MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON – APRIL 2018
#87TH BLOGGING MARATHON
THEME: EXPLORE THE FLAVORS – INTERNATIONAL BREAKFAST
DAY 2
#87TH BLOGGING MARATHON
THEME: EXPLORE THE FLAVORS – INTERNATIONAL BREAKFAST
DAY 2
“Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince and Dine like a Pauper”
Before I venture into today’s recipe, I would like to show off a bit of the azure blue skies and sea that lines the east coast of Africa. We in Mombasa are so lucky to have the beautiful Indian Ocean. Hubby and I spent the Easter holiday at the Bamburi Beach and every day it was a delight to walk on the beach. Though at time of the year the beach is strewn with seaweeds, believe me when I tell you that its a sign of a healthy sea eco system. When the tides is out, little puddles of water is where one can find sea cucumber, sea urchins, star fish and beware of the occasional porcupine fish and the numerous tiny blue jelly fish. Its a delight to watch people playing football on the beach, children building sand castles or digging holes so that they can ‘bury’ their siblings, friends or cousins, people enjoying a picnic, lovers finding the right nook to sit, people from the cold countries desperately trying to get the perfect suntan, novice swimmers in the sea, jet skis, banana boat rides and so much more. Sometimes I wish holidays would last forever!
Before I venture into today’s recipe, I would like to show off a bit of the azure blue skies and sea that lines the east coast of Africa. We in Mombasa are so lucky to have the beautiful Indian Ocean. Hubby and I spent the Easter holiday at the Bamburi Beach and every day it was a delight to walk on the beach. Though at time of the year the beach is strewn with seaweeds, believe me when I tell you that its a sign of a healthy sea eco system. When the tides is out, little puddles of water is where one can find sea cucumber, sea urchins, star fish and beware of the occasional porcupine fish and the numerous tiny blue jelly fish. Its a delight to watch people playing football on the beach, children building sand castles or digging holes so that they can ‘bury’ their siblings, friends or cousins, people enjoying a picnic, lovers finding the right nook to sit, people from the cold countries desperately trying to get the perfect suntan, novice swimmers in the sea, jet skis, banana boat rides and so much more. Sometimes I wish holidays would last forever!
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| Bamburi Beach during low tide |
For Day 2 Breakfast we’re going to MOROCCO. Morocco and Maghreb region tend to make pancakes called Baghrir. These pancakes are made either from semolina or flour and served with honey, jam or a honey -butter mixture. Serve it with some Moroccan Mint Tea and it makes a perfect breakfast. Baghrir is commonly known as the pancake with a thousand holes. Did I mention you don’t need any oil or butter to make these pancakes? Yes, no fat required, only the one you put on top of the pancakes.
I must admit I didn’t get the thousand holes on my pancakes when I made them for the first time. I almost thought of choosing another breakfast dish but the niggling feeling as to why I didn’t get the holes kept on bothering me. I think I was in too much of a hurry to allow the batter to ferment properly. I tried the recipe again with a few changes and this time letting the batter ferment to nice frothy bubbles consistency. And hey presto, the thousand holes pancakes were ready to be devoured by hubby, me and my neighbors. Light on the stomach and so different from the normal pancakes. I loved the way the holes soaked up the honey butter making the pancakes succulent.
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| batter all nice, frothy and bubbly |
BAGHRIR
Makes 12 (I made small ones and got 16)
Recipe Source: My Moroccan Food
150g(approx.¾ cup) fine semolina (sooji)
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
¾ tsp instant dry active yeast
¼ tsp salt
1 cup warm milk or water
1 egg
For the honey butter syrup:
¼ cup honey
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp orange blossom water
Other serving ideas:
honey
butter
jam
chocolate sauce
Preparation of baghrir:
- Add semolina, flour, salt, sugar, yeast and warm water into a blender. Process it till everything is mixed and there are no lumps. Alternately use a hand blender.
- Add the baking powder and process for a few seconds.
- Remove the batter into a bowl. Cover it with cling film or lid and allow it to ferment till its frothy and nearly double in size. Mine took 1 hour in spite of the really hot weather.
- Stir it very gently.
- Heat a frying pan or skillet over medium heat till its really hot.
- Pour about a ¼ cup batter into the pan. If you’re using a small pancake or uttapam like me than you add a tablespoonful of the batter.
- Immediately bubbles should appear. Lower the heat and the top will begin to dry.
- Never flip a baghrir over.
- Serve immediately with honey butter syrup, jam, honey, or chocolate sauce.
To prepare the honey butter syrup:
- Put honey and butter in a pan over medium heat.
- Let the butter melt.
- When the mixture begins to boil, take the pan off the heat.
- Add orange blossom water and mix.
Tips:
- Use anon stick pan as no butter or oil is required to make baghrir.
- Make sure the batter ferments properly.
- Don’t over mix the fermented batter.
- Once the holes appear, lower the heat so the pancake top dries up.
- The pancake interior should resemble a honeycomb.
- To prepare Moroccan Mint Tea take 1 tsp green tea, 1 tbsp sugar or less, handful of mint leaves and 2 cups water. Heat the water. add sugar, mint and green tea leaves. Cover and let the tea infuse for 5-7 minutes. Strain and serve with fresh mint leaves. Usually gunpowder green tea is used to prepare Moroccan Mint Tea but you can use any good quality green tea.
A-Z breakfast Dishes:
A – Apple Aebleskiver – Denmark
Check out what other Mega Blogging Marathoners have made:
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