In the last post, I shared with you one of my fav snacks during childhood. I mentioned two snacks in that post, Banana Ghee Roast and Meat Puffs. I thought I’ll share another homemade evening snack recipe.
During school days, the concept of “evening snack” or “nalumani palaharam” was something major. I still remember, by the time I reach home from school, I used to head straight for the kitchen to see what’s the snack-of-the-day.
There was a set routine for that. Dump the school bag at the front door, take off the shoes in the living room, and the tie and belt would be lost somewhere on the way to the kitchen. I’m not sure whether I even bothered washing my hands and face before diving into the snacks ;)
For a certain period during my childhood, it was glorious time for home cooked food. We used to have a maid called Vijayamma Chechy. She used to run a chayakada (tea shop) before working with us. She was a fabulous cook! She had that “kaipunyam” (magic touch) and whatever she cooked tasted great! That wasn't always the case, as we used to have maids who were terrible cooks…
So when Vijayamma Chechy was working with us, she used to make some delicious snacks every other day and I had a lot of difficulty concentrating in the last period of the class. My mind used to wander and I was lost thinking about the yummy snack waiting for me at home… “what could it be?” I even remember making my friends jealous about it ;) But like all good things, it didn't last long. Because for some personal reasons, she had to go back to her native place :(
Anyhow, let's get back to today’s recipe. It’s a healthier take on one of the oldest evening snacks made in Kerala homes. We call it “pancake” but it’s also known as “Mutta Kuzhalappam” / “Love Letters” / “Madakkusan” It’s a basic pancake made with flour, eggs and milk filled with coconut and sugar.
I’ve posted the recipe here.
This is a healthier version of the same. These days I get many requests for healthy / diabetic / sugar free recipes. I’ve made this with whole wheat flour (atta) instead of plain flour (maida) and it’s eggless too. Sugar is optional, so all-in-all it kinda fits under the “healthy” label. (Don’t you agree?)
Anyways, it’s a super simple, easy and quick recipe. You can have it for breakfast or as a mid morning or evening snack. I tend to make it for breakfast often. Try it out, and let me know what you think!
Here is the recipe…
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Whole wheat flour (Atta)
- 1 - 1.5 cups Coconut
- 3-4 Dates (chopped)
- 8 Cashew nuts (chopped)
- 1-2 tsp Sugar (optional)
- Salt
Instructions
- Add salt to whole wheat flour and mix well. Add water (1 - 1 1/4 cups) gradually to this and make a batter of pouring consistency (similar to that of appam batter).
- Heat a non stick pan and pour a ladleful of batter and spread, similar to making dosa. Cook for 2-3 mins or the edges start leaving the side of the pan. Flip and cook for another 1-2 mins.
- Place the cooked pancake on a plate. Combine coconut (if using refrigerated coconut, mw for 20-30 seconds), chopped dates, nuts and sugar (if using). Do a taste test and add more dates or sugar, according to your taste. Place the filling in a line on the side facing towards you. Fold the closest end (near you) over the filling, away from you. Then, fold the left and right sides of the wrap over the filling.
- Gently pull away the edge of pancake facing you and roll over the filling. Continue to fold the roll. Pancakes are ready!
Notes
I tried this today for dinner. Wanted to have something light and quick. Both my dad and I enjoyed it. I used the darkest kind of jaggery so I am not sure if that was what gave the bitterness. But it was ok. Also I used 1 cup flour for 1.25 cups of water.
Thanks for the recipe. Take care and stay safe.
Thank you Simi :) Great to know that you and your father enjoyed this dish! Yeah the bitterness may be from the jaggery. Did you taste the jaggery before using it?
Cheers
Maria