TURN LEFTOVER RICE INTO SAVOURY PANCAKES

 
 

With Filipino heritage, and as a fan of Ayurveda, rice is a staple in our house. While Ayurveda advocates for freshly cooked food as much as possible for prana and digestion, and I’ve learned over the years how much rice to make for my family of two, then three, then four (with any scrapings topping up our dogs food), there are times when there is enough rice leftover to warrant another recipe for our next meal. This is what I’ve been rustling up lately - easy, tasty breakfast savoury pancakes that my daughter always enjoys. The method is pretty simple, blend the leftover rice from the night before with gram flour (or chickpea flour) and water to make a batter. Add some spices and aromatics if you like, heat a pan with a little ghee or coconut oil, just as you would when making crepes and pancakes, and proceed to cook in the same way.  

Rice and beans (chickpeas are part of the bean family!) is a classic combination all over the world and one which contains all the amino acids needed for a complete protein so this is an excellent alternative to say an egg-based pancake. I like to add ginger, dried or fresh, to boost the agni and then whatever takes my fancy - this version went viral on the gram the other day and Mahi chose the spices so I’ve included them below. Plenty of diced onion gave them a lovely texture and had them tasting a bit like a hashbrown.

This recipe is very loose because it depends on how much rice you’re starting with, but also very forgiving in that it’s never not worked - just add a little more gram flour or water to adjust. Like most pancake recipes, the first one isn’t always the best. Make sure you heat the pan well first, then lightly grease it with a little ghee/coconut oil. If it’s too wet add a teaspoon of flour at a time. If it’s too thick, add a tablespoon of water at a time. 

These are excellent served with a cooked chutney like my Hot Apple Chutney or make up a fresh Green Chutney with coriander and mint. 

METHOD 

  1. Combine all the ingredients (except the onion) in a blender and blend until smooth.

  2. Add more water if you need to get the right pouring/pancake consistency (we added an additional 4 tbsp), and add any chopped onion and mix in by hand

  3. Heat a non-stick frying pan — I find a well seasoned cast iron pan works best — to medium high heat and add a little ghee or coconut oil. Swirl it around to cover the surface then drain off any excess

  4. Proceed with cooking a small pancake first to check the seasoning and consistency and adjust the batter if necessary. Adding a little more fat/oil will give you crispier edges

  5. Once tested, add 3 tbsp of batter and swirl it for a thin, crispy pancake

  6. Remove the finished pancake and keep it warm while you make the rest

INGREDIENTS 

Approx. 1 cup of leftover cooked rice

1 cup of gram flour (or chickpea flour)

1 cup of water or more

1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped

1 small - medium onion, finely diced - add after blending for texture

1/4 tsp of sea salt to taste

1/2 tsp ground ginger (or a thumbnail of fresh)

½ tsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric

Grind of black pepper

Ghee or coconut oil to cook

East by West tips:

  • Don’t worry the spices don’t make it spicy! Just a lovely savoury flavour, gram flour can take a lot of flavour so the spices are not dominant

  • Leave the batter to stand for at least 10 mins before cooking if possible to make sure the flour has absorbed all the water

 
 
SUMMER, VEGAN, VEGETARIAN, SMALL PLATES, BREAKFASTJasmine Hemsleypancakes