Because when carrots are in season, we do every and any. Because they are delish – more nutritious when cooked.
You must make them because the children, my children fell in love after initially turning up noses when these were just batter. Gorgeous carrot pancakes that are perfect for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I spiced mine with toasted Ehuru – African Calabash Nutmeg, commonly used in pepper soup and other savoury dishes. Here, it brings a smoky flavour. I skipped the baking soda – my daughter helped herself to my full box to test out her recipe for slime. More on that someday. I’m a big fan of citrus so added some orange zest – yum, yum, yum.
They cook up quickly, this delicious things…
In no time you have a stack of orange God-to-Goodness pancakes.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (in my case 2 because I didn't have baking soda)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted then crushed ehuru/ calabash nutmeg (or freshly grated nutmeg)
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger (I'll add some fresh ginger next time)
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional, I skipped them)
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins (optional, ditto)
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened yogurt (original recipe uses buttermilk)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely grated carrots
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted (I tried to use brown butter but it browned too much)
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and, if using, nuts and raisins.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, yogurt, vanilla and orange zest. Stir in carrots. Pour carrot mixture into dry ingredients and fold in with a spoon or spatula.
- Allow the mixture rest for five - ten minutes. You can also refrigerate at this point and fry later - be sure to gently stir through just before frying.
- Put a pan on medium and grease with the melted butter.
- I tried out different ratios for the batter and found I liked using 1 heaped tablespoon of batter per pancake. I also preferred mine slightly flatter so I spread out a bit with the back of the spoon. Let cook on one side till the surface is dry and bubbles form, then flip, about 3 - 4 minutes from start to finish.
- Repeat butter, mix, flip till batter is all used up.
- We had ours with vanilla icecream, bananas and salted caramel. Yum.
The end.
We’ve got to get you on television. Nigerians across the globe would surely love to see this food on a wider platform. And for those like me who aren’t Nigerian it would allow this cuisine to be better known. You way of working with what you have and what you love deserves more than a few comments.
Ha ha – thanks Steven. Any connects?
Awesome! Please may I come live with you? 🙁