If you follow me on social media you’ll be aware of how much I love these Chickpea Pancakes as I’m always posting about them & after a few requests, I’ve finally got around to sharing the recipe with you.
I’m always on the lookout for alternatives to bread, for healthy snacks or something different to have as a side dish & these are perfect & so delicious! They’re also really quick & easy to make (you just need a food processor or blender), they’ll keep in the fridge or freezer & can be made a couple of different ways to change the flavour. This recipe is great because you can pack vegetables in to increase your daily intake & use different herbs & spices which come with so many beneficial to health properties.
Chickpeas (or garbanzo beans) are far & away my favourite legume. With their nutty taste they’re so versatile – think smooth & creamy houmous, bulking up salads, soups, stews & roasted veg dishes, roasted with spices for snacks or blitzed into pancakes.
Reasons To Eat More Chickpeas
A great source of vegetarian protein
They’re cheap & available all year round
Can be eaten hot or cold
Rich in minerals such as folate, iron, zinc, molybdenum, manganese, copper, phosphorus
A great source of fibre which not only gives us that feeling fuller for longer satiety but the insoluble fibre keeps the digestive system happy & moving too
Brilliant for supporting blood-sugar balance as they’re protein & fibre-rich so they move moderately through the digestive tract steadying the rate of food breakdown. This also has an effect of regulating appetite & reducing food cravings & the urge for snacking
Rich in bone-healthy minerals
Have been shown to help reduce unhealthy levels of LDL cholesterol
Great for hormonal conditions as the fibre promotes the elimination of hormones when they’ve done their job rather than recirculating
CHICKPEA PANCAKES
Batter Ingredients
1 can chickpeas, drained
2 eggs
1 large clove of garlic
5 tbsp chickpea flour (often called gram flour)
¾ tsp baking powder
Salt & pepper
Milk if want to thin down the batter (I like to use cashew milk)
Olive oil for cooking
Those are the basic ingredients for your pancake batter then you can make them in different ways -
SPICY - add any combination of curry powder, turmeric, cumin, paprika, chilli flakes
HERBY – add any combination of mixed dried or fresh herbs (basil & a good squeeze of lemon juice works well)
Add all batter ingredients & spices or herbs to a food processor/blender & blitz. You can have them chunky or smooth, whichever consistency you prefer
EXTRAS – any combination of chopped onion, chopped spinach, grated carrot, chopped parsley
Then add your extras & stir through
Heat olive oil in a frying pan & ladle in the batter - choose whether you want them big & thick or thinner & more like a crepe
They take just a couple of minutes until they’re slightly crisp & golden on the outside then flip to cook the other side
Enjoy!
