stay crisp as you fry up the others.

Cut into wedges and serve while hot. A lot of restaurants serve these with a soy-based dipping sauce, but these have so much flavor that I've never used a sauce.

If making in advance, don't fry for the full time and you can finish the frying when you're ready to serve.

That's it. The instructions seem long, but it's an easy dish to make. I would love it if someone tries these and reports back. I won't be into my new kitchen until December, but I'll try and come back with pancake pictures after that.

[nomadchowwoman]

Thank you for this recipe. You've inspired me to try making scallion pancakes again. I don't know when I'll be able to get to them, but I promise to report.

[TorontoJo]

Oh, I hope you do. Homemade is so much better than what I keep getting in restaurants!

I should have mentioned that sesame oil can be used instead of a veg oil. But perhaps not for both steps, as I think the sesame oil would overwhelm. Anyway, I still suggest sticking with the bacon fat.

[jen kalb]

what about a good lard instead of bacon fat?
and what do you roll this with?

[TorontoJo]

I'm sure lard would be good! No bacon-y goodness, but probably still delicious.

I just use a regular rolling pin to roll out the dough.

[herby]

For those of us not too fond of Ms. Piggy, would duck fat work or butter is better? I so much want to make these pancakes - hopefully this weekend. Will report back when I do.

[TorontoJo]

Ooh, go for the duck fat!

[modthyrth]

Holy cow, these sound amazing. Definitely trying them this week!

[cleopatra999]

Made these this week as we haven't had them since moving out of the city! Was super excited! Taste was very similar, texture was a little denser than I remember, not at all bad for a first attempt. These were a lot of work, not hard or complicated, just time consuming, they won't be making regular appearances. I did find I skipped the second sprinkling of salt after the first tester, and next time I would slice my onions much smaller. I did not have any bacon fat, so oil had to do.

I had a question about the final rolling out. how big/thick should the final pancake be before frying?

Thanks for the recipe, unfortunately I forgot to take photos!

[TorontoJo]

Oh, I'm glad you tried them! I'd say the final pancake should be about a 1/4 inch thick, maybe a bit more.

It helps to spread the workload around -- we always did a bit of an assembly line: the steps of rolling out, filling, rolling up all got distributed amongst the family. My mom mostly just supervised! :)

[cleopatra999]

yes, assembly line would definitely help. It was just me, and I finally got fed up and threw the last bit of dough in the trash (made 5 pancakes). I was probably just hungry lol!

[Dirtywextraolives]

Made Korean beef bul gogi tonight. Lettuce wraps with some bacon kimchee fried rice on the side. Decided to make four kimchee pancakes.

So preheated the griddle for about ten minutes. Used some fresh bacon grease. Added about a 1/8 cup of drained, shredded kimchee and let fry for a few minutes. Poured about a 1/4 cup of pancake batter on top of the caramelized mound of kimchee. Let cook a few minutes then crowned with a sprinkling of sliced scallions. Let cook until dry then flipped over. Served with maple syrup.

[sisterfunkhaus]

I'm making Johnny cakes with roasted corn, bacon, green chiles, and cheddar cheese. Topping with butter and sour cream.

[limoen]

I made latkes tonight...which according to the discussions above do count! They were beetroot latkes, with grated peeled raw beets, a tablespoon or two of jarred creamed horseradish, an egg and salt and pepper, and shallow-fried. Served up with chopped spring onion and creme fraiche. Courtesy of Niamh Shields' 'Comfort and Spice' via a London freesheet.

[dkennedy]

Those sound yummy. Going to make a note to try them when I do my latkes later this month.

[limoen]

They were good, though not very substantial (as I didn't serve them up with sides since it was a quick supper rather than full on dinner). The recipe indicated 5 beets - some of mine were quite small but it did for two. You also need to wring the grated beets out in a tea towel (or extract the moisture some other way - I've read about people using potato ricers, but honestly the tea towel was fine and I've just taken it out of the washing machine perfectly clean).

[JungMann]

I love the sound of the beetroot latkes. Did you not need any flour or starch? Did they have a crisp texture?

[limoen]

A soft texture with crispy bits, I'd say. I didn't need any flour but they were quite fragile

[LEsherick2007]

I am wondering if a pancake with canned pumpkin and chopped up bacon would fall into the savory catagory, no sugar would be used in the recipe but woult it be okay to use maple syrup for topping it and maybe a herb butter

[mariacarmen]

yum!

[L.Nightshade]

I think that this thread, in general, is talking about pancakes that are not the sweet, maple syrup, breakfast variety. But your pancake alone, or with the herb butter, sounds like it would fit in. I'll leave it up to you; once you've tasted it, you can decide if it's a savory pancake! It sounds very good.

[soypower]

Cheesy Ham and Scallion Pancakes (with tomatoes)

I'm loving pancakes as the DOTM because they're so quick to throw together and are turning out to be great fridge cleaners...I had a hankering for something cheesy so I took some korean frying mix (Ottogi - which has flour, BP, garlic, S&P) mixed in a beaten egg, some water, more salt and threw in a few things that looked like they needed using - ham, scallions, cheese and tomatoes.

I like to use a lot of oil for my jeon because I like that crispy texture and with the cheese it made a nice crispy contrast to the gooey center. Once again, greatly improved with hot chili oil with black beans. With a boiled egg on the side, it turned to be quite a satisfying lunch.

[blue room]

I just remembered a "savory pancake" from childhood. I'm not gonna cook one now, but I do remember liking it, I wonder if anyone has ever heard of this??
I don't know the proportions, but it held together as a crispy patty. Canned tomatoes and saltines, nothing else, mixed/mashed well and formed into patties, then fried in oil 'til brown and crusty. Can't get much less fancy than that.
My mother grew up in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania in the 1920's, on a farm. Anybody ever heard of this?

[soypower]

That sounds strangely delicious!

[blue room]

Cornmeal and Ham Pancakes

This is an Emeril Lagasse recipe, can be seen here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/em...
Good flavor! I didn't use nice Smithfield ham, just our regular, but these tasted like * good breakfast* with the first bite. The batter is half cornmeal and half flour, and buttermilk, so the texture is great. Recommended!

Edited to add -- when I first saw "Emeril's Essence", his spice mix, I thought it was a little gimmicky, but made a batch for a recipe. It turned out that it's a pretty good mix for many things and I keep a jar of it around now. So, also recommended.

[blue room]

Barley Pancakes (page 229 in "The Olive and the Caper")
These verrry simple cakes are keepers! I had no hope that they would be anything but interesting, and then loved them. The batter is egg & flour. Then you add cooked barley, scallions, salt. Fry in olive oil and enjoy. Fun and wholesome. And chewy in that good barley way! Probably endlessly variable too.

[Westminstress]

These sound good! I have some barley that's been sitting around a long while ... I've been looking for ways to use it up.

[Westminstress]

I made Korean pancakes loosely following mark bittman recipe available here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/din...

I didn't have zucchini but my carrot was so huge that I ended up adding an extra egg, then a bit of extra water as the batter was very thick ... And in the end I wasn't so happy. My pancakes took forever to cook and were kind of mushy/gummy in the middle. Too much water perhaps? Anyway, I'm still looking for the perfect Korean pancake recipe. I really like bittmans simple dipping sauce a lot though (soy, rice vinegar, and just a bit of sugar).

[gimlis1mum]

Personally, I've been happier with my pajeon when use a mix. I think the mixes have a bit of baking powder in them and that helps to achieve crispiness.

There are quite a few recipes for different types of jeon on the Aeri's Kitchen website referenced above. I think she mostly uses plain flour in hers, though somewhere she mentions that you can use 1/2 flour and 1/2 "frying mix" to get a crispier pancake.

Both the pancake mix and the frying mix seem to have a finer flour in them, so I've wondered if cake flour would make a better jeon (when making them without the mix). But i haven't tested that idea yet.

When I make pajeon, I saute the veggies first - seems to help reduce sogginess in the finished product. If I use zucchini I'll grate, salt, & squeeze out the liquid before sautéing. Mostly I use whatever's in the crisper but my fave combo of veggies is carrot, Korean radish, red bell pepper,
garlic or garlic chives, a little sliced onion, scallions, and something green (cabbage, kale, radish greens...). For me the radish is the "essential" ingredient to give the pancake the right flavor; any kind of radish, daikon, red ones, whatever, or even kohlrabi or a bit of turnip will give the same effect.

I use about 1-1/2 cups of sauteed veggies per patch of batter. My favorite brand of mix has the words "farine pour le crepe" on it and does not contain MSG. I bought another brand recently and it tastes different - still good, but different. I use 1 cup of mix with 2/3 cup water and 1 egg (or 3/4 cup water and no egg, when my friend's child with an egg allergy is going to be eating it). Stir the veggies into the batter and spread the whole thing out in a preheated 12" pan that has 1-2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil.

IME the temperature of the pan REALLY affects the outcome - if the pan is not hot enough when I add the batter, the jeon is "flat" and doesn't cook right. So I usually sauté the veggies, transfer them to the bowl with the batter and put the pan right back on the burner to stay hot. I'd say it's over a medium-high flame on my gas stove.

I spread the batter out with a rubber spatula and try to get it fairly even. It takes about 7-10 minutes to cook on one side, until browned and a little crispy on the bottom. Then I flip the whole thing over (it's fairly sturdy so that's not as impressive as it sounds) and cook for about 5 more minutes. Sometimes I drizzle a little more oil around the edges if I think it needs it to get crispy on the 2nd side. WHen it's done I slide it out onto a pizza pan & cut into wedges with a chef's knife or a pizza wheel.

I've tried making the individual pancakes too but as you say, each one takes a while to cook. I'm impatient so it's easier for me to flip the whole big pancake than to wait for all those little ones to cook, lol.

[Dirtywextraolives]

What a great idea, to make one large pancake instead of many small ones. Thanks also for your information, lots of good information.

[blue room]

Tortillitas with Shrimp
This is a Mark Bittman recipe, you can see it online here
http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/marta/archives/008262.html
Made with half chickpea flour (and half all-purpose), no milk (water instead) no egg. We like very much!
Bittman says they're originally from Andalusia (his original 2009 column is here
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/din...
but I think it's behind a New York Times paywall.
)He called it "Simplicity from Spain..Tiny Seafood Pancakes."
The batter (remember, no milk, no egg -- how easy and convenient!) could accomodate almost any chopped meat, vegetable, fish. I used the recipe as written, with shrimp, yellow onion, chives.
This *might* be the recipe that poster ...tm... referenced earlier in this thread.

[Rasam]

It's always interested me how India and Italy (?) both have chickpea flour crepes/pancakes. Any other Mediterranean / Middle Eastern region has a similar dish?

[panthera]

Socca in Spain.

[eclecticsynergy]

Bittman on socca. I think NY Times still allows you to access a few pages per month before they demand money.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/19/din...

[fame da lupo]

Socca would be from Nizza (Nice, by way of Genoa).

[blue room]

Yes , I was a little surprised to see chickpea flour in a recipe for "tortillitas"!
This article has some answers, I think--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farinata

[panthera]

Thanks, was looking for an article like that!

[...tm...]

I like your avocado garnish. No wonder I couldn't find my original inspiration, I had completely forgotten it was called a tortillita. Thanks. I didn't realize how far from the original I'd strayed--in retrospect I guess it is because I like the custardiness of the not fully cooked interior of my current version rather than a more pancake like texture.

[fame da lupo]

Well, avocado would be a far stray from the original dish, since it hails from Andalusia :-)

[fame da lupo]

From my experience, when Bittman says the recipe will make 2 pancakes, he means large/thick ones. I think it'll turn out better if you make at least 4 pancakes out of this recipe (after all, they're called tortill-itas!), to keep them thin and crispy.

[Juliacooks]

I've been a long time lurker of this site and was so excited about the home cooking dish of the month that I finally bit the bullet and signed up! Looking forward to making some pancakes!

[L.Nightshade]

Welcome Juliacooks! Looking forward to seeing what pancakes you cook!

[soypower]

My mother makes these really delicious sweet rice pancakes that are covered in sugar, so I was missing her and decided to make a savory version. Basically a scoop of sweet rice flour and 2 scoops of regular rice flour, some milk, some water and a little salt. I threw in some scallions and a few shrimp. Not the best thing I've ever made, but not the worst either. It was greatly improved by some soy/vinegar dip and hot chili oil...

[Juliacooks]

Looks yummy!

[L.Nightshade]

Gamja Jeon - Korean Potato Pancakes.

I was inspired to make these by the link that dkennedy posted in the voting thread:
http://hungerhunger.blogspot.com/2011...

I also looked at several different recipes, some of which use grated potato, some of which use more of a mashed potato. I pretty much followed the recipe above, using grated potato, probably a larger grate than those pictured in the link, so mine were a bit more amorphous. To the potato, I added chopped leftover pork tenderloin, scallions, mushrooms, onion, grated carrot, a mix of chiles and mild peppers, salt, and pepper. My additions were a bit more than the amount specified, so I ended up adding some extra beaten egg. I made the dipping sauce with soy sauce and rice vinegar, but ended up adding a tiny bit of sugar to it.

These were very good! And they were a great way to use up little leftover bits of meat and vegetables. They held up well, and I had a couple for breakfast this morning, still just as tasty.

Thanks for the link, dkennedy!

[Goblin]

What a great resource for what looks like a wonderfully versatile potato pancake. Thanks for the link and your review!

[mariacarmen]

gorgeous.

[gimlis1mum]

oh, yum! I make pajeon a lot but hadn't tried adding potatoes to it...the intro to the recipe made me chuckle when she said about getting her kids to eat vegetables. My older boy turns up his nose at leafy greens, but eats them happily in pancake form :-)

[Rasam]

Great topic LN: I thought I was done with Chow for a long time, after the COTM 660 curries, but I love savory pancakes so I am likely to get sucked into this thread too.

One of my favorite food memories almost from another lifetime is of a small Bolivian resto in Berkeley (CA), called Cafe de la Paz, which had great corn pancakes - pancakes studded with fresh corn kernels and scallions, and served with a tasty roasted red pepper sauce. I don't have a recipe, but this can't be hard to re create.

[mariacarmen]

i remember Cafe de La Paz! i don't remember it being strictly Bolivian (I'm Bolivian, full disclosure) though... and i think those pancakes you are describing are cachapas, which are Venezuelan. I've made them before, and i was thinking of making those again. my friend is looking up the recipe we used, and i'll share it soon. in the meantime, here's one i found online: http://www.whats4eats.com/breads/cach...

i don't remember the ones we made looking exactly like those, though... i'll see if i can find the other recipe, they were super simple and yummy.

[Rasam]

Hi MariaCarmen: back then we didn't know so much about it, so the "Bolivian" part stuck in my head, along with the name of the cafe giving a clue. But those pancakes were / are fantastic, so thanks for the link and I look forward to your own recipe. Do you also recall the roasted red pepper "chutney" (that's how I think of it) on the side? What are your thoughts on the scallions added to the recipe? Any other add-ins? Can I lower the sugar and make them more savory?

[mariacarmen]

found it, Rasam!

Cachapas de Jojoto

combine in a blender and puree until smooth the following:

1-1/2 c fresh corn kernels
1/2 c of cream
1 egg
1/4 cup of flour
1/3 teas salt
1 tbl melted butter
pinch of baking powder.

Add: 1/2 c of corn kernels and 1 minced green onion.

Cook like pancakes in a nonstick skillet, iron skillet or flat top.

simples!!

i remember we used to top them with a little queso fresco. they were delicious. i hope these are like what you remember! going to try them soon myself.

[Rasam]

Thanks so much MariaC: I will try it sometime this week and let you know how it turns out.

Other than the recipe above, any suggestions for kicking up the spice level and yet staying within the parameters of Bolivian cuisine?

Do you have any advice / suggestions on the roasted red pepper accompaniment? Or do you suggest sticking with queso fresco?

thanks so much!

[mariacarmen]

Rasam - they're Venezuelan, and I don't know that much about Venezuelan cooking. as for adding more heat, i think you can just dice some jalapeno or serranos very fine and mix that into the batter as well. and for the topping, I would say try it both ways. or do both - the red pepper accompaniment AND a few sprinkles of queso fresco!

[dkennedy]

I was trying to find this myself. Thank you so much mariacarmen!

[blue room]

This looks like a recipe for corn fritters, except the corn kernels are pureed --is that right?
I'm very curious now, corn fritters being so good!

[L.Nightshade]

blue room - that is exactly what I was thinking, except for the purée! I love corn fitters, with maple syrup in the morning, with added chiles and spices for dinner. I'm going to try mc's recipe with the puréed corn.

[mariacarmen]

they're not frittery at all, though, which is odd, that they remind both you and Linda of fritters... they were definitely pancakes. and WAIT - NO! actually, on re-reading that (very short) recipe, and a poor memory serving, you blend all the ingredients together in the first paragraph, and THEN you mix in the whole kernels of corn and scallions. and then you pour spoonfuls of batter onto a hot griddle or into a hot pan - they flatten way out. like pancakes!

[blue room]

Ah, the kernels stay whole -- that's what I know as a corn fritter. I suppose pureeing the corn would throw off the moisture ratio, but it would still be interesting to see what that method would produce.

[Rasam]

Absolutely: having eaten this dish, I know they look and behave just like pancakes. Fritters are dropped in and clump together more, these spread out flatter. The corn kernels stud the flat surface intermittently, and are not dominant as in a fritter.
No comparison.

Thanks for the tips MC. Will report back shortly.

[mariacarmen]

exactly.

looking forward to hearing about it! i'm going to make them again too, soon...

[Rasam]

OK: just tried these finally, this morning. They were as delicious as I remember.

I had to make one small adjustment. The recipe as written made a VERY dry batter, the blender was not able to handle it. I added 1/8 cup milk, and that made it OK.

I did add one teeny tiny Thai green chilli, while blending but it was indiscernible in the final product, so I won't bother next time.

Served it with salsa verde left from making something else and that gave it more than enough zip.

Thanks mariacarmen! This is going into the saved recipes file.

[gingershelley]

Nice intro, LN - and the proverb is superb:)

I can get behind this subject!

[Goblin]

PARSNIP PANCAKES, from The Union Square Cafe Cookbook, p; 240-1.
And also on:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/co...

Made these last night. I never would have tried them without the incentive of the Home Cooking Savory Pancake DOM, and I'm really glad I did! Mr. G in particular loved them, as did all our dinner-guests.

Basically these are a variation of classic potato latkes. The parsnips make them just slightly sweet but not overly so. The directions say they could be served for brunch, topped with apple sauce and creme fraiche/sour cream. We loved them last night as an accompaniment to a very flavorful oven-roasted halibut dish. The slight sweetness and crisp crust of the parsnip pancakes were a perfect complement to the artichoke/lemon/wine sauce of the halibut recipe.

Very simple to make. You slightly precook parsnips, grate them, and combine them with grated onions, an egg and some flour. Season the mixture with a pinch of cayenne, nutmeg, s & p, and then formed into 3-inch "cakes" and sautéed gently in olive oil and butter till nicely-browned. They hold their shape and are easy to fry--the recipe cautions to cook them carefully to reduce the risk of smoke and/or a mess, and this works beautifully.

A very nice savory pancake!

[Rubee]

Can't wait to try these - thanks for the report!

[vil]

Now I know what to do with the parsnips that had been sitting in my fridge - thanks for the introduction!

[vil]

Just want to report back that the parsnip pancakes turned out great, as well as so easy and quick to make as part of a weeknight dinner.

To match the rest of the meal, I skipped the nutmeg and served the pancakes with a quick homemade tonkatsu sauce (ketchup, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce). It worked well and was all gone in a puff of smoke.

I also liked how the grated parsnip stays just firm enough to still have bite, as I like how it tastes but hate the mushy texture when I tried to roast them or include them in a stew.

[mariacarmen]

oooooh i love the taste of parsnips. good to know!

[oakjoan]

I also made the parsnip pancakes last week. They were greeted with shouts of glee. I always thought I hated cooked parsnips. These were fantastic. They're going into the regular rotation.

I am even considering them for Christmas dinner, although I think the timing might be a bit difficult. I'd probably have to make them at the last minute so they retain the crispness....oh well, another time.

[Goblin]

Hi there,
I have read in other recipes for these sort of grated root vegetable pancakes (for latkes, for instance) that they can be made ahead and reheated or even kept warm for a while in a slow oven. I made mine about 20 minutes ahead and kept them warm--they retained their crispness. Though this really isn't making them all that ahead. . .
So glad that others have enjoyed the parsnip pancakes, too!

[fame da lupo]

Great timing! Tonight I made galettes de ble noir (savory French buckwheat crepe) but they didn't turn out well. Can someone help on this one? My issue is that they had no pliability, but broke/crumbled far too easily. I used all buckwheat flour, egg yolk, butter and water... perhaps I should use some wheat flour as well?

[Caitlin McGrath]

Lots of recipes I've seen do use some wheat flour, which probably helps because of its gluten (which buckwheat lacks). Here's one just using buckwheat, along with eggs, oil, skim milk, flour - I haven't used the recipe but from the reviews, it sounds like it's worked for people, so might be worth trying: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

[waver]

My local crepe place makes awesome 100% buckwheat crepes but when I tried they failed. According to the French owner, home cooks need to add some wheat flour for good results. Something to do with their commercial griddle's heat.
This is the recipe I tried that crumbled: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/02/basic_buckwheat_crepes
This is a easier one, but it uses a lot of AP: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/07/...

[fame da lupo]

David Lebovitz also makes a point to mention the very high heat employed by galette makers (at Breizh in Paris). His attempt to make them at home produced some hilarious photos. Somehow his mishappen galette seem to fold, however.

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/02/...

[Caitlin McGrath]

Ah, the recipe that crumbled for you is the same one I linked in my post above. There's a place in San Francisco that makes galettes from just buckwheat, water, and salt - which is apparently the most traditional, but also the most difficult, way. Their chef is French and learned there. Even ones with wheat flour would are very nice; the buckwheat really does work well with savory fillings.

[pilinut]

Please, where is this place in San Francisco? We are still mourning the loss of Ty Couz and Laurel Street Cafe (San Carlos).

[Caitlin McGrath]

You and me both, pilinut! This is the place, Galette 88: http://www.galettesf.com/

And the CH discussions:

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/785330
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/824725

[pilinut]

Thank you, Caitlin! I can hardly wait to return to SF for those galettes.

[waver]

Yes, by the way, I do really like the recipe with the buckwheat AND AP flour. THe buckwheat definitely contributes to the savouriness of the crepe. Great with spinach or mushrooms, cheese and ham.

[Infomaniac]

When I go to bed dreaming of pancakes, they are usually Rooftop Gourmet Nutella Pancakes with Bananas Foster.

http://www.rooftopgourmet.com/miscell...

[Rubee]

Those sound fab, just pinned it.

[Pia]

I LOVE savory pancakes, but my son has an egg allergy so I've stopped making them. Does anyone have a good egg-free recipe? I used to make pajeon and an arepa-like concoction with masa harina and veggies mixed in all the time.

[L.Nightshade]

I've been looking at recipes for Chinese scallion pancakes. They're made with more of a dough than a batter, and don't have eggs. That's one possibility.

[shallots]

Is your son allergic to the white or the yellow or both?

[Pia]

Just the whites.

[blinknoodle]

Besan chilla is a great savory Indian pancake without eggs. It is made with chickpea flour.

[herby]

Blinknoodle, do you have a recipe for besan chilla? Dosa is the only Indian savoury pancake that I know of and for the life of me, I can't make it well! It will be an added challenge for me this month - make dosa batter in PicklIt jar :)

There is also paratha but it is dough-based. Pakora might qualify as a savoury pancake- LN, please make a ruling on pakoras.

[Caitlin McGrath]

I'd say uttapam count as savory Indian pancakes, too. And of course, like dosai, they rely on that tricky fermented dal/rice batter.

[L.Nightshade]

There are going to be some thin lines between pancakes, fritters, flatbreads, etc. I think we're going to have to leave some of the determinations up to the contributors on the thread. I think that scallion pancakes fit in. They are dough based, but they seem like a pancake. I think some fritters can fit in, when they are made like pancakes. But fritters that are items dipped in batter and fried, cannot be considered pancakes. I think pakoras might straddle that fence, right?

So, if it looks like a pancake, and it's savory, it's in. How's that for an ambiguous, subjective answer?

[Rasam]

Not Blinknoodle, but here is how I make besan chilas (there are variations to this recipe out there). They are very easy to make, as the batter does not require grinding or fermentation. My kids love these and they are a favorite weekend breakfast. Very easy and healthy too.

You need a round bottom metal ladle or cup and a tawa (griddle with handle).

1 C besan
1/5 cup rice flour (optional)
1 C water
1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp red chilly powder, 1/4 tsp haldi
Mix the besan, rice flour, salt and spices in a bowl. Whisk in more than half the water, and add the rest little at a time. You may not use all the water. The batter must be thinner than pancake batter. It must coat the back of a wooden spoon, but pour very easily.
Set the batter aside for ~ 15 minutes, the besan will swell a little and may settle, just mix again. If it thickens too much you may find yourself adding the remaining water, but this is not guaranteed. You can make the batter ahead of time and refrigerate. Just mix when you take it out.
Heat the tawa good and hot. Drip a few drops of oil, butter, or rub with a cut onion.
Pour one ladleful of the batter on the tawa. Immediately pick the tawa up and turn it round so that the batter spreads out in a thin later (you don't want it to pool thickly in the middle, but form a thin circle). If the pan is well heated, little bubbles / holes will form on the surface. In a few minutes, the underside will turn a rich golden brown. Flip it over and do the other side (less time than the first). Serve hot with any chutney, achaar, raita, etc.
They cook quite quickly. Sometimes you may find yourself keeping a metal dishcover handy and covering the chila as it cooks on the first side, so that it steams and cooks thoroughly, but I typically don't bother doing this, it cooks anyway if the batter is the correct consistency. If your batter is on the thick side you can do this.

If you have dosai batter, you can make dosais or uthappams.

Other savory South Indian pancakes made of soaked and ground dals, but not fermented, are adais, and pesarattus (very South Beach diet friendly). These are very easy because no need for fermenting. Just need a good grinder and a few hours soaking time.

Paratha is more a flatbread than a pancake. Chilas, dosais, uthappams, adais, pesarattus, etc, are definitely more like pancakes. Uthappam probably has the consistency that most resembles a savory pancake.

[herby]

Many thanks, Rasam, for such detailed instructions! Your recipe and instructions are in my pepperplate! I do have a tawa and two SS ladles with a round bottom - sauce and soup sizes. Is haldi = asafoetida?

My SIN is gluten intolerant and I am always interested in breads and such that do not use regular flour. I have besan and rice flour and will give these a go this weekend. I have lemon pickle that I think will go well with chilas.

Do you know how to make dosai dough? I love both dosa and idly and can see my daughters' families acquiring a loving taste for both :) I even have an idly pot - just wish I can make them come out all puffy and light and not tough and flat as mine do...

ETA: Oh, I got it; haldi is Punjabi for tumeric, right?

[Rasam]

haldi (hull-dee, with a soft d) = turmeric. in Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Urdu, and many other Indian languages

SIN? (sister or son-in-??).

Lemon pickle is good on the side. Drink a thin lassi (salty or sweet) on the side if liked.

Here is a good link for idli / dosai batter (it's a batter that is ground and fermented, not a dough that is kneaded), with lots of explanations and pictures:

http://www.veggiebelly.com/2011/03/pe...

My only additional tip to the above is to add a half-handful of cooked white rice to the batter mix, just after grinding and before you put it aside to ferment. Squish it thoroughly in your hands and hand-mix it in. The cooked rice jump starts the fermenting process. I learned this tip from my scientist mom.

My experience with making idlis soft and fluffy is also a little hit or miss. Sometimes you can cheat and add a pinch of baking soda. The freshest batter makes the best idlis. You can refrigerate the batter, but after the first day dilute it and make dosais / uthappams etc.
The proportions of rice to dal for uthappams and dosais are a little different than for idlis, but if you have leftover idli batter, then you can make the other items better than trying to make idlis that will fall flat.

[herby]

Rasam, thank you very much for such a detailed reply! The link is great and I'll save it to use as a reference when I finally do make idli :) One more question: what equipment do you use to grind rice and dal? I have blender and food processor - FP should work, right?

SIN stands for son in law.

[Rasam]

Hi Herby:
I actually have an Ultra Grinder that I love, and it's dedicated for this use. But other people have had good results using a FP.
This link: http://www.cookingandme.com/2012/10/i...
suggests you reduce the ratio of rice:dal and make it 3:1 if using a FP. I haven't tried this.
The thing is that idlis can be temperamental and it takes several batches of experimentation changing the variables (ratios, grinding, water, etc.) one by one to suit your local conditions and ingredients to get it right.
The plus side is that as you are experimenting, you can use any sub optimal batter to make dosais, so it's all good :)

[...tm...]

I have been wondering and asking around for a while if there is an Indian version of a besan pancake--I've only seen the ground pulse dosa and adai. I'm excited about this savory pancake dish of the month because many of my quick meals tend towards this direction. Last night I made one of my favorite, which I think was based off a Mark Bittman column about making socca with shrimp (where I believe he also experimented with adding baking soda), but can't find the reference anymore. In any case, I've been making variations on this with different vegetable fillings for a while, particularly on days when I want to eat within 20 minutes of getting home, and especially if I've run out of fresh stuff and just have pantry and freezer goods.

1 cup chickpea flour (besan)
~1 cup warm water (or water plus sherry from marinating shrimp)
1/2 t salt
shrimp
1/2 cup green onions and/or additional herbs like parsley
greens (I used arugula that was about to go bad this time) or frozen peas or corn
3 T sherry
4T olive oil
black pepper
1 t red pepper (I like piment d'Espelette or New Mexico) (optional)

1- preheat the oven to 450
2- start the the shrimp marinating in sherry, black pepper and a couple spoonfuls of the green onion.
3- mix the chickpea flour, warm water, and salt, let sit ~ 10 minutes
4- chop your herbs and vegetables and add to the batter
5- start a cast iron skillet heating on your stove
6- drain sherry off the shrimp and add the sherry to the batter. Add a little olive oil to cover the shrimp.
7- add 2 T olive oil to the batter, stir thoroughly, and pour batter into heated pan until about 1/4 inch thick
8- drizzle additional olive oil around the edges of the pan
9- when batter begins to brown around the outsides, and bubble near the inside, similar to when you would flip a breakfast pancake, arrange the shrimp on top.
10- place in oven for 3-8 minutes, until shrimp are cooked through
11- let cool slightly, as it is easier to remove after cooling. Can be cut into pizza like slices for serving.

So, it has vegetables and shrimp in the batter, and it isn't cooked until browned on top (I realized I really like the gooey middle), so it's not a traditional socca, but it is good.
I have also made this stovetop only, with a flip in a nonstick pan, which is easier and quicker, but not quite as good (mostly because of less browning).

[Juliacooks]

That looks simply delectable!

[gimlis1mum]

This sounded so good that I impulse- bought some overpriced garbanzo bean flour at a health foods store today... Looking forward to trying out socca!

[Rasam]

Hope they turn out well. If you like them and plan to repeat, get the flour from an Indian store, way cheaper. It's called 'besan' (pronounced like the basin part of washbasin).

[Cynsa]

Another version made by my neighbor: soak 1/3 cup each: chana dal, urad dal, and masoor or toor dal for two hours with a pinch of fenugreek seeds - then grind in your food processor with salt and a handful of greens. I added 1/2 to 1 cup of besan/chickpea flour and water to make a pancake batter. Serve with coconut chutney and cilantro chutney.

[Rasam]

Yup, that's an adai. You can also add 1/4 cup rice to the batter. This gives a crispier final product, and "completes" the protein for those who ponder such matters.

[...tm...]

My friend calls this broken dal adai and uses it to get rid of the bottom of the bin of her dal collection.

[jw615]

I'm allergic to eggs. As long as you are making the pancakes from scratch and not using a mix, I find that Ener-G egg replacer works pretty well. Ener-G is a powdered product that is completely egg free - I get it at the local health food store - it comes in a yellow box with pictures of baked goods on the front. I've seen it carried at a couple of 'regular' grocery stores, but you'll probably have to find it on your own - any time I've asked an employee if they have egg replacer they look at me cockeyed and say: "You mean eggbeaters?"

I've also used babyfood bananas, sweet potato, or squash to replace eggs. This makes a denser pancake than egg replacer, but still good. Some folks use applesauce, but I'm allergic to apples as well, so I've never tried it.

[Pia]

Thanks, great tip! I will try to find the Ener-G egg replacer. And thanks to the rest of you with egg-free ideas!

[panthera]

I don't know if socca is what you are looking for, but it is egg free and really easy to make. It's similar to some of the suggestions below, but of Spanish origin I think. Also gluten free for those who can't have gluten. It comes out crispy and really tasty. The topping options are limitless, starting with no topping, to arugula salad, pizza toppings, salsa with cheddar, or anything you want really. I posted my recipe here. http://www.recipezazz.com/recipe/socca

[jen kalb]

a recipe for socca in Ottolenghi' Plenty - its from the French Riviera

ligurian farinata is similar.

[ipsedixit]

I think I am going to take a basic buttermilk pancake batter and add Chinese pork floss to it. Then eat it topped with real maple syrup and garnished with chili flakes.

[jpr54_1]

do potato latkes(potato pancakes) ciount?

[dkennedy]

Latkes of all kinds definitely count! I plan on making a bunch this month and even more next month for Hannukah.

[Gio]

Thanks, LN..! I'm good with the savories. I have my Okonomiyaki recipes at the ready... Love those. Plus Chinese scallion pancakes and a few others I'll be cooking. I must confess tho, I've never actually dreamed of pancakes...

[blue room]

What a delightful proverb! I googled (in vain) for Maltese pancakes of some kind. Which explains why they dream about them, I s'pose.