My husband misses this great dish from his childhood- the family called it Paneer Pancakes; a delicacy I stopped making when I turned vegan. This stacked savoury pancake recipe, is an ode to my mother in law’s impeccable paneer pancakes – great tasting and very Lasagna-ish.
Ingredients
Serves 2-3
For the pancake filling:
- 3-4 garlic pods
- 2 medium onions
- 200 grams mixed vegetables (I used carrots, peas, beans, green capsicum, cauliflower, brocolli, mushrooms)
- 150 grams corn
- Salt to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste. .
- Basil – one teaspoon
- Dill – one teaspoon
- Oil – 30 grams
For the vegan cheese:
- Cashews – 75 grams
- Water / coconut milk – 250 grams
- tapioca starch – 15 grams
- Apple cider vinegar – 5 grams
- Lemon juice – 5 grams
- Black salt – 5 grams
- Garlic – 3-4 cloves
- Salt – 5 grams or to taste
- Nutritional yeast- 10 grams
For the tomato sauce:
- Tomatoes – 900 grams.
- Onions – 200 grams.
- Garlic – 4-5 cloves.
- Olive oil or Vegetable oil – 30 grams.
- Salt – 15 grams or to taste
- Sugar – 5 grams or to taste
- Pepper – 5 grams or to taste
- Fresh basil leaves – 10 grams
For the savoury pancake:
- Spring onions – 70 grams
- Refined flour / arrowroot / besan – 60 grams
- Whole wheat – 100 grams
- Aluminum free Baking soda – 1 teaspoon
- Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
- Vinegar – 1 teaspoon
- Water – 300 grams
- Oil – 30-50 grams
Method
For the tomato sauce
1. Chop onions and the garlic. Heat oil in a pan and cook the onions and garlic till they turn transparent.
2. While the onion and garlic are cooking, wash and roughly chop tomatoes and steam them in the pressure cooker for one whistle. Remember to add not more than 50ml water to the pressure cooker as you set the tomatoes to cook.
3. Take the pressure cooker off the heat after the first whistle and let it cool till it opens. Tip the tomatoes in a food processor (not a mixer ) and puree them . Strain this still hot puree and add it to the cooking onion and garlic.
4. Add in the seasoning and some fresh chopped basil. We used the basil from our garden.
5. Cook the sauce till it thickens slightly. Check seasoning ,and adjust it as per taste. Take the sauce off the heat.
For the liquid cheese
1. Heat the cashews in a pan of water for about 30 minutes. Add the Cashews and all other ingredients in a grinder and combine into a smooth thin paste.
2. Transfer this paste into a pan and cook it on medium heat while stirring constantly till the cheese begins to thicken slightly. Take the cheese off the heat.
For the Pancake filling
1. Cut and process all the vegetables you plan to use for the filling. The vegetables should be diced small.
2. Heat oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot saute garlic and onion till lightly browned. Add in all your vegetables and season . Cover and cook till the vegetables turn soft and are well cooked. Check and adjust seasoning. Keep this filling aside.
For the Pancakes
1. Chop the spring onions very fine.
2. Set a pan to heat on medium flame and season it.
3. Add all ingredients for the Pancakes, except the vinegar to a bowl and stir well to get a lump-free batter. Once you’re happy with the consistency, add the vinegar. Your batter will begin to froth
4. Pour batter onto your heated pan to get thin pancakes – about 7-9 inches in diameter. Cook these well on each side tilll browned .
5. Keep your prepared pancakes separately on a plate. I got 5 pancakes from this recipe and ate one while cooking 🙂
To assemble:
1. Preheat your over to 240C
2. In your baking dish ( I used a rectangular glass dish) pour in a ladle of tomato sauce at the bottom. Place one pancake. Layer this pancake with tomato sauce, sprinkle on the filling and drizzle with the liquid cheese. Place another pancake and repeat. After you place the last pancake, cover it again with tomato sauce, filling and a generous drizzle of liquid cheese. Pour in some tomato sauce on the sides of the dish as the pancakes will tend to absorb the sauces. This will make sure that you don’t have a very dry dish.
3. Bake your pancake lasagna in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or more till the top is nicely browned. Serve piping hot.
Notes:
1. The tomato sauce and liquid cheese are versatile ingredients to have handy and can be used for pizzas, pastas and bakes. I typically have them handy in my fridge. It saves tons of time for all dishes .
2. I store my liquid cheese in a bottle with a nozzle in the refrigerator. It makes drizzling less messy, precise and hassle-free.
3. If you don’t want to make a lasagna, you can easily just serve individual pancakes with the sauce and the filling for a great breakfast or brunch !
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