BANANA PANCAKE-using coconut

Bananas are very tricky to maintain during summer. Before you know it, half of the bunch will have turned brown and mushy. This is a recipe for using such bananas to make a quick snack.

                        As a first-time mom, I was always on the lookout for different evening snacks to try out. My neighbor in Trivandrum, a mother of four, showed me how to make this pazham appam (that's what she called it).
INGREDIENTS

1. 1 over-ripe banana (I have used the robusta banana, which weighs about 160 gms)
2. 3 Tbsp whole wheat flour(for a medium size robusta banana)
3. 1 Tbsp grated coconut
4. 1-2  Tbsp. jaggery syrup (optional)
5. slightly less than 1/8 tps salt (adjust to taste)
6. 2 tsp oil

METHOD

• Peel the bananas, add coconut, jaggery syrup, and salt, and mash them using the tip of your fingers or a fork. Don't mash them into a puree; leave bits of chunks here and there. 
• After adding the jaggery syrup and coconut, gently mix in the salt. It is essential to add salt before adding the flour. 
• Then add the flour and stir it in. The flour should be enough to hold or firm up the batter.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• If the batter is very wet, add more flour. The amount of flour depends on how ripe the banana is and the consistency of the jaggery syrup. Set the batter aside for 5 minutes for the flour to soak in the liquid. Don't leave it for longer than 5 minutes. 
• Heat a non-stick pan on medium-low heat. It's 2 on my stove, with a heat range from LOW to HI.
• When the pan warms, drizzle 1 tsp oil. When the oil is hot, spoon in the thick batter. Dip a spoon in water and use the spoon to smooth the top of the pancake.

•  Close the pan with a lid, turn the heat to low, and cook for 1 minute. Then, turn the heat to 2 again and cook for 1 minute. Open the cover, turn over the pancake, and cook the same way (1 minute on low and then 1 minute on medium-low (2)). Because of the jaggery content, there is a high chance for the pancake to burn, so watch closely and adjust the temperature as needed. 
• A pleasant aroma comes when the banana caramelizes. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Transfer it to plates. Enjoy as a snack.
  

NOTES

• The flour should be just enough to hold up the batter. If the flour is significantly less, you can't gather it up as one single pancake. If the flour is too much, the pancake will be too hard. I like pancakes with less flour and more of a banana taste. The riper the banana, the more flour is required.
• The jaggery syrup is entirely optional. I leave that out when I make it for myself, but I use it for the kids.
• 1 meduim ripe US Robusta banana is 160 gms. 
• The heat should be medium-low to low, or the pancake will burn quickly.