Deis Style Pancakes

Desi Style Pancakes

Ingredients:

For the pancake mixture:

100g plain or wholemeal or medium flour, sifted

A pinch of salt
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla paste or extract
The seeds of 4-5 green cardamom pods, crushed
200ml milk mixed with 75ml water
50g butter

To serve:

Runny honey or caster sugar
Lemon juice
Lemon wedges

Preparation:

Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Tip in the vanilla extract and the cardamom seeds. With a whisk or a fork whisk the mixture while gathering bits of the flour from around the edges of the bowl.

Then, a little at a time, add small quantities of the milk and water mixture while continuously whisking. The lumps will gradually disappear. When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any remaining bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth. It should be the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the 50g of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl.

Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium. Add a teaspoon of butter to the pan. Then start by doing a test pancake to see if you're using the correct amount of batter. It helps to use a ladle so you can get the batter portion per pancake poured into the pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with the batter. This should take about half a minute to cook. You can lift the edge with a palette knife or a pan slice to see if it is light golden underneath. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife and cook the other side for a few seconds. Then slide the pancake out of the pan onto a plate. If you try to lift it out of the pan, it may break up.

Stack the pancakes on a plate with greaseproof sheets in between each one.

Serve, sprinkled with freshly squeezed lemon juice and honey or caster sugar and lemon wedges.