Do you ever open your fridge and realize you have nothing to eat or cook? Like, zero leftovers, zero produce – nada. That was me this past week. I have been so busy and haven’t had the time to do any proper grocery shopping! So where does one look when their fridge is empty – the PANTRY! Behold my PANTRY PANCAKES! This recipe is majority pantry-based! And let me tell you – it is SO good. And these have a bit of a Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern flair. BUT what’s fun about these is you can flavor them up however you like! Literally – Indian. Italian, Mexican – you can make it however you’d like!

And guess what – these pancakes are protein-packed! Why? Because they’re made with besan aka chickpea flour! So, duh – protein!

You should know that the inspiration for these pantry pancakes come from two places: my Maa’s “chuvi” or what we call tomato omelette, which is a besan flour-based tomato omelette. And from Italy – I’ve had a few dishes there called farinata, which are chickpea flour based pancakes made in a cast iron skillet. SO using that inspo, I created these super simple Pantry Pancakes!!! These are fabulous to take on the go too, cause you know, we’re just on-the-go in 2020 *rolls eyes.*

Pantry Pancakes: (yield 7-8 pancakes)

• 1 cup besan (chickpea) flour
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 dried red chili
• 1/2 tsp dried dill
• 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• 3 tbsp unsalted walnuts – toasted, chopped
• 1 red chili (Fresno works) – sliced thin
• 3-4 sprigs fresh mint – leaves julienned
• 1 stalk scallions – sliced thin

Creamy Tahini Dressing:

• 3 tbsp tahini paste
• 3 tbsp vegan sour cream
• 1/8 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch of kosher salt
• ground black pepper
• water as needed

1. Dressing: Blend together everything for the dressing in a blender until smooth. Add 1-2 tbsp between each blend until thick, but smooth and creamy – should have a consistency of a ranch dressing. Set aside (don’t refrigerate – it’ll get too thick and not be pourable).

2. Pantry Pancakes: Place the cumin seeds and dried red chili in a mortar and pestle. Grind down until roughly ground.

3. Place besan flour in a large bowl and add about 3/4 cup of the water. Whisk until smooth and clump-free. Add in the ground cumin-chili, dill, garlic, salt and pepper. Whisk until incorporated. Add the remaining water and mix – batter should be thin, not thick. If using scallions, add half the scallions (mostly the white part) to the batter and mix.

4. Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium flame. Spray with cooking spray and add a bit of neutral oil to coat the hot pan. Once hot, pour in 1/4 cup of the batter and spread to evenly to coat the pan. Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the sides start looking slightly cooked and are bubbling. Flip and cook 3-4 minutes on the other side. Both sides should be slightly golden-brown and crisp. Remove and continue making until you’ve cooked all the pancakes.

5. Place the pancakes on a serving dish, drizzle with tahini dressing, top with walnuts, red chilies, scallions, and mint. Eat up!