In my kitchen cupboard there lives a bag of chickpea flour. It moved in a couple of months back when I decided I wanted to make gnocchi with that instead of regular flour to boost the protein content a bit. It's made itself a nice home in there next to some dried shiitake mushrooms and dried black (and delicious) figs and it doesn't come out to play that often. Why is that? Well, thing is I've realized I'm not the biggest fan of the flavor of chickpea flour. It may be rich in proteins and nutrients, but it simply doesn't taste as good as its hydrated ancestor.
A couple of days back I decided it was time for the chickpea flour to see the light of day and stop taking up valuable cupboard real-estate without being used. The plan was as follows: chickpea pancakes, spiced to hide the slightly odd flour-taste, with a fresh coleslaw filling. In theory it would make a nice fresh meal, the chickpea flour adding protein, the coleslaw some crunch and spice. And it worked! The crucial ingredient in the pancakes turned out to be nigella seeds, or onion seeds as their also called. Nigella seeds are the small black seeds that are usually found on naan bread, and have a onion like flavor (thus the name). You can find them in well-sorted grocery stores or indian and asian supermarkets. They're definitely worth getting if you find them as they completely transform these pancakes. If you wouldn't, don't despair, you can substitute them for sesame seeds (preferably black just because it's prettier) and some powdered onion.
You might ask why you should buy chickpea flour for just one recipe after I've just badmouthed it. Well, it is actually quite a great thing when you look at its nutritional value. It's stuffed with the protein of a pea but works as a flour. Great! You just have to use it for things where you mask its unique flavor a bit. Also I've heard soaking it helps. Expect more recipes with chickpea flour here in the future. I've finally made friends with my cupboard-dwelling neighbor, and he'll be back!
Serves 2 with some leftover coleslaw
Pancakes:
2 ½ dl chickpea flour
3 dl water
½ tsp chili flakes
2 tbsp nigella seeds (or sesame seeds + 1 tsp powdered onion)
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
Coconut oil (or other oil) for frying
Coleslaw:
225 g red cabbage
1 carrot
1 small tart apple
½-1 jalapeno
¼ red onion
1 handful sunflower seeds
1 handful shredded coconut
Cilantro and mint leaves
Dressing for the slaw:
¾ dl vegan yoghurt, coconut milk or a mix of both
2-4 cm jalapeno
1 ½ tbsp vinegar
2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 clove of garlic
½ - 1 tsp salt
1 bunch mint
1 bunch cilantro
Whisk together all the ingredient for the pancakes and let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes.
Slice the cabbage and onion as thinly as possible. Coarsely grate the carrot. Dice or slice the apple and slice the jalapeno (with the seeds removed). Roast the seeds and coconut until golden. Mix with the herbs in a mixing bowl.
Roast the spices in a dry pan. Add all the ingredients to a mixer or blend and mix to a smooth dressing. Taste for salt and chili and then dress the coleslaw.
The batter should be done by now. Heat a pan with a small amount of oil. Pour in about ¾ dl of batter and spread it out in the pan using a spatula or the backside of a spoon or fork. The batter will cook quite fast but keep spreading the still liquid parts until you have a nice thin pancake. Once the pancake seems cooked through, check that it's nice and golden on the other side and then flip it. Fry until golden on the second side too. Keep the pancakes warm until you're ready to serve them.
Serve the pancakes with the slaw and a spicy chutney or hummus and some extra cilantro leaves if that's something you're into. Enjoy!
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