Bannocks and Latkes. Parathas and Crepes. Cōngyóubǐng and Cachapas.
All are round-ish, all are calorie-filled deliciousness and all are pancakes!
Their infectious smell, intertwined with a caffeinated beverage, is enough to wake up even the groggiest. Aided by a watering mouth, they melt inside, much like the dollop butter that garnishes their crispy surface.
Regardless whether they’re made of wheat or rice, are sweet or savoury, pancakes have bound together generations much like the tightly-packed throngs that gather for the Brazilian Carnival. With Shrove Tuesday approaching, what is certain is that the sizzling sounds of pancake batter hitting Teflon-coated surfaces across North American kitchens will bellow from the rooftops!
Pancakes have been a staple in all the places I have called home. In India, savoury, crispy Dosas and Uttapas filled the hungry breakfast bellies. In UAE, the saccharine Qatayef became part of the Ramadan meal. And here, in Canada, their smell not only heralds a new day but also a new year, becoming a part of our New Year’s tradition.
The goal remains to try every possible pancake that mankind has created to satiate pangs of hunger. For now, here are some to bring the loved ones in your life together and create a slew of memories.
A Dosa A Day Will Cast Sadness Away
What a Touton is to a Newfoundland home, a Dosa is to a South Indian home. Crispy, flaky, dipped in copious amounts of coconut chutney, this rice-lentil pancake is core to the South Indian and Sri Lankan culture.
Feel free to self-invite yourself to the nearest South Indian or Sri Lankan home to witness the magic behind this meal. As a South Indian, I can tell you for certain that the self-invitation will trigger a quick scramble to soak rice and Urad Dal (Split Black Gram) for a few hours. A swift scurry to the high-powered mixer/blender to grind the rice and dal will render a white-ish batter. With a sigh of relief, the batter will ferment overnight.
In the morning, when you enter said South Indian home (where you – following my advice - have forced your presence) there will be no sign of any franticness or its cousin. You’ll be so taken in by the tingling smell of Hing (asafoetida) seasoning on the green coconut chutney that nothing else will matter. You’ll be offered a thick concoction of coffee and milk in a small steel tumbler and, as you begin to consume this, lo and behold, you’ll thank me (mentally). When you dip the thin, the golden, the wafer-like Dosa into the delectable chutney, I am hoping that you will perhaps remember reading this and pat yourself on the back for listening to my advice of the self-invitation for a Dosa meal!
Bhangra your way with an Aloo Paratha
The South East Asian cousin of potato pancakes, Aloo Parathas are the pride of northern India. You wouldn’t need to self-impose yourself on a north Indian, they’d force you to eat a paratha or two the minute you get to know them!
Wafting through their home will be the earthy aroma of boiled and mashed potatoes. These will be hastily mixed with a concoction of spices, fresh herbs such as cilantro and, in some cases, lime juice to make a tantalizing stuffing. If you are fortunate, watch your north Indian host expertly roll out the dough made from Atta or wholemeal wheat flour. They will plop a spoonful of the potato stuffing in the centre, sealing it with the rolled-out dough.
Now, the moment of truth arrives! If the filling has no lumps, then what you will end up with is a perfect round, crisp, golden aloo paratha that you will dip into a mango pickle or curds. And if the filling happens to be lumpy and bumpy, then what you may witness on your plate is the aloo paratha version of Dr. Banner metamorphosizing into The Hulk.
More in common than meets the eye
A million variations of the pancake exist all over the world and, sometimes, go unnoticed right under our very nose. Each of these pancakes have their own flavour, their own texture, their own tastes and their own little quirks. Yes, they may taste different, but the tend to evoke the same feeling of warmth and comfort, regardless of where they come from and what they look like.
Prajwala Dixit is an Indian-Canadian engineer, journalist and writer in St. John’s, NL who writes a biweekly regional column for the SaltWire Network. When she isn't engineering ways to save the world, she can be found running behind her toddler, writing and volunteering. Follow her and reach her at @DixitPrajwala
