The Sunday Times Magazine - UK (2021-02-14)

(Antfer) #1

42 • The Sunday Times Magazine


I


grew up with the type of
pancakes my mother used to eat
as a child in India and she passed
those recipes on to me. I still cook
them all the time, but on Shrove
Tuesday I’ll probably make crêpes
or American-style pancakes.
They’ll never replace my mum’s
cooking, though.
Parathas and dal pancakes were
part of my mum’s cuisine — she
grew up in Punjab eating mostly
vegetables and pulses, and had
them as an alternative to rotis.
When she moved to West
Bengal to marry my dad, she had
to leave her family and friends
behind and learn to make new
dishes with new flavours. Luckily
she met other women from
different states and they shared
their food knowledge with each
other. And in this way her
repertoire of pancakes expanded.
My mum loved making pancakes
because they were a crowd-pleaser
and also nourishing; she
added a Punjabi touch to
hers by using the spices
and herbs she was familiar
with. Her death was a great loss,
but her food lives with us — I make
the same style of pancakes for my
own daughters.
You might like a change from
the usual lemon and sugar
or chocolate spread on
your pancakes
this Tuesday.
Why not give
these a try?

1

Savoury and sweet Indian family favourites to try this Tuesday


Spice up your


Pancake Day


The Dish


SHARE AND SAVE
You can share and
save recipes from
our digital editions

Moong bean


pancakes


Moong (or mung) beans make
a brilliant savoury pancake that
my family and neighbours enjoy
eating. These have a smooth,
silklike texture and work well with
a variety of toppings.

MAKES
12 pancakes

INGREDIENTS
150g moong beans, soaked overnight
100ml water
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp baking powder
1-2 green chillies (small ones), seeds in
1 tsp ginger powder
A handful fresh coriander
100g natural yoghurt, plus extra
to serve
Sunflower oil, for frying

For the topping
4 spring onions, chopped, including
the green parts
10 sweet tomatoes, chopped
A handful of fresh pomegranate seeds
A handful of fresh coriander, chopped

01 To make the batter, put all the
ingredients except the oil into a
blender or food processor. Blend
into a smooth paste. You may need
to add a little more water to get
the right consistency, depending

Romy Gill


on the beans. Leave to rest for 30
min before making the pancakes.

02 Set the oven to its lowest
temperature and place a heatproof
plate inside to warm. Heat a
nonstick frying pan over a medium
heat, then brush or spray it evenly
with oil.

03 Use a small ladle carefully to
pour in a spoonful of the batter and
immediately spread with the back
of the ladle to form into pancakes.
Brush or spray oil on the top and
cook for about 2 min on each side.
Remove from the pan and transfer
to the plate to keep warm in the
oven. Repeat the process to cook
the rest of the pancakes.

04 To make the topping, mix all
of the ingredients in a bowl, then
sprinkle over the pancakes, with
a dollop of yoghurt on the side.

2

Rice flour


pancakes with


spicy tomato


chutney


My mum and her friends used to
wash and dry the rice then grind it
into flour. I guess that was the
beauty of women sharing and
cooking together, but life is so
much easier now that you can find
rice flour in supermarkets. ROB BILLINGTON FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES MAGAZINE. PROPS: ALEXANDER BREEZE. FOOD: LAURIE PERRY

Photographs by
Rob Billington
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