The Dutch Souvenir

Amsterdam at night

Colourful tulip market

Amsterdam, the city of bicycles , the bright colourful tulips, the hidden church of Our Lord in the attic, the long queues in front of Anne Frank house, the boat rides along the concentric canals making their way through the quirky city, the elegant yet crooked houses outlining the canals, the inquisitively attractive red light district, the museums , the love for anything that is creatively titilating, the sweet smell of Dutch cheese... everything about this snugly city makes you fall in love with it. Our recent 3 day stay in this cosy place made me wonder how a romantic city can make you go head over heals in love.

The lanes

The Amsterdam canals

However, one of the important highlights of our trip in Amsterdam came on a drizzly cold morning while we got lost strolling through the labyrinth of streets in the trendy Jordaan neighbourhood, when something really  appetizing captivated our attention. The mouthwatering sight of Dutch pannenkoeken (a hybrid of French crepes and American pancakes) through the glass panes of a cutesy eatary - Pancakes Amsterdam. The pancakes were available in all possible toppings being both sweet and / or savoury. After having a taste of them I could not wait to come back home and try my hands to recreate these awesomely delightful pancakes. You can use just about anything as the toppings. For  sweet tooth breakfast preferences you can use green apple, banana, sweet strawberries or any fruit which you like. For the savoury alternatives (for lunch or dinner) you can use ham / salami /  bacon /  chorizo with cheese (any variety of your choice). For some of us ( read : me ) , only using cheese as a topping also keeps it delicious. Its easy to make procedure with readily available ingredients will always stay with me as the best souvenir from one of the cutest cities of the world.

A small token of love

  Recently the craving for pancakes was gradually growing inside of me and when on this equally chilly Christmas morning my husband and me decided to stay home and spend a lazy afternoon, have a heavy brunch ( so that I don't have to do anything for lunch) I immediately decided to cook these gems. So, here is how you can enjoy yourselves.

‌Ingredients  (makes 2 medium sized pancakes)

BATTER

‌1. Whole purpose flour ( read: maida ) - 1cup
‌2. A pinch of salt
‌3. 2 eggs ( room temperature )
‌4. 1.5 cups of warm milk ( room temperature will also do just as good )
‌5. oil (of your choice) / cooking spray / butter (always gives the best flavour) for frying

TOPPINGS

For savoury ones
As I said any toppings of your choice. In this particular one I have used smoked dutch cheese and chorizo.

My toppings of choice

For sweet ones

1. 1 tablespoon of sugar (depending on your choice of sweetness)

2. Any fruit of your choice but green apple kind of goes best with this recipe.

Procedure
In a bowl add the flour, salt, eggs and milk one by one and beat them together to make a smooth paste. Try to dissolve every lump of flour. You can beat this by hand or can also use a mixer. Your batter is ready.

(Add sugar in the mixture if you are experimenting for the sweet one)

Take a skillet ( read: tawa ) , heat it for 30 seconds in high flame and drizzle in some oil/ cooking spray/ butter. Lower the flame and spread in the batter (like you make your omelette or dosa).

Its time to put in your toppings ( for both savoury and sweet ones). Just give them a gentle press so that they stick to the pancakes.

The up - side

Wait for 2-3 minutes. Remember to keep the flame low. Now..flip it. It should look like the one in the photograph.

The upside down

.

And.. you wait for another 3 minutes. Finally...its done...yup !! Simple.. Now enjoy your meal. You can use some honey or maple syrup with it. But for me its ekai 100. My souvenir from the wonderfully charming city of Amsterdam is ready to be enjoyed.

The Dutch Pannenkoek