Pancakes with strawberries

My son was introduced to pancakes and waffles about a year ago. He has never been fussy about food, but trying something new for the first time always needs a little convincing. That rule somehow doesn't apply when its something sweet, even a hint of sweetness and he doesn't need any other push. After these buttermilk chocolate chip pancakes, he is hooked on and wants either pancakes or waffles for breakfast every Sunday.



We picked up some maple syrup (that I thought was pretty expensive), but I think honey or any other sweetish syrup can be used instead. Top it up with the fruits in season and you're all set.

I had this box of strawberries at home. I am always tempted to pick them up when I see these pretty fruits, but they need to be used soon and then I am at a loss of what to make with them. Last week Ma was here and she said if I wasn't using them soon, I should cook them up a bit with some sugar and then refrigerate it. This was a simple but great idea. I chopped the strawberries in half and then added about 1/4 cup water and 2 tbsp sugar and heated it in a pan till the sugar dissolved and the strawberries were all glazed in the sugar syrup. This took about 10 mins or so. Stored it in a bottle and have used it as a topping on plain vanilla ice-cream and then these pancakes.

TH and my son had this for breakfast. TH had it with the strawberry syrup and the little fellow had it with banana slices and honey. I don't have a sweet tooth and can't eat anything sweet for breakfast, so our Sunday breakfasts are always different.

My parents gifted me a waffle maker sometime last year and I use the same pancake batter to make waffles. The toppings and syrups vary but this is pretty much the standard recipe I use. I find the ones made with buttermilk more fluffy and tasty compared to the ones that use milk, though both work absolutely fine. I use home made buttermilk and it has all the butter-y residue that perhaps makes the pancakes so fluffy.

Basic pancake / waffle recipe

What you need -

1 cup APF / maida (or use 1/2 cup APF and 1/2 cup wheat flour)
1 egg
1 cup milk / buttermilk
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp melted unsalted butter (avoid if you are using buttermilk)
butter for greasing
1/2 tsp vanilla extract / essence
chopped fruits of you choice
maple syrup / honey / golden syrup

What you do with it -

Add the flour(s) along with the salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl
Beat the egg and whisk it with the sugar and milk / buttermilk in another bowl
If using the vanilla essence / extract, add this to the egg and milk mixture
Add the flours to the egg mixture and mix well
Stir in the melted butter and mix again
Heat a non-stick pan and add some butter to grease the pan
Drop in 2 tbsp of batter into the centre of the pan
Keep it on a low-medium flame and once you see bubbles on the surface of the batter, flip it around
Allow it to cook on the other side till its golden brown
Serve with chopped fruits and pour the syrup over it