Chocolate Pancakes

Anu and Joy came over last weekend, and as promised I whipped up some pancakes. Easy to make and very fulfilling as a breakfast, this is ideal for a lazy Sunday morning.

You need -

3 cups maida/flour

3 eggs

3 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 small spoons of baking powder

2 spoons of molten butter

2 spoons of vanilla essence

Some choco chilps or Hershey's chocolate syrup

Honey/more chocolate syrup

What you have to do -

- Mix the maida, eggs, milk, sugar, baking powder, butter and essence to make a thick batter. It has to have the consistency of dosa batter.

- Add either chocolate syrup or the chips to the batter depending on how chocolatey you want it.

- Heat a wide flat pan with a small amount of butter.

- Pour out the batter evenly, while ensuring that you're maintaining a half centimeter thickness.

- After it cooks for a bit, it will separate from the pan. Turn it over and let it cook on the other side.

- As it cooks, add honey or/and chocolate syrup.

Serve hot with coffee and you're set for a good day ahead!

Parisian Crepes

I tasted my first crepe while in Paris, in 2007, at a little cafe opposite the Louvre museum metro stop - and I loved it!

(at the Louvre, soon after the crepes)

Since then, I've experimented in my own kitchen and I must say - it has come out very well.

You need -

3 cups maida/flour

3 eggs

3 cups milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 small spoons of baking powder

2 spoons of molten butter

2 spoons of flavored essence (optional)

Fruit of your choice (banana, apple, strawberry, pineapple recommended)

Honey/chocolate syrup

What you have to do -

- Mix the maida, eggs, milk, sugar, baking powder, butter and essence to make a loose flow-ey batter. It has to have the consistency of olive oil.

- Let it sit for about 10-20 minutes. You can put it away in the fridge and come back to it later if you're preparing it ahead of time.

- Heat a wide flat pan with a small amount of butter.

- Pour out the batter evenly, while ensuring that you're maintaining the least possible thickness.

- After it cooks for a bit, it will separate from the pan. Turn it over and let it cook on the other side.

- As it cooks, add cut fruit and honey/chocolate syrup.

- Roll it over or fold twice and serve!

Some interesting variations -

- Make chocolate pancakes with slices bananas and leave it in the fridge for a few hours. They're quite yummy on a hot summer afternoon or make for a good dessert.

- Chocolate + Banana + Coconut shavings = very yum!

- Strawberry + Honey = very very yum!

- Add white/brown chocolate chips to make them crunchy and super-chocolatey.

Vanilla French Toast

I don't have any pictures yet - I'm still to get into the habit of taking pictures after I cook, so that I can post them. But, here's my recipe, anyway.

You need -

Brown Bread or Multi Grain Bread

2-3 Eggs

3 spoon fulls of Sugar (add more if you like it really sweet)

5 drops of Vanilla Essence

What you have to do -

- Beat the eggs, milk, sugar and essence together

- Heat a flat pan with some butter

- Dip the bread in the mix (be careful not to dip for long as that breaks the bread)

- Cook the bread on both sides until it turns golden brown

If you want to make it fancy: Stack three full slices of bread one on top of the other, and top it off with a fried egg.

Pour yourself a glass of orange juice, cut up some fruit, brew some mild black tea, and there you have it - the perfect heavy Sunday breakfast!