These lovely pancakes are made with chickpea (gram) flour instead of wheat flour. Somewhere between an omelette and a pancake, they are delicious stuffed with your favourite veggies and a bit of vegan cheese for a quick, healthy and delicious breakfast or light lunch. They are similar to the traditional Italian dish Farinata.
Essentially just a batter of chickpea flour and water, they are incredibly easy to make and quick too. I have included some extra seasoning that I like to use to give them a more ‘eggy’ flavour, you can use some or all of the extra ingredients as you want.
Kala Namak is a type of salt. Actually pink once ground down, it is a rock salt used in South Asia and due to its high sulphur content, it gives an ‘eggy’ taste to dishes. Nutritional yeast is dried yeast flakes that have a slightly nutty, cheesy flavour that is really delicious. You can find them both in health food shops and online.
If you have never tried cooking with chickpea flour batter before, this is a great place to start. Chickpea flour so versatile and can be used for frittatas, quiches, omelettes and much more. Packed with protein and fibre and naturally gluten free, what more could you want?!
Ingredients
Pancake Batter
- 100 g / 1 cup chickpea (gram) flour
- 200 ml / 1 cup water
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp Kala Namak ('black salt' - gives an eggy taste, or you can just use sea salt)
Optional extra seasoning
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- pinch each cumin, paprika, garlic powder
Veggie Filling
- 1 tbsp oil
- 100 g mushrooms sliced
- 2 tomatoes sliced
- 1/2 courgette sliced
- 30 g vegan cheese (optional, but lovely!)
Instructions
- Mix the dry pancake ingredients together in a bowl or jug and then add the water, a little at a time, whisking to get rid of any lumps. If you do get lumps you can blend it with a stick blender. Set aside.
- In a large flying pan heat the half the oil and then gently fry the veggies until soft. Transfer to a bowl and cover to keep warm while you make the pancakes.
- This batter makes 2 large or 4 small pancakes, depending on the size of your frying pan and the thickness of your pancake.
- Add a little more oil to the pan and turn the heat up to medium.
- Pour in half (or a quarter depending on how many pancakes you want to make) of the pancake batter. The batter should sizzle when it hits the pan.
- Swirl the mixture around to cover the whole base of the pan. Turn the heat down slightly and leave to cook for about a minute until the edges of the pancake start to curl and crisp.
- Gently try to lift the pancake from the pan, if it comes away easily, it is ready to turn. Flip the pancake onto the other side and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until both sides are cooked and slightly golden.
- Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm while you make the other pancakes.
- Once you have made all the pancakes, lay each one on a plate and put half the veggies (or quarter) in the centre.
- Grate over some vegan cheese if using, and then fold the pancake round like a wrap. Repeat for the other pancakes and serve. Enjoy!
Notes