Ever since I ate at the restaurant ‘Swati Snacks’ in Bombay, I have been craving this Gujarati dish called Panki. It’s rice flour mixed with spices, cooked inside a banana leaf. It is super light, but you can have 10 of these for a full dinner too. 

Gujarat is a state in India that is situated on the Western coast, harbouring the Arabian Sea. It has a population of 60.4 million people, and is the fifth largest state economy in India. It has a very long history of trade with the Arabian Peninsula, and has many architectural, cultural and culinary influences from there. 

The banana leaf this rice flour pancake is made in adds great aroma and flavour to this, which makes it all the more yum!! Don’t forget to tag me or send me your recreations if you make this. I would love to share!

Serves 10-15 banana leaf pankis | 30 minutes | 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of rice flour (any brand will do)
• 1/2 cup of yoghurt (I used greek yoghurt)
• 3/4 tsp of salt (add more if you like)
• 1/4 tsp of asafoetida (hing)
• 1 tsp of ground cumin seeds (jeera powder)
• 1 tsp of ginger-green chilli paste (you can make this by using cutting up 1 inch ginger, and 1 green chilli, and using the pestle and mortar)
• 2 tsp of garlic paste (using 3-4 garlic cloves, smash them up with a pestle and mortar too)
• 2 tsp of melted ghee
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder (haldi)
• 4 to 6 banana leaves (kele ka patta) , cut into 6”x6” squares or 6” wide rectangles
• oil for greasing and cooking
• 1/2 tsp of Kashmiri chilli powder 

Method

1. In a bowl, mix the rice flour, yoghurt, salt and 2 cups of room temp water in a bowl. It may seem watery, but it’s fine. Cover and keep aside for 3 hours to ferment.
2. Add asafetida, cumin powder, ginger-green chilli paste, garlic paste, ghee and turmeric powder and chilli powder to the mixture. 
3. 3. Apply a little oil on one side of each banana leaf and keep aside.
4. Pour about 2 tbsps (or more if needed) on one half of the greased side of the banana leaf, and gently fold the other half over the batter.
5. Gently place it on a non-stick tava and cook this leaf using a little oil. It is done cooking when light brown spots appear on the leaves and the panki batter in between the fold peels off the leaf easily.
6. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make more pankis! Serve immediately.

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