Corn And Scallion Pancakes With A Spiced Strawberry Syrup

This pancake recipe is something I’d hastily jotted down from some cookbook while I was in the long check-out line at the library.



Ingredients:
(For approximately 10 pancakes)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal (I used white)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar
Salt
2¼ cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 Tbsp butter, melted
¾ cup corn (I used some frozen corn that I’d thawed)
3-4 scallions, sliced (I used both white and green parts)
Oil/Butter to grease the skillet

Method:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.

In another bowl, mix together the buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Set the batter aside for 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the chopped scallions and corn just before making the pancakes.

Grease a hot skillet with oil/butter; pour a ladleful of the pancake batter. Tilt the skillet around a bit so that the batter spreads out a little.

Cook on medium heat until the bottom is golden brown. Flip the pancake and cook the other side similarly. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Serve with your favorite syrup. I did not have any at home. So I looked around for something else I could use instead and saw a jar of strawberry jam in the refrigerator. So that is what I ended up using to make the syrup. I could have thinned it out a bit more, though.

Spiced Strawberry Syrup



Here's how I made the syrup:

I heated 1 tsp of oil and added 1- 2 finely chopped jalapenos (deseed and devein to reduce heat) to it. Then, I added ¾ cup of strawberry jam/jelly (I used Smucker's strawberry jelly) and a pinch of salt. I cooked this for 3-5 minutes. I added the juice of 2 small limes at the end to round off the flavors.

The sweet, sour and spicy syrup was the perfect accompaniment to the pancakes.

Spring Onion and Tomato Gojju

Ever since Asha announced RCI: Karnataka, I have been wondering what to make. I googled a number of Karnataka recipes before finally deciding to settle for a gojju.

From what I understand, a gojju is a sweet-sour and spicy dish which is part of a traditional Kannadiga Oota (Kannadiga meal) and can be prepared using a variety of vegetables like eggplant, okra, tomato, pumpkin, onion, bitter gourd etc . It involves cooking the vegetable in a sweet and sour gravy which is prepared by using grated coconut, tamarind & jaggery. Generally, a gojju is prepared using just a single vegetable so that it imparts its own unique taste to the gojju.

I came across dozens of gojju recipes on the blogs of my fellow blogger friends before deciding to make a simple onion and tomato gojju. I adapted this recipe to suit my taste and I must say I was not at all disappointed with the outcome. I am going to make this regularly.
This is how I went about making this dish.

Ingredients:
1 large bunch of finely chopped spring onions/scallions/green onions
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
½ tsp chilli powder
2 tsp sambar powder (I used MTR)
2 marble-sized balls of tamarind soaked in warm water
1 big piece of jaggery
1 tsp rice flour (for thickening the gojju)
Salt to taste

For seasoning:
1 Tbsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp skinned and split white lentils/ urad dal
A pinch of asafoetida/hing
3-4 curry leaves

To be dry-roasted:
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp methi seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp split chickpeas/chana dal
2 tsp sesame seeds

To be ground to a smooth paste:
2 Tbsp coconut
Previously roasted ingredients

Method:
Heat oil and add all the ingredients for the seasoning followed by the spring onions. Sauté till the onions are soft and transparent, and then add the tomatoes and cover and cook till the tomatoes are done.

Add the chilli powder & sambar powder and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the ground paste of the coconut and the roasted ingredients and cook for a few minutes.

Add the tamarind juice along with the jaggery and a cup of water and let the whole mixture come to a boil.

Prepare a paste of rice flour in some water and add this paste to the boiling mixture. Turn down the heat.

Simmer for 5-7 minutes till the gojju thickens.

Serve hot with rice.

This is being sent to Asha (Foodie’s Hope and Aroma), the host for RCI: Karnataka.
Thanks for hosting, Asha!