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Panki
Rice flour pancakes in banana leaf
પાનકી: thin, spiced rice-flour pancakes cooked between banana leaves until they peel off with a leaf print
Panki is a delicate Gujarati breakfast and tea-time farsan from old Ahmedabad and Surat homes, now a speciality of a few farsan restaurants. A thin, lightly soured batter of rice flour and yogurt with green chilli, ginger and cumin is spread between two oiled squares of banana leaf and cooked on a griddle until the leaves blister and the panki peels away whole, printed with the veins of the leaf. It is soft, thin and smoky-fragrant, served in its leaf with green chutney. The common mistake is spreading the batter too thick: the panki stays gummy and sticks, so smear a single thin layer that you can almost see through. Chef's tip: warm the banana leaves over a flame first so they turn glossy and pliable and do not split.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the batter
- 4 oz fine rice flour
- 3 ½ oz plain yogurt
- ½ cup waterabout
- 1 ½ tsp ginger-green chilli paste
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 tbsp fresh coriandervery finely chopped
For cooking
- 1 banana leavescut into 24 squares of 12 cm
- 2 tbsp sunflower oilfor brushing
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Whisk 4 oz fine rice flour, 3 ½ oz plain yogurt and ½ cup water into a smooth batter the thickness of single cream. Stir in 1 ½ tsp ginger-green chilli paste, ½ tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp sugar, ¾ tsp salt, 1 tbsp sunflower oil and 2 tbsp fresh coriander and rest for 15 minutes.
15 minStep 2: Wipe the 1 banana leaves and pass each square briefly over a gas flame or a hot pan until it turns glossy and soft. Brush the dull side of every square with 2 tbsp sunflower oil.
6 minStep 3: Spread 1 heaped tbsp of batter very thinly over one oiled leaf, cover with a second leaf, oiled side down, and press lightly.
1 minStep 4: Heat a flat griddle over medium heat. Lay on 2–3 parcels and cook until the top leaf blisters and darkens in patches, then turn and cook the other side.
3 minStep 5: The panki is done when a corner of the leaf peels back and the panki lifts away cleanly. Make the rest the same way, adjusting the heat so the leaves brown slowly rather than burn.
20 minStep 6: Serve hot in their leaves, so each person peels their own, with green chutney.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does panki take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of plain yogurt?
- Sour cream or buttermilk, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cumin seeds?
- Ground cumin, three quarters of the amount (add it with the other ground spices, not to hot oil first).
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