By Laura Coffee, Marketing & Owner Services Manager, Co-op Owner
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I recently found myself looking for a way to spotlight the classic spice blend, Garam Masala. In order to do this effectively the rest of the dish needed to be nice and simple. There shouldn’t be too many fancy ingredients, complicated steps, or long cooking times. It would be an added bonus if the dish could be served in different ways; providing an opportunity to highlight both the sweet and savory sides of Garam Masala’s flavor profile. In the end I decided to go with a perennial favorite – pancakes!
Ingredients
For every 1 cup of cooked sweet potato you’ll need:
- 2 eggs (or vegan equivalent)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour (optional*)
- ½ heaping tsp Garam Masala
Begin by cooking your sweet potato. I do this by cutting the potato in half lengthwise, placing both halves cut-side down in a baking dish, and cooking at 375F until fork tender. (20-45 minutes depending on the size of the potato.) When it comes out of the oven I let it cool for a few minutes and then just pull the skin right off. You can also peel and boil the potato, roast it whole, or just buy a can of unsweetened sweet potato puree. It doesn’t matter how you do it, the goal is just to end up with at least one cup of fully cooked sweet potato.
This recipe is pretty flexible. I typically do two full cups of sweet potato, so that means I use 4 eggs, 4 Tbsp of flour, and a heaping tsp of Garam Masala. A batch that size makes about 12 pancakes.
To create your batter combine the sweet potato, eggs, flour, and Garam Masala in an appropriately sized mixing bowl and mix until well combined. I use a potato masher for this, but you can use a stiff whisk, a stand mixer, or even a fork. Whatever you use just keep mixing until the batter is pretty smooth. (Some small chunks are ok.) Cook the batter in a greased pan over medium heat, just as your would any other pancake batter. Because of the relatively small amount of flour the pancakes are delicate – flip gently!
Serving Suggestions
Sweet: Top the pancakes with butter and maple syrup and serve with your favorite breakfast sides.
Savory: Saute some greens in olive or coconut oil and salt to taste. Place pancakes on top and drizzle with unsweetened yogurt. (For an added bonus mix some fresh cilantro and chopped garlic with the yogurt.
*Adding flour just makes the pancakes a bit easier to flip.