Pancakes + Lentil = Lentil Pancakes

Deeba @ PAB

15 years ago

“Lentils are friendly—the Miss Congeniality of the bean world.”

Laurie Colwin

There’s been much talk of pancakes & Lent across blogs this past week. My mum mentioned some nice savoury pancakes made out of chickpea flour that she ate at a friends house the other day. The very thought appealed to me, & yesterday, when I was out of ideas of what to cook, I thought I’d try my hand at some pancakes, but using soaked lentils instead of flour.

The equation sounded funny. Pancakes + Lent = Lentil Pancakes!!! LOL! Made these very simple & very delicious savoury moong bean pancakes stuffed with a mild cottage cheese filling. We enjoyed them with an explosive red chili garlic chutney which comes from South India. Oh yes, & before I forget, the old platter is one that my mother gave me. It’s from her childhood, & I love it’s rustic feel.

The flavours came together very well. The kids however wouldn’t touch the chutney with a bargepole, so they had them like crepes, rolled with a cheese spread within! If you like, you can omit the asefoetida.

MOONG BEAN PANCAKES
Ingredients:

1 cup moong dal beans; soaked for 2-3 hours in tepid water
A generous pinch asefoetida (hing)
Salt to taste
1 small piece of ginger; minced
1/2 bunch of fresh coriander; finely chopped
1 green chili; finely chopped
Filling:
250 gms cottage cheese; grated
1 small bunch fresh coriander leaves; finely chopped
1-2 green chilies; finely chopped
2 spring onions with greens; finely chopped
Salt to taste
Method:

Grind the soaked dal with just enough soaking liquid to form a nice thickish batter. Not too thin. Add the chopped coriander, green chili & minced ginger with salt to taste, & beat together well.
Mix the ingredients for the filling, check seasoning & reserve in a bowl.
Heat a non-stick pan. On high heat, put about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup pf batter onto it, swirl it round with the back of a spoon in concentric circles, spreading the batter outwards, till it is thin & uniform. Put a few drops of oil around the edges.
Once the edges begin to brown, flip it over & cook the other side too. then put 2-3 tbsps of filling. Fold over & cook for a minute. Serve hot with a chutney, or as a roll with cream cheese within.
Makes 8-10 pancakes.

These pancakes are off to My Legume Love Affair, which is the brainchild of Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook. Each month she features legumes such as beans, peas, lentils, pulses, peanuts, as the central ingredient.