- Ronald Reagan 1984 Presidential Campaign Ad
Following the official end to the State of Siege here in Alta Verapaz, I have decided to extend my time in Guatemala by three months. In conjunction with this extension, I will keep a food blog highlighting my culinary adventures using items that can be found in markets around Guatemala. Good times have come to Campur once again!
Personally I like to buy as many of my items at the local market to support the local economy. From time to time, I go to the nearest city (Coban) to buy items that I cannot get in Campur (basil, yellow peppers, cumin seeds, etc.) and even to the Guatemalan version of Walmart to buy import items (thai rice noodles, mushroom soy sauce, etc.). With the items sold in Guatemala and some substitutional ingenuity (please excuse my English but this makes perfect sense to me after living here for 2 years), I can and have created some incredible meals.
Recently, I have been on a "healthy and local eating kick". I buy my fruits and vegetables as fresh and in-season as possible, hardly use canned or prepared foods, and eat locally raised, freshly butchered meats - with Campur providing as many gastronomical delights to my palette as possible.
My first recipe, Mango Coconut Pancakes with Cinnamon Honey, reminds me of my childhood during the Reagan years, where weekend pancakes were a highly sought after commodity (though without the mangoes and the coconuts). As an adult, I can eat pancakes whenever I want! In fact, some friends and I ate them for dinner on a Tuesday night. I make homemade pancakes all the time and will never buy/eat pancakes from the box again.
Coconut Milk
2 coconuts with meat
1 to 2 cups of water
Bake coconuts at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for a half hour. Once cooled, split coconuts with a machete or a hammer. If cooked enough, the skin will detach easily from the shell. Place the cooked coconut meat in a blender and add water depending on level of desired potency - if you would like a strong coconut milk flavor, add less water. Strain the milk and discard the remaining pulp.
(Straining the coconut milk. I would not recommend using a metal strainer as it changes the color of the coconut milk)
Cinnamon Honey
1/2 cup of locally-produced honey
2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
Combine in a bowl or cup until the cinnamon has dissolved nicely into the honey.
Mango Coconut Pancakes with Cinnamon Honey
2 large very ripe mangoes, peeled and deseeded
1 cup of coconut milk* or powdered coconut milk
2 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of panela (sugar)
6 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 cup of cooking oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of salt
water
cinnamon honey*
*See recipe above
(Mango Pureé)
Pureé mangos, leaving a few pieces diced. Mix wet and dry ingredients separately, combining them in a bowl and leaving the mixture slightly lumpy, adding water until desired consistency is achieved.
Heat a pan over medium heat, pouring a tablespoon of vegetable oil into it and wiping the pan with a towel. With a ladle, scoop the batter into pan. Flip with spatula when air bubbles can be seen on the topside. Serve with cinnamon honey.
Variations:
Vegan - Leave out the eggs and add 1/4 cup of ground flax seed (play with the quantity a little)
Fluffy - Add more baking powder or a teaspoon of baking soda to make it fluffier, as these pancakes can be rather dense.
Well-done blog, site-mate!
ReplyDeleteThis gets 4 chocobananos, for sure. I personally like my pancakes kind of raw inside, so these were perfect. I made this recipe myself a few days later using dry coconut powder and mashed mango. Mine also came out very dense and gooey in the middle. You could definitely play with the amounts of flour and leavening to create a fluffier pancake. I like these gooey, though.