Buckwheat pancakes with curried cauliflower

Latest post from MARKSVEGPLOT – a blog about food and gardening in England”

It’s a while since I did a food post, because at this time of year the gardening stuff takes top priority. However, I am still cooking occasionally, so see what you make of this recipe. If I had been confident enough to do so, I would have made Dosas instead of Buckwheat Pancakes, but on this occasion I took the easy option!

Buckwheat pancakes with curried cauliflower, potato, peas and mint, served with yellow dhal.

Ingredients (serves 2)

Pancakes (makes 4)
60g Buckwheat flour
30g plain flour
120ml milk
120ml water
1 egg
Approx 25g butter
Pinch of salt

Curried veg
2 medium potatoes, skin on, diced
1/4 cauliflower, cut into small florets)
200g fresh peas, shelled
Handful of fresh Mint leaves, chopped
Two large Spring Onions, sliced
1 Tsp curry powder (Adjust to taste. I used Jane’s home-made one)
1 Tsp Garam Masala (Again, adjust to taste. I used Jane’s home-made one)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Dhal
100g lentils (preferably Toor, or yellow urad), washed and soaked for 8 hours
500ml water
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Half an onion, thinly sliced
Spices to taste -I used home-made curry powder, Garam Masala, Fenugreek, Black Poppyseed, and Cumin
1 large dried red chilli
Salt to taste

Method
Cook the Dhal first. This can be done in advance, cooled and then reheated.
Put the lentils into a pan with the water and the chilli, bring to the boil and simmer until very tender – approx. 40 minutes. The water should all be absorbed. Add more water if required, to achieve a very creamy consistency.
Remove and discard the chilli.
Stir in the powdered spices while the dhal is still hot, to allow them to infuse.
Meanwhile, fry the onion very slowly until dark brown, but not burnt.
Add the onions to the dhal and stir well.
Briefly fry the whole spices in the pan in which the onions were cooked, at a high heat, until they “crackle”, then stir them into the dhal.
Add salt to taste.
Set aside to cool, and reheat later when required.

Make the pancake batter.
Put the flours into a bowl, with the salt.
Put the milk, water and egg into a jug and whisk until emulsified.
Add the liquid to the bowl and use a wooden spoon to mix it with the flour. The aim is to get a smooth liquid with no lumps. It is supposed to have the consistency of Single (pouring) Cream.
Cover and set aside until required. [Allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes.]

Cook the Curried vegetables.
Boil the potato and cauliflower in some salted water, until just tender. Drain and set aside.
Rinse out the saucepan and refill with water. Bring it to the boil, add the peas and cook them briefly until tender – just a couple of minutes. Drain and set aside.
About 15 mins before you plan to make the pancakes…
Heat the oil in a frying-pan, and add the curry powder and Garam Masala to make a paste.
Add the cooked vegetables and the sliced Spring Onions, stirring gently but thoroughly to coat everything with the paste.
Cook until the potatoes are just going brown at the edges.
Stir in the chopped Mint right at the end of the cooking time.

Cook the pancakes
[Reheat the dhal gently now, and make sure the curried veg is nearly ready.]
Melt about half of the butter in the pan in which you are going to cook the pancakes. Pour it into the pancake batter, and stir it in.
Use a small knob of butter each time, melted in the pan, before adding the batter mix.
Heat the buttered pan again, and add about a quarter of the batter, swirling it around the pan to make a thin even layer.
Cook for about two minutes, until the edges are turning brown
Use a spatula to flip the pancake and cook the other side
When done, place the pancake on a plate and keep it warm, while you make the other pancakes.

To serve
Place two pancakes per person on dinner plates, and fill each of them with a suitable quantity of the curried veg, placing the veg on half of the pancake only.

Fold over the other half of the pancake and spoon some dhal over it. Repeat until all four are done.

Eat immediately!

To read more articles like this, on Gardening and Gastronomy, please visit * http://marksvegplot.blogspot.com/ *