Banana Rice Pancakes

September 02, 2012

Have you ever made a recipe that was a puzzle, even to you, as you created it? That is what I did today and I ended up with a sweet, soft pancake that almost melts in my mouth. I threw in my favorites, not worrying about how odd the ingredients might be and the result was not odd, at all. It is such fun to play in the kitchen. I feel like I am in a science lab and I am mixing chemicals to see what happens. That is how, I felt about this recipe.

This was an exercise in using leftovers. I had about two cups cooked rice in the refrigerator. It was plain brown rice with nothing added to it. I am not a lover of plain rice but do love it when it is mixed with other foods or seasonings. I love it sweet and I love it savory but I don't love it plain. I want to share this dish with you and I would love to hear what you think of it.

Banana Rice Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice flour or almond flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups cooked brown rice

2/3 cup shredded coconut

4 tablespoons Coconut Cream or coconut milk

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup dried banana, soaked in water for five minutes

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon sweetener of choice (honey, agave, sugar, maple syrup)(or more, if you like it sweeter)

Olive oil

Method:

In a large bowl, mix the rice, baking powder, coconut and flour together.

Add milk and egg. Mix thoroughly. Add vanilla and seasonings. Add sweetener. Add the bananas and raisins.

Mix all the ingredients together.

I was going to make these in the oven in mini muffin pans but it was so hot, I did not want to turn on the oven. I had baked earlier, in the day. and I had no desire to heat up the kitchen again.

I ended up frying it and truthfully, I am not happy about that. I don't want fried food in my house and it has been sneaking its way in, against my better judgement.

In a large skillet, start with a teaspoon or so of oil and add as necessary.

Use a large cookie scoop and flatten out the batter in the skillet. I like small pancakes. If you like large ones which are more common, use an ice cream scoop or a spoon.

Cook for 2 minutes on each side. I watch the color of the pancake. When it is a little darker than golden, I turn it over and cook the other side until it is slightly brown.

***Notes***

I really enjoyed these. My husband has not had any yet, so I can't tell you his opinion, but I do know, this is more my kind of food than his.

I would guess you can use real bananas and most likely, it would be even better. Of course, you can use any fruit, mangoes, peaches, apples, pears, or whatever you like to eat.