Pancakes: a little easier than baking cake, a little more complicated than pouring nondairy milk on cereal. It’s deservedly reserved for special days, when you have a little more than the usual time to prepare breakfast.
I’m still trying to perfect the art of pancake making. Even now still, I’ve forced myself to quietly eat weird lumps of burnt batter to save the husband from eating them; luckily, most of my batches have come out pretty serve-worthy.
There’s a delicate balance between making the batter too dry and too wet. And using Quinoa powder in this recipe was a new texture to incorporate altogether! I’m really glad I figured it out, because the end product is juicy, flavourful and offers an interesting gluten-free brunch option if the plain flour is replaced with rice flour.
This recipe was one of six I developed in collaboration with Malaysian health food brand Spoon Health.
Quinoa Zucchini Pancakes
A delightful savoury breakfast / brunch option. Complement with a side of fresh cut fruit!
Ingredients
- DRY:
- 1/2 cup Spoon Health quinoa powder
- 1/2 cup plain flour (or rice flour if gluten-free)
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- WET:
- 2 tsp chia soaked in 4 tbsp water for 10 mins
- 1 1/4 cups non-dairy milk, unsweetened
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup shredded Zucchini
- 1/2 small bell pepper, diced finely
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Cooking oil
Directions
- Step 1 Mix dry ingredients together evenly, excluding baking powder.
- Step 2 Mix soaked chia seed with milk and vinegar and pour slowly into dry mixture, while stirring, until it becomes a smooth batter.
- Step 3 The batter should be thick and lumpy, but also have a slow pouring consistency. If it doesn’t seem to pour out slowly from a spoon, stir in more milk by the tablespoon until desired consistency is attained.
- Step 4 Stir in baking powder, zucchini, pepper, garlic and baking powder.
- Step 5 Heat up some cooking oil on low to medium heat into a flat cooking pan. A fried egg ring mould or egg pan works well to help pancakes keep their shape.
- Step 6 Pour batter in, roughly two tablespoons per pancake. Cook for about 5 minutes each side or until golden brown.
- Step 7 Serve hot with your sauce of choice. For a local flair, Sambal or Chilli Sauce is worth a try!
