Chickpea Flour Pancakes (Pudla) with Crushed Peas, Ginger, Chilies and Cilantro

The beautifully haunting solo cello suites of Bach simultaneously soothe and disturb. The perfection of the compositions is utterly satisfying and yet, a yearning is nonetheless experienced. True, I am playing the role of hermit more intensely these past few days since my sweetie left for a two week work related trip, but for brooding types such as I, Bach is often an occasion for reflection.

Consider the act of nourishment that paradoxically can become more complicated when you suddenly find yourself alone. As much as I like to cook, there is less incentive involved when the diner is just me, the cook. Not that I don't enjoy the fruits of my labours, but I don't relish the idea of eating the same dish for more than 3 days, yet cutting corners with bread and cheese and simple egg dishes quickly loses its appeal. Still, there is a certain satisfaction in indulging in whatever you wish, without witnesses, no matter the time of day or method of execution.

Craving a more nourishing meal, and determined to cook something other than eggs, I was reminded of these gluten free, dairy-free chickpea flour pancakes (Pudla) that Lucy made after consulting her copy of Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. I've owned a copy of this cookbook for years, and though I vaguely recalled seeing the recipe, somehow I hastily scanned over it. My loss, until now.

I enjoyed these as a light dinner, with some of Nupur's exquisite Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato Spread, but they would be ideal for breakfast or lunch as well and they are so flavourful and satisfying, you don't need any chutney or sauce whatsoever.

I used some fresh cilantro and chilies from my garden, increased the amount of spice, of course, and halved the recipe, because I am alone after all. This recipe is easily doubled or tripled for larger family units. I will be making these again, there is no doubt about that. In fact, I didn't even bring a book nor newspaper to the table with me, as I usually do when dining alone, wishing instead to focus all of my attention on this perfect combination of flavors.

Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Crushed Peas and Cilantro

1 cup of chickpea flour
2/3 teaspoon of ground cumin
generous dash of turmeric
generous dash of cayenne
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 cup of water
2/3 cup of frozen peas, boiled for a few minutes and lightly mashed
1 green chili, finely chopped
1/2 inch piece of ginger, grated or finely minced
1 - 2 teaspoons of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
sesame oil for frying

In a medium bowl, sift together the chickpea flour, cumin, turmeric, cayenne and salt. Slowly, stirring with a wooden spoon, pour in the water, taking care to remove any lumps. Stir in the mashed peas, chopped chili, ginger and cilantro. Set aside for 20 - 30 minutes.

Heat a few teaspoons of oil in a small nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, ladle 1/4 - 1/3 cup of batter into the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook for another minute or so, or until browned. Transfer to a plate and fry up the rest of the batter, adding more oil to the pan as necessary.

Serve immediately.

Serves 1 - 2