Avocado Buckwheat Pancake

Avocados are nutrient rich fruits. When I was doing my grad studies in Manipal, I tasted Avocados for the first time in life. Those days I’d never seen one in India. My friend flew these fruits from Sri Lanka and kindly offered me to taste. She peeled and mashed the pulp, added some lime juice and few teaspoonful sugar. Served in small cups, it was a dessert that I enjoyed better than an ice cream. I was totally smitten by it’s buttery texture of this wonder fruit. After I move to Singapore, I found this fruit in abundance. I would buy loads and threw a few slices in the salad, blitz the pulp to make smoothie, make a spread for toast, vegan chocolate mousse and many more.

Nutritionally, Avocados are rich in Vitamin C and E which are anti-oxidants that protect the cells from free radical damage. Simply put, it’s good for your skin better than your anti wrinkle skin cream.  It’s rich in folate that helps the development of a healthy fetus during pregnancy preventing neural tube abnormalities like Spina Bifida. It’s one of my favorite fruits that’s loaded with nutrients. I pureed it and added in my pancakes.

I have made Avocado Cilantro Raita which is a great accompaniment for Rotis, Parathas and Pilau. Luckily, we get avocados round the year here in California. It’s a blessing. I use it as much as I can in anything and everything I cook and bake.

Makes 13-15  4 inch pancakes

¾ cup Buckwheat flour (Kuttu ka atta)

½  cup All purpose flour (Maida)

1 cup Buttermilk * Follow instructions given below

1 cup Avocado purée (about 2 avocados)

1 Egg (lightly beaten and at room temperature) * To warm the egg, place it in a bowl of warm (not boiling) water for 5 minutes or till it does not feel cold on touch. For egg-free version, use ¼ cup of pureed silken tofu.

1 teaspoon Baking soda

2 tablespoons Oil or Butter (melted and cooled)

2 tablespoon Sugar

1/4 cup Milk (room temperature) * I used dairy milk. Can be substituted with almond/rice/soy milk

1/4 teaspoon Salt

Pinch of Cinnamon *Optional

Oil or Butter to grease the griddle or skillet

Method

1. In a large bowl stir the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Mix all the wet ingredients together and fold into the dry ingredients to make a batter.
2. Mix gently until combined. Do not over beat the batter. Over mixing will give flat and heavy pancakes. It is alright to have wet lumps, not dry floury lumps. You’ll still get smooth and light pancakes.
3. Let it stand for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat a griddle or skillet on medium heat. High heat will give burnt and dark sides.
4. Grease the griddle with oil/butter. Use a ladle to pour the batter onto the griddle. This gives you same sized pancakes. Pour one ladle of batter at a time on the heated griddle. Let the batter spread by itself.
5. Look for bubbles on the uncooked surface of the pancakes. Once the pancake begins to bubble around the edges, it is ready to be flipped.
6. Slide a wide spatula underneath the pancake and flip. If the pancake is browned evenly and cooked, it will come out easily. The first side is always smooth and pretty.
7. Cook until the second side is done and stack the pancakes on a plate. Each side takes about  2 minutes. Cooking  time depends on the size of the pancake. Control the heat of the griddle, as the heat tends to increase after cooking a couple of batches.
8. Serve pancakes with butter, maple syrup or honey and a dollop of whipped cream. For fantastic pancakes, brush each side with a little butter. Check out Orange Butter.

Buttermilk substitute (Acidified buttermilk)- Take a little less than 1 cup 2% dairy/low-fat/fat-free milk. Add 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice to make 1 cup. Let stand for 10 minutes. This gives 1 cup buttermilk substitute. * Use room temperature milk. If not warm milk in the microwave for 15 seconds before proceeding with the preparation.

Tips on how to make fluffy pancakes is here