Vrat ka khana | kuttu ki tikki or buckwheat savory pancakes

Another fasting recipe for navaratra brings me here today, the kuttu ki tikki or savory pancakes with buckwheat flour and grated zucchini(or use any gourds). Kuttu or Buckwheat is a grain which is a popular health food all over the world, this is the grain behind soba noodles and they can be cooked whole to make khichri or tahiri. However this time I could not get hold of any whole buckwheat and had to make do with this flour which is called kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour)......

Most of the people make kuttu ki poori or kuttu ke pakore for fasting. I love those preparations too but they are better to be had occasionally. When on a nine day fast you need to have lighter meals, kuttu ki tikki (savory pancakes) will be a better option for you too.

I have been buying whole buckwheat as it gets powdered very easily in the mixie, the taste of the freshly ground buckwheat flour is far more superior that the store bought kuttu ka atta. I try and get whole buckwheat if possible and get it powdered freshly whenever required.

Another interesting fact is that the flour gets quite sticky when mixed with water and makes a very adhesive batter, needless to say it is easier to spread on the pan and it easily incorporates any grated veggies.

For this simple recipe I grated a small yellow zucchini and a small green on. I used zucchini as I had plenty of them from here, grated bottle guard, pumpkin or grated cabbage work very well too, and if you are not fasting try using chopped onions and make a batter with curds instead of water. That makes it taste almost like a vada. Will share that recipe sometime soon.

I added grated ginger and finely chopped green chillies to taste and a handful of chopped coriander leaves, salt n pepper to season and just a little water (curds can be used too) to make a thick batter, the grated vegetables release water after adding salt so be careful while adding water...

Heat a pan with a little ghee and shallow fry like pancakes. Drop spoonfuls over the pan and flip when one side is cooked. Let it brown on the other side too and serve hot with any green chutney. Mint or coriander chutney is great with it.

This pancake tastes really good with a cucumber raita or tempered yogurt. Even a coconut chutney makes a nice pairing with it. You see it is a versatile recipe, can be adapted to many versions with many vegetables and many accompaniments.

Cheers for fasting.........