Savory Broccoli Pancake

Yes! You heard that right! As incoherent as this recipe sounds because it is not always you see the words savory and pancake in the same phrase and adding the word broccoli in the equation, your reaction is probably this

But hear me out.

Broccoli has a reputation that is quite controversial. It's healthy but then it is also called the "tree of doom".

It has a flavor that is, how do I put it - Strange!

Now before the people who love broccoli come at me, I personally like broccoli given that it is cooked right and made flavorful!

Broccoli came to India in the 1990s and slowly gained the reputation of "exotic" vegetable and in 2017 the vegetable turned into the "Healthy Food you should have in your Diet". With its similarities to cauliflower, people accepted it quickly. From an exotic vegetable, it is now a common vegetable on all market shelves.

True to its reputation, broccoli is packed with nutrients and has many health benefits. It has vitamin C, vitamin K, iron, and potassium. But that's not the only interesting fact. It also has better protein when compared to many other vegetables but is not the best source of protein (1 cup provides around 3 grams of protein). It also boasts a good amount of fiber given that you eat the florets as a whole.

Broccoli can be consumed raw or cooked. But steaming the broccoli before adding it to your salads can improve the nutritional quality when compared to raw ones. Steaming also makes it safe to consume given that broccoli is grown closer to the soil and can be infested with worms easily. Other than salad, broccoli can be cooked in different ways. Be it roasting with olive oil, salt, and pepper in an oven, tossing them in pasta, or just simply making a sautéed broccoli as a side for rice or roti, broccoli is pretty versatile.

So broccoli pancake doesn't seem like a bad idea now does it?

Servings: 6 pancakes

Time to Prep: 15 minutes

Time to Cook: 6 minutes/ pancake

Ingredients

1 cup minced Broccoli

1 big pod or 2 small pods of Garlic

1 pod Shallot

1 cup Roasted Gram flour

1/2 cup Water

1/2 tsp Olive Oil

2 tbsp Coriander leaves

1 tsp Pepper

Salt as per taste

2 tbsp Ricebran Oil/ Butter

Let's get Cooking!

• Soak broccoli in warm water and drain well on parchment paper or muslin cloth. Make sure the florets are dry.

• Chop broccoli into a minced form or add to a blender and blend ones until coarse and minced. Make sure to not over blend into a paste.

• In a bowl, add roasted gram flour, minced garlic, shallots, chopped coriander leaves, pepper powder, olive oil and mix well. Add water little by little and stir the content.

• The consistency of the batter should be semi-solid. Now add the minced broccoli and stir in well. Set aside for 10 minutes.

• Check the batter consistency. If tight, add some more water to make it to a semi-solid consistency that can be poured but not flowy.

• In a pan add rice brand oil/ butter and heat. Use a deep ladle to scoop out the batter and pour it on the heated pan. Keep a lid on and cook on low flame for 3-4 minutes. Flip the pancake and cook open for 2 minutes.

• Serve hot with the yogurt dip mentioned in the notes.

Notes:

• Make sure to clean the florets in salt water and dry them well.

• Use oil for a vegan version.

Recipe for Yoghurt Dip

• Add 1 tsp minced garlic to 1 cup hung curd and use as a dip with the pancake.