I love the versatility of a humble pancake.  Savoury pancakes with different fillings and crepes dripping with chocolate! A pancake could be your breakfast, lunch, dessert and dinner.  They could all be made from the same batter and still taste different. I resort to pancakes when I am too lazy to cook something elaborate and I am not a sandwich person. I rarely have bread in the house! Pancakes and flat bread rolls are my fast food of choice. This recipe was inspired by the south Indian delicacy Dosa , a rice and lentil pancake. You can also use this filling to make a masala dosa.

My pancake recipe is a pretty straightforward one. The spice and the fun is all in the filling. The light and fluffy pancake enhances the flavours in its filling.

Pancake with Spicy Prawn
Pancake with Spicy Prawn

Spicy Prawn Filling: It’s better to have the filling ready before you make the pancakes. Hopefully you will be able to resist the prawns while you make the pancakes!

Ingredients: 

  • 6-8 prawns per pancake and the number depends on the size of prawns. I used King prawns.
  • 1 onion (chopped finely)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste
  • 2 tablespoons puréed tomato or paste
  • 1 red or yellow bell pepper (chopped in narrow strips)
  • 2 tablespoons of coconut milk (add more if you want it runny)
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • A pinch of turmeric

Preparation: 20 mins

The heat in this spicy prawn comes from a combination of ginger and black pepper. If you are fond of chilli peppers substitute the bell peppers with chilli. The aim is to form a spread-like curry, which will be easy to smear on your pancake. Lightly fry the prawns and leave them to a side of the pan. Fry the onions till you get that warm aroma of frying onions. Add the ginger, turmeric and tomato paste to the frying onions and stir well. Next, stir the prawns in and cover it well in spice and then add the bell peppers, this keeps the peppers crisp but warmed through. Pour in the coconut milk and mix well. The coconut milk helps form a smooth paste-like consistency, and your spicy prawn filling is ready to spread on your pancake.

Pancake Recipe : Everyone has their own recipe for pancakes. You can use yours or mine.

Ingredients: (Makes 4 large pancakes)

  • 2 Eggs
  • 100 grams plain flour
  • 100 ml milk (I use dried milk powder and water)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • a pinch of sugar (optional)
  • a pinch of salt (optional)

Preparation: 15 mins

Beat the eggs well and fold in all the ingredients. Make sure that the flour and the baking powder doesn’t form lumps. You are ready when you  have a smooth and flowing batter. Add more milk or water to dilute if it has  a stodgy consistency.

Let the batter stand and heat your skillet. Put half a teaspoon of butter in the skillet and spread it around. Too much butter or oil might give you an omelette instead of a pancake. Pour in the batter carefully for the first pancake. A little bit of estimation skills are required for this exercise as I’ve never measured how much batter goes into each pancake. Spread it out evenly and use the diameter of a skillet to get an even shape. Turn the heat on low. When the bubbles in the middle form holes and the pancake leaves the sides, turn it over. Repeat the same four times or more!

Serving suggestions:  

Spread the prawn filling on the pancake and garnish with a herb of your choice. I used basil but you can also use parsley or coriander.  You can also use my Fool’s Chilli Mushroom recipe as a spread for a gluten free option.

Written by Amrita Dasgupta - Visit my blog for more food and travel stories
I love to travel, discover new things, experience new cultures and then I get back home and experiment with the new food and recipes I discovered on my travels. My blog is about all those life experiences. If you’ve enjoyed this post, keep in touch with Drifting Traveller on Twitter and Facebook or by adding my blog to your RSS feed. Follow my blog with Bloglovin or Networked Blogs! If you really like reading the Drifting Traveller why not share it with people you know who'd like to read it too.