June 23, 2008

Coconut pancakes and awards!


Coconut pancakes or madak saan as we used to call it, is one of the well-loved breakfast items from my childhood days. The flour and egg pancakes enclose a juicy mixture of freshly grated coconut and sugar which just scream "sweet and tasty breakfast" to the kids! I have come across a variety of names for this tasty marvel including love letters, probably referring to the way in which they are folded!! But dont you think it could also be because of the sweet content of both the letters and the pancakes!? Anyways, it is a very simple and quick breakfast that anyone can whip up in minutes. I did not have fresh coconut with me, so I used flaked coconut available in the baking section. It has already been sweetened, so you dont have to add extra sugar. It is not as juicy as using freshly grated coconut either! Expand your creativity and use a variety of fillings like fresh fruits and nuts, or serve them as such or with pancake syrups, fresh fruit puree or some sugar on the side. This is a perfect kid-friendly breakfast that can be enjoyed by adults too.... Enjoy!! :-) (The pictures are not perfect, I know!, I am sorry! There were two impatient, stomach-growling people on my heels!). Check out the tips for making the recipe - vegetarian.


Recipe (Makes about 6 pancakes) :

All-purpose flour - 1 cup
Egg - 1, beaten
Milk - about 6 oz
Vanilla essence - 3/4 tsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Flaked sweetened coconut - as needed
or
Grated coconut with sugar - as needed

Method:

Mix flour, beaten egg, milk, sugar and vanilla essence to form a somewhat loose batter which is lump-free.

Heat a non-stick skillet and add a small ladle full of batter.

Swirl the skillet around so that the batter coats the base of the skillet uniformly.

You can also spread the batter in dosa fashion, lightly placing the ladle on the center of the batter and spreading it out in a coil fashion to the outside (like making dosa).

Once the upper side looks dry, flip the pancake over and cook the other side.

Remove from heat, fill with coconut and/or any other filling.

Place the filling on the center and then fold over either sides of the pancake or place the filling towards one edge and then roll up the pancake from that side.

Enjoy warm!

Tips:
  1. I used about half water - half milk mixture to make the batter.
  2. For my vegetarian friends out there, omiting the egg , adding 1/4 tsp of baking powder and increasing the amount of milk accordingly should give similar results! I have not tried it out without eggs, but I guess it should be just fine.

I am sending these pancakes to the Pancakes on Parade event at Susan's "The Well-seasoned Cook" and Sweet Series at Mythreyee's "Paajaka".



Now its .......... award time!! :

Last week was really great for me with lots of awards bestowed upon me by my dear friends, my talented fellow bloggers!! Once again, I was ecstatic when I recieved an award which is new to me - "Blogging with a purpose" award! All these gestures of love and support from all of you makes me reinforce my passion for blogging, a LOT!! I should mention once again, how much this small space on the internet has come to mean to me, I dont even have words to express it!! I cant think of stopping, EVER...I hope it doesnt come to that !! I thank Ranji of
Ranji's Kitchen Corner who again is one of my closest friends on the blogosphere and who has come to mean a lot to me, and also Trupti of Recipe Center, who again is a very talented blogger, who first saw to it that I receive encouragement in the form of my first award ever! It definitely meant a lot coming from the both of you, and thanks a lot for thinking about me!


I would like to pass this on to,

Shubha of Chutki Bhar Pyar
Bhags of Crazy curry
Madhuram of Eggless cooking
Swati of Chatkhor

I also received the Rocking Girl Blogger award from our beloved lil blogger - Swati of Chatkhor. I would like to pass this on to,



Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner
Trupti of Recipe Center
Sukanya of Hot n' Sweet Bowl
Divya Vikram of Dil Se

Hope you all would accept and enjoy the awards! Lets start this week's blogging with all this love in the air!

25 comments:

FH said...

Looks so classy, I love your photos. Great entry for both!

Enjoy all the awards. If there is any award for best food presentation, you should get it ASAP!:)

ranji said...

what a beautiful presenation JZ!!!i am in love with it:)...i back asha :)...these pancakes look just like crepes..or r they crepes??damn yummy aching my tummy....hey that rhymes LOL...:Denjoy ur awards sweets ..

Finla said...

It bring back memory from my childhood.
My mom used to make this for us very often, when we came back from school for our snack and have to admit they were delicious and we used to eat three to four of them.
Pitu i can't do that anymore as it straight goes to my hip :-)
This looks delicious too.
I always love your presentation.
The extra touches are great
Co,ngrats with the awards

Rachel said...

Madka Saan..as in the malayalam madaku..hehehe!! never knew that!

Lovely presentation and congrts on the awards...

bha said...

Coconut pancakes seems to be a delightful idea.....and those snaps are gems...:)
Congrats for your awards, ad thanks for thinking about me....

ranji said...

thank u so much passing on the award to me for the 2nd time JZ..i am really happy..and awards from u are always special:)...

Unknown said...

The pancakes look great..Congrats on ur award..And thanks for passing it to me..

Mythreyee said...

Thank you so much for this lovely entry. Can egg substitute be substituted for eggs? also, can this be made with no egg? just curious.

Beyond Curries said...

How come you are able to come up with such wonderful presentation? It's truly amazing!

Congrats on your awards and thank you for passing me Blogging with Purpose award. That's my first.

Shubha Ravikoti said...

COngrats on the awards JZ....Thank u soooooooomuch JZ for passing it to me.:) I just love the way u present u food.. its so nice.. have to learn a lot from u dear...:)
The pancake looks yummm!

Dori said...

Congratulations on your awards! That is one beautiful plate you set up :)

Laavanya said...

What do you mean pics aren't good.. they are amazing! My neighbour used to make this in the evenings sometimes and I've tasted these quite often - Love it!

Trupti said...

Thank you JZ for passing me the award. I am agree with Asha your presentation skill is very wonderful..you should get award for that.
Enjoy ur awards.

Srikitchen said...

that was too delicious... tempting me to eat a piece.. congratulations... two awards at a time... that sounds great...

Sum Raj said...

how come u present such a nice way...its like same in food network i c....i am just lovly it to eat those..congrate on awards

Shri said...

Congratulations !!Lovely pancake and awesome pictures.

Illatharasi said...

Wow, more than pancakes, i loved your wonderful presentation.... :)
Congrats for the awards!!!

Uma said...

lovely presentation with mouth-watering pancakes. Congrats on the awards.

ST said...

The plate is so inviting.....Love the presentation very very much ......Congrats on awards.U deserve all of them....

@the_whisk_affair said...

Thanks Asha! Wow! I am flattered!! I am soo glad you feel that my presentation is good, thank you soooo much for making my day!! :-)

Hey Ranji, try your hand at writing poetry..i guess they are indian crepes :-)

I know HC, I also have such fond memories associated with these! Thanks for sharing your memories!

Thanks a lot Rachel, Bhags, Ranji and Divya...Bhags, I'm glad you feel these pics are gems! :-) Ranji, its a pleasure to pass them to you! :-)

Welcome Mythreyee, I guess these pancakes could be made without eggs or even egg substitutes. Maybe a pinch of baking powder would help too..But I am not sure since I have not personally made them eggless.

I am pleased to pass the award to you Madhuram! And I love presenting the dishes probably more than actually making it! ;-)

Thanks Shubha, love ya!

Thank you Meeso and Laavanya! Glad you loved the presentation.

Hey Trupti, accpetance from all of you and your personal msgs and encouragement is the best award! :-) Thanks a lot!

Thanks a lot for visiting Srilekha,
Suma, Shri, Illatharasi, Uma and Sireesha. I am happy that you all liked the presentation!!

Cham said...

Plate of art, i will be looking not eating.... no very inviting ur plate, lovely

@the_whisk_affair said...

Thanks Cham! :-)

Anonymous said...

Awesome. The presentation itself is so tempting, I am sure it tastes great too.

Susan said...

Simple and sweet! Thanks for joining in Pancakes on Parade! I'd be impatient for these, too!

@the_whisk_affair said...

Glad u liked it Hima and Susan! :-)