Instant Rava Uttapam 

(Savory Cream of Wheat Pancake), 

with Eggplant Chutney/Kathirikkai Thogayal (Thuvaiyal)

This made a yummy South Indian breakfast. The Rava Uttapam recipe is from Hebbar's Kitchen. Although this Uttapam batter has to rest for 20 minutes before cooking, it's still "instant" compared to other traditional versions. The Thogayal recipe is from Padhu's Kitchen. This was a great way to start the day!

Hebbar's Kitchen Website, Instant Uttapam Recipe

Hebbar's Kitchen YouTube, Instant Rava Uttapa Recipe

Padhu's Kitchen Website, Brinjal [Eggplant] Chutney -- Kathirikkai Thogayal (Thuvaiyal)

Ebelskiver 

(Danish Pancakes)

After several months of using my ebelskiver pan to make other things, I decided to make ... actual Ebelskiver! (The recipe is from House of Nash Eats.)These are traditional Danish pancakes, which are round and puffy. They can be filled with something sweet, so I tried to fill them with strawberry jam, but it kept running out and burning onto the pan. Oops! (Pic #2 above shows some of this batch, with whole-milk yogurt.) After that, I didn't attempt to fill them, but instead served them with jam on the side. Either way was yummy, but not stuffing them was much easier. I'm glad I finally tried this! 

House of Nash Eats, Aebleskiver | Danish Pancakes

Baked Qatayif 

(Pancakes with Ground Almonds)

Now for something sweet! Here are Baked Qatayif (Pancakes with Ground Almonds). I wanted to make real Qatayif, Arabic pancakes filled with nuts, then baked or fried, and sweetened with a sugar syrup. Sounds yum! But ... it would be too rich for me, so I'd never made it before. Another thing is, while I enjoy pancakes, I find it difficult to stand at the stove long enough to make a batch, sometimes. What a bummer! Now, how could I make it more suitable for me?  Recently, I found an answer ...

I made Baked Pancakes, in a muffin pan! This was according to the Kitchen @ Hoskins method in the recipe for Baked Pumpkin Pancakes. I used the Basic Pancake batter from Mom's Big Book of Baking, by Lauren Chattman, except: I used 2 Tbsp almond filling instead of sugar, added 1 Tbsp rosewater and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to the liquid, and used a little less milk.

The filling I used was from Lebanese Cuisine, by Madelain Farah, for her Qtayif recipe. The only difference was, I used 1 cup ground almonds instead of walnuts, and added a little extra rosewater. I stored leftover filling in the fridge, to use elsewhere.

I added some batter to each of the muffin liners in the muffin pan, sprinkled in some almond filling, and then covered it with more batter. Towards the end, there wasn't quite enough batter to cover the almonds, so they became more of a streusel topping. I baked it all at 375 F, for about 26 minutes. When I would eat one of these goodies, I'd reheat it gently, and then drizzle some sugar syrup on it. (Note: errant almond topping sticks to the pan, so it helps to at least wipe it off, after baking, while the pan is still somewhat warm.) I hope someday to try the real thing, but until then, I'm glad I have a substitute!

To illustrate what the real deal looks like, I've taken the liberty of adding links below, to YouTube videos of SmileyGirl230 making Atayif (just the pancakes), as well as Atayif bil Jibneh (pancakes filled with cheese, and baked). While I have never made her Atayif before, I have made other of her recipes, and they were outstanding! I have also added a link to Najat's Kitchen on YouTube's video of Atayef (with English subtitles), as she uses a walnut filling. While I have not made this particular recipe, I thought it would help to illustrate the traditional version. 

Kitchen @ Hoskins Website, Pumpkin Streusel Pancake Cups  

SmileyGirl230 Facebook

SmileyGirl230 YouTube, Atayef - The easiest pancakes you will ever make 

SmileyGirl230 YouTube, Atayef bil Jibneh - Lebanese pancakes with cheese 

Najat's Kitchen YouTube, How to make Atayef (Arabic Pancakes) (with subtitles)

Baked Pancakes

The idea for baking pancakes in a muffin tin came from Kitchen @ Hoskins and their recipe for Pumpkin Streusel Pancake Cups. As I didn't have any pumpkin, I decided to use the basic pancake recipe from Lauren Chattman's Mom's Big Book of Baking, instead. Of course, these are different kinds of pancakes, and I ended up having to bake mine for longer than the new recipe. I think next time I make it like this, I'll try baking it at a higher temperature (maybe 375 F). 

These pancakes were fun to eat, drizzled with honey, and sprinkled with cinnamon. They contained a little sugar, but weren't too sweet. I actually had them sometimes with a savory meal. Perhaps next time, I'll leave out the sugar. Or not. 😊 Baking pancakes like this is a great idea!

Kitchen @ Hoskins Website, Pumpkin Streusel Pancake Cups

Quinoa Flakes Cheela 

(Indian Savory Pancake)

This was inspired by the Ground Oats Cheela from August 30, of The Gutless Foodie on Instagram. Instead of using ground oats, I used ground quinoa flakes (which I ground up in a coffee/spice grinder), along with mustard seeds and some spices. I was glad to find a use for the quinoa flakes (that I was advised could add some protein to my diet). It was a very delicious use, too. 

(I'm adding links here to the company that makes these quinoa flakes, in case anyone is interested.)


The Gutless Foodie Facebook

The Gutless Foodie Instagram, Ground Oats Cheela

Ancient Harvest Website, Quinoa Flakes

Ancient Harvest Website, How to Use Quinoa Flakes

Uttappam (Savory Pancake)

This is a South Indian savory pancake, made from leftover idli or dosa batter. In this case, it was made from leftover Kanchipuram Idli batter of the other day. Actually, I don't know if uttappam are ever made from rava idli batter like this ("instant idli" made from sooji/rava/like Cream of Wheat, or here, Cream of Rice), or only from the traditional idli/dosa batter. Well, anyway, I did make it like this, and it was nice with sambhar (a soupy legume and veggie dish). This was my first time ever making uttappam.

Buttermilk Pancakes with Wild-Blueberry Fruit Spread

I served the pancakes with the fruit spread, as I'd already used up the last of the maple syrup. The recipe for the pancakes was from Lauren Chattman's Mom's Big Book of Baking. Accompanying them is some creamy whole-milk yogurt that reminds me of the homemade yogurt I've had at friends' houses before. The yogurt combined with the blueberry spread, is like blueberries and cream. 

Peach Pancakes

Peach Pancakes from recipe by JamilaCuisine on YouTube. I often drown my pancakes in maple syrup. Recently, I tried lemon juice and confectioner's sugar. What topping do you prefer?