Recipe: South African Pancakes

Makes: 12 – 20 (depends on the size of your frying pan)

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs (beaten)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons margarine (melted)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl
2. Add the wet ingredients and mix together until lump free. Leave to stand for 20-30 minutes.
3. Heat a frying pan on a medium heat. Use a non-stick spray if needed, or heat a little oil in the pan and pour it out between pancakes.
4. Pour enough batter so that there is a thin layer (1mm – 2mm thick) of batter over the bottom of the pan.  These pancakes won’t rise like the American style pancakes.
5. Leave batter in pan until air bubbles start to form.  Then use an egg-lifter to turn the pancake over.  If the pan is properly coated with non-stick spray or oil and the pancake is ready to turn this should be easy.  Sometimes it will take 1 or 2 attempts to grow accustomed to when to turn the pancake.
6. Once turned, leave the pancake to cook on the other side. Once the second side is ready there should be some brown spots on the second side of the pancake. Once cooked the pancake should still be soft and easy to roll up (like one would roll a newspaper).
7. For savoury pancakes, turn the pancake onto a plate and put cooked minced  meat(with tomato and onion sauce) in the middle, sprinkle with cheese. You can use Chicken and Mayonnaise. Have fun experimenting with different fillings.
8. For classic South African sweet pancakes, mix cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl and sprinkle over the whole pancake.  A dash of lemon juice can also be added if wished (some people like it, others don’t).
9. Roll the pancake like a newspaper and serve.  Some shops serve the pancakes with a spoon of cream or ice-cream. Below are the rolled versions of the Minced Meat pancake and the Sweet Cinnamon pancake.

The batter can be stored in a fridge overnight.  I have also heard it can be frozen, but I have never tried this.

The sweet pancakes are so cheap and easy to make, they are often sold at church/charity/school fund-raising events here in South Africa.  4 outdoor gas stoves, 4 pans, and 2 cooks can make a lot of pancakes quickly.  Wrap them up in grease proof paper for eating with ones hands while walking around a flea-market.  They are normally sold for R3,50 (US$0.50) each over here in South Africa.