Basic Pancakes

I thought it was only fitting that the first "Cooking In India Recipe" I share be the one I've made the most frequently since we arrived.

Pancakes.

I could not even begin to tell you the number of these pancakes I've turned out. When we first arrived, we had 3 other friends in the city with us (plus 2 small children!), and life was a little overwhelming. Once Kyle and I got moved into our flat, we went through the process of getting a propane tank to hook up to the incredible four burner cooktop he got me. It took several days, so after multiple weeks of eating out for every meal (or eating peanut butter sandwiches), we celebrated the arrival of our propane tanks by making pancakes. 

The first couple of times I made pancakes I used a recipe that my friend Christina (one of the 3 here with us) got from her grandma. They tasted really good, but they were really complicated, required buttermilk, and I just couldn't quite get them perfect. So I searched for an easy, basic pancake recipe and fell in love. 

Now I make these often just for our family to have for breakfast (or dinner) or frequently I'll make them when all of our friends (now 9!) come over for breakfast on Sunday mornings. (I make a quadruple batch when I'm feeding everyone...see why I can't count the number I've made??)
One of the things I love about India is that their whole wheat flour - Atta - is so much better than the whole wheat flour I used back home! It's much finer so you don't quite notice the difference as much. I used it once in this recipe and have never looked back - it makes the pancakes perfectly fluffy and practically health food with all those Whole Grains.

Even if you're living in America, you should give these a try! After making them so many times and loving them so much, even when we're back in the U.S. I still will probably make these instead of converting back to Bisquick! Here's my India version of this recipe:

I like to make a nice thick batter for fluffier pancakes!

See the fluffiness?

Basic Pancakes

Link to original recipe

1 1/2 cups flour - I recommend using Atta instead of Maida

3 TBS sugar

1 TBS baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 stick melted butter (cut the big cube of butter into 4 sticks, then one stick in half)

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

250 ml of milk (this is slightly less than the original recipe calls for. It calls for 1 1/4 cups, but I've found the 250 ml mark on my Indian liquid measuring cup makes the perfect consistency of pancakes. This would probably be 1 1/8 cup if you're in America)

In one bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients (atta, sugar, baking powder, salt) and in a separate bowl, melt your butter. Microwave your milk for about 30 seconds to bring it closer to room temperature, then add your milk, eggs and vanilla to the melted butter and whisk until well mixed. Slowly whisk in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients until just combined- try not to over mix.

Then you know the drill - pour the prepared batter onto a hot griddle and allow it to cook until little bubbles start popping in the tops of the pancake, and then flip to finish cooking.

I like to top them with a little spread of peanut butter for added flavor (and protein?). So do most of our friends here, which means we go through a lot of peanut butter on Sunday mornings! We've been able to find pancake syrup in the import section, for a high (but worth it!) price.

Enjoy!