Savory Indian Vegetable Pancakes

Savory Indian Vegetable Pancakes are delicious and very easy to make. It's been over 77 days since I've been "staying in." (Although I have been taking daily walks with a mask, and I have been doing my own grocery shopping, but not too often)

Since we are not eating or ordering out, I am doing a significant amount of daily cooking. I've been experimenting with recipes that I wouldn't ordinarily make. We do really like Indian and Asian food, so out of desperation, I've started to give some recipes a try! Two weeks ago, I made an Asian recipe called Mongolian Mushrooms and Tofu that was fabulous. This week I thought I would try an Indian pancake.

Surprisingly, despite being a little intimidated at first, the pancakes were extremely easy to make and extremely tasty. They are made with chickpea flour (I substituted Bob Mills Gluten Free All Purpose Flour (affiliate link) which contains mostly chickpea flour), some spices, and some vegetables. 

** WW -1 cup of chickpea flour is 12 points on WW blue and purple plans. If you make 12 pancakes, each pancake is 1 point.

Not only are these pancakes gluten-free, these pancakes do not contain any dairy or eggs which makes them vegan and parve as well. They kind of remind me of Chinese scallion pancakes, but they are not as heavily fried in oil. 

I added shredded cabbage, scallions, and grated carrots to the batter. You could vary the vegetables. I've seen all kinds of variations to this recipe. Some have chopped baby spinach, while some even include starchy vegetables such as cooked sweet potato or cooked white potato.

The recipe calls for a simple batter that is cooked on a hot skillet until browned on both sides. Depending on your pan, this may require a small amount of oil spray.

The pancakes cooking in a hot skillet 

After the batter is made, it is then dropped into small individual size pancakes in the skillet. I usually get about 12 pancakes to one batter. However, the first time I made them I only was able to make 10 pancakes because the first few pancakes I made were too thick. But you can make them any size you like.

These are soft and flexible which are easy for rolling or dipping-
They are almost like a wrap or a flatbread

The pancake can be eaten as is or eaten as an appetizer. Despite the photos, which look a little dry, they were actually soft, flexible, and rolled very easily.

Ingredients:

Olive oil spray
1 cup of gluten-free chickpea flour or Bob Mills All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of grated carrots

3/4 cup of shredded or grated cabbage (can use shredded coleslaw from a bag)
1/2 cup of chopped scallions

1 tablespoon of cumin seeds 

Salt and cracked pepper to taste

Optional: 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

Directions:
Mix the chickpea flour, baking powder, turmeric in a small bowl. Using a whisk, whisk in the water and mix until smooth. Add vegetables and stir well. Spray a skillet with olive oil or avocado oil spray. Use a tablespoon to measure and drop a scoopful at a time into the hot skillet and then reduce to a low flame. Flatten and when it is brown, use a spatula to flip the pancake.  Cook on the other side until brown and serve.

Shared on Weekend Cooking hosted by The Intrepid Reader where anyone can share a food-related post. 

Notes:

1. I categorized this recipe as "quick and easy" because I was able to make the entire recipe in under 30 minutes.

2. I made 12 pancakes so I could easily figure out the point value for Weight Watchers. You can make them any size you like. I've even seen them made into a large omelet and cut into quarters. 

3. I find this recipe a little eerie as it tastes like it contains eggs. I must be the yellow color and the omelet like texture, but I assure you there are no eggs!