Banana and Almond Pancakes

Long weekends always imply sleep ins and slow mornings with a long breakfast. Pancakes have always been a winner at the breakfast table, however the following recipe gives you pancakes with a difference. Over the years, I have experimented with pancake recipes in an attempt to make them delicious, nutritious while leaving you feeling satisfied and well. So this is one of my Ayurvedic version of pancakes, still just as yummy as the 'traditional' version but makes you feel much better afterwards.

This recipe is quite heavy but gives good energy and is ideal for Vata in the cooler months. Flour, spices can be substituted with more suitable ingredients for Kapha and Pitta, but generally due to the banana and egg and the heavy nature of this dish, Kapha should choose these as a “sometimes” meal option.

Ingredients

1 ripe mashed banana

1 free range egg

1 cup of oat flour*

½ cup of almond meal*

1 cup of either buttermilk, almond milk or coconut milk

½ cup coconut or natural yoghurt

1 tablespoon Almond paste* (substitute with coconut cream for Pitta and Tahini for Kapha)

½ teaspoon of cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon baking powder and baking soda.

Method

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda and spices.

In a large bowl whisk the egg and add the banana. Gradually add the dry ingredients alternating with the milk and yoghurt. Mix until well combined (if you are short of time it also works really well to mix in a blender).

In a frying pan heat up a 1/2 teaspoon of either ghee or coconut oil. Ladle 1/8 to ¼ of a cup of the mixture onto the frying pan cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Using a spatula, flip to the other side for a further 2 minutes (again until golden brown). Repeat with the rest of the batter. If the mixture is too thick add a little more milk.

Serving suggestions

Serve as a stack with either honey or maple syrup and a sprinkle of coconut flakes.

Strawberry sauce (which is just cooked strawberries with a dash of vanilla, squeeze of lemon, agava syrup to taste). Sprinkle coconut flakes over the top.

*both oat flour and almond meal are really easy to make yourself. Place organic ingredients into a blender and blend until fine or at the texture you like/need. For almond butter see our Spiced Almond Butter recipe.