Banana buttermilk pancakes

In the mornings, Hasini likes to lay on the bed and sing while I am in the toilet. I like to listen to her while she sings like nobody is listening. She sings songs I didn’t realize she had memorized, songs from another time, some of my favourite songs which I like to play but didn’t think she’d remember. This morning she sang “Saathi malli poocharame” followed by “Rasathi en usiru ennathilla OOOOOO” complete with the deep throated “OOOOOOO”. I chuckled inside.

Yuvan woke up a little later. Together they strolled out of the bedroom on to the “dhallam” heading downstairs to watch Ninja Hattori like they usually do. They stopped midway. There was the unmistakable aroma of mango wafting over and a series of loud thuds on the asbestos above the carpark. They ran over to peek. There was Venkatesan up on the tree plucking mangoes and tossing them into the bucket on the ground. It was mango picking day today.

“Manga parikaranga…  Manga Manga….. yaaayyy”  they went hollering downstairs to catch the mangoes being tossed. They ran up to the terrace to climb on chairs and pluck those low hanging mangoes they had been eyeing for a long time. I asked for a small basket of mangaoes to be set aside for my pickle experimentations.

We’re enjoying the summer holidays, revelling in the homework free evenings, late mornings and leisurely breakfasts. One such morning I made these banana buttermilk pancakes although it doesn’t take too long at all to whip up. 

In fact these banana buttermilk pancakes are super quick and super easy to make. I cannot believe how soft, moist and absolutely delicious they turned out. I am a sucker for sweet breakfasts. I loved these. I made these without eggs. You could add eggs for fluffier results if you wish. These pancakes are a great way to use up your over-ripe bananas. Go on, make these. Top with pancake syrup, caramel, chopped bananas or whatever makes you close your eyes and say “Hmmmmmmm”. Enjoy!

Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 2 mins per pancake
Makes: 6-7 small pancakes

Ingredients

Ripe Bananas – 3 or 4 pureed (1/2 cup)
Buttermilk – ½ cup
Butter (melted) – 1/8 cup
Granulated sugar – 1/8 cup or less
All purpose flour – ¾ cup (I used whole wheat & APF in 50:50 ratio)
Baking powder – ½ tsp
Baking soda – ½ tsp
Salt – a pinch
Vanilla – 1 tsp

Method

1.       Combine all dry ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk together. Pour in the melted butter, buttermilk and pureed banana and whisk to make a lump free pancake batter. Add a little water or milk if necessary to reach a thick slow flowing pancake consistency. Set aside.

2.       Heat a griddle. Brush with butter and ladle about a ¼ cup of the pancake batter on the pan. Cook on low heat for 1 minute or till the underside is nice and golden. Gently flip over and cook the other side for another minute. Remove the pancake to a plate.

3.       Continue to make pancakes with the rest of the batter. Stack pancakes, top with syrup or chopped fruit. Enjoy.