I love chickpea flour – it is so flavorful and versatile as I will show you in this post.
For the pancakes:
2 cups chickpea flour (found in Indian stores called Besan)
3/4 cup water or as needed to get a consistency of batter.
salt to taste
1/4 tsp. cayenne or to taste
1/2 tsp. baking pwd.
chopped herbs (anything like cilantro, parsley, chives or a tiny bit of thyme or rosemary)
1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan
Nonstick pan and oil to coat it
Make the batter with the flour and water and get it to the consistency of pancake batter you may make for breakfast.
Add the rest of the ingredients except the cheese and let rest for 20 minutes.
This is what the batter should look like – I know it is not the best picture but I hope that you get the idea.
Heat a nonstick pan, add a tiny bit of oil to coat the bottom and pour a ladle full of the batter and cook on medium high heat for 2-3 minutes or until lightly golden. Flip and add the cheese.on the cooked side. I like to do this because when I flip it again, the cheese browns – a flavor I love.
Flip the pancake again after a couple of minutes and continue till all the batter has been used.
This past weekend I served the pancakes with a simple arugula salad that I dressed simply with balsamic vinegar – no oil needed.
At other times. I have added leftovers to these pancakes – in this case leftover shredded chicken, chopped tomatoes, scallions and parsley.
The toppings are really limitless.
I hope that you try to find this flour and experiment with different flavors.
Just think of it like topping a pizza.
I promise you will love it.
Until I cook again!
Indian Culinary Center, NYC 