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| Green Goodness. Light and Delicious Panki! |
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How often do we come across something which is healthy, hearty, filling and still tastes unbelievable delicious? Panki (litterally meaning cooked in leaves) tops the list in my opinion.
This classic Gujarati snack is super-easy to make, requires minimum ingredients and is super-delicious!! The smoky aroma of Banana Leaves, the Spicy kick of Ginger and Chillies and the smooth textured Rice-y goodness is a perfect blend of sensible, healthy cooking and culture.
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| If the Aroma of Panki doesn't bowl you over; Wait till you take the first bite! :-) |
Ingredients (makes about 15-18 Panki):
- 7-8 Banana Leaves - Bright green, firm and fresh!
- 1 Cup Rice Flour
- 2 Table Spoons Urad (split black gram) Dal Flour
- 2 Cups Buttermilk (preferably not thick)
- 2 Table Spoons - Finely chopped Coriander
- 1 Table Spoon Finely Chopped Green Chilles & Ginger Paste (1/2 each)
- 1/2 Tea Spoon coarsely crushed Cumin Seeds
- Salt to Taste + Oil to roast
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| Step-by-step Instructions. Easy, Fun, Quick. |
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Preparation:
- Mix Rice Flour, Urad Dal Flour and Salt in a bowl. Sift well and add Buttermilk, Ginger / Chilly Paste, Coriander to this.
- Mix everything well with a hand whisk. Do not blend in a blender - it ruins the batter.
- The batter has to be of pancake-consistency. Not too thick, not too thin. Just right. Adjust your consistency by adding a spoonful of rice flour if too thin or buttermilk if too thick.
- Wash your Banana leaves thoroughly and pat-dry them. Cut about 7-8" squares and stack the pile up. Do not worry about size / shape if inconsistent.
- Take 1 leaf, brush mildly with oil the bright side of leaf and add about 2 Table Spoons of batter in center (adjust according to leaf size).
- Place the leaf on hot tawa or girdle and cover the leaf with 1 more mildly oiled leaf. Remember, the oiled side should cover the batter. Press gently to spread the batter within the leaves. Do not press hard - the batter will leak out. We want the batter to cook in the goodness of Banana Leaves and retain the smoky flavour!
- Turn sides and keep cooking till you see beautiful brown spots. Occasionally drop in few drops of oil on pan (not often - we dont need to FRY the panki!) to speed up the process.
- Once done, you should have a nicely unevenly browned banana leaf-wrapped panki with incredible aroma. That's it!
- Serve the panki hot, with chutney and unwrapped!
- How to eat: Carefully peel an upper layer of banana leaf and then peel off the panki from the bottom leaf on your plate. If your panki is well-cooked, this should be smooth and easy! Enjoy with green-chutney!
Tip: You can also make Methi-Panki by skipping Coriander and adding finely chopped Methi (fresh fenugreek) Leaves. For little adventurous ones, Basil Panki is a fine discovery -
Try it!
