Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Latkes (Potato Pancakes)

Latke2

Potato pancakes, also known as latkes or latkas, are shallow-fried pancakes of grated potato and egg, often flavored with grated onion. Latkes are a traditional Jewish dish, associated with Hanukkah and are often eaten with sour cream, applesauce, or both.
Potato pancakes are also commonly associated with traditional Czech, Ukrainian, Yiddish, German and Polish cuisine, although other cuisines (including those of India and Korea) also have similar potato pancakes.
(
Source: Wikipedia)

I love potatoes in any shape or form and just had to give latkes a shot. There are thousands of latke recipes out there but
this one worked really well for me.
I love that the recipe makes use of the simplest of ingredients that are found in almost every kitchen/pantry.

Here’s my recipe which is heavily adapted from the one at Exclusively Food.
Ingredients:
(For 10 small latkes)

4 medium potatoes, peeled and grated (I used Russet potatoes)
1 small onion, peeled and grated
½ cup spring onions, finely chopped (optional- I only used these because I had some that were about to go bad)
2 eggs, beaten
3-4 Tbsp all -purpose flour
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Oil, for pan-frying

Method:
Squeeze out all the excess liquid from the grated potato-onion mixture (I used a food processor here) and place in a large bowl.

Add the flour, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and chopped scallions (if using) to the mixture. Add the beaten eggs and mix well to combine.

Heat oil (just enough for shallow frying) in a large pan. Scoop some of the potato-onion mixture into the pan with a large spoon and press down lightly with the back of the spoon.

Shallow fry until crisp and golden brown on one side, about 3-4 minutes.

Flip and cook the other side similarly. I was able to make 3 latkes at a time.

Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with sour cream.

These pancakes are very quick and easy to make and are traditionally served as a side, but we had them for breakfast/brunch. You could also serve these as appetizers like Deb has done
here.


Latke1

29 Burps:

amna said...

Now here's something TH would love! :D

Arundathi said...

that looks fantastic. could have that for lunch today!

Raaga said...

these look great... should try them at the next party we have.

Chutneytales said...

Your potato pancakes made me drool..Great clicks :)

Finla said...

Beautiful, crunchy and dlicoius.

FH said...

Slurp! I love Latkes with sour cream, I made these for Meeta's MM event last year. Great looking photos TBC, perfect snack for Sundays! :)

Ranjani said...

What's not to love about eggs and potatoes! these look amazing, great click! and the Crème fraîche makes it look decadent!

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Who can resist potatoes cooked anyway, but even more when they look so crisp like this?

Janaki Gopikrishna said...

wow this is amazina ya. all the photos look superb in ur blog and also the photo slide in the corner

Janaki Gopikrishna said...

woow this is amazing. the photos in ur blog are simply superb. will try the latka soon

Suganya said...

Lovely recipe. Sounds new to me. Looks so good. YUM!

Lisa Turner said...

Those look just perfect!

Varsha Vipins said...

What a great pic TBC..Even the simple dish looks so gorgeous..Slurppp..!!

Vrinda said...

crispy pancake...perfect for a tea time snack

A_and_N said...

I love latkes, name included. Seems so Bollywood no? :D

Vani said...

I love anything with potatoes. Latkes with sour cream sound delicious. LOVED the pics!

sra said...

Great pic! I feel hungry looking at them, and that's strange, because I've just had some mind-numbing, stomach-filling rich choc cake for dinner and couldn't eat anything more!

Unknown said...

wow!! beautiful pics TBC, it looks so crispy!!

Anonymous said...

Looks heavenly! Love potatoes in any form :)

Laavanya said...

They look gorgeous TBC - and since rostis go over so well at home, I've no doubt these will be a hit too.

TBC said...



Nags, Arundathi and Raaga- hope you get a chance to try it out. :)


Madhumathi, Happy Cook, Asha, Ranjani, Aparna, Sukanya, Lisa, Varsha & Vrinda- thank you! :D


Janaki- welcome to my blog.:)

A & N- I had to say latke a few times before I finally got it.:)


Vani- it's nice to see you here after a long time. How's your daughter doing?


Sra- thanks! You had the cake for dinner?! You lucky gal! :D

Maria- thank you.:)


Homecooked- same here! I think I have a potato something on the menu at least 3 times a week.:D


Laavanya- thanks.:)

AnuSriram said...

Looks awesome... Wonderful click! I was waiting to try this without eggs..

TBC said...

AnuSriram- thank you.
I don't think that you'd get the same results without the eggs here (they kind of act as a binding agent), but u could definitley try.

Vaishali said...

Yum, latkes, which always make me drool because I have zero resistance to potatoes-- in fact, I'd want these for my last meal on earth :) They look gorgeous, TBC.

TBC said...


Vaishali- same here. Never met a potato I didn't like! ;-)
...and thanks for the compliment.:)

Anonymous said...

:) Perfect..


Budding Cook,I suggest you to put your watermark a little on top can now,maybe in the centre..Your pics are too good and take care nobody steals them :)

Just my opinion,you neeedn't take it seriously :)

TBC said...


Nimmy- thank you.:)
I appreciate your suggestion, but there's really no stopping someone who's out to lift content. It does make it a little difficult though if the watermark is in the centre, but unfortunately, that does not guarantee copyright protection.
I'm hoping nobody finds my pics good enough to steal.:)

Anonymous said...

I tried this out today. But the pancakes were more like dosa in terms of how they looked and the consistency. I guess, I didn't use enough onions and they was still some moisture left in the potato-onion mixture!

But they were totally yummy! def making them again

TBC said...




Rosemilkinabottle (I love your blog name, BTW)-I'm so sorry that they turned out to be like dosas for you! As you mentioned, it probably was due to the fact that mixture still had some water content. The batter/mixture here would be relatively thick and it's not really the pourable kind.
Hope you try making these again. :)

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