Pancake

A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, not to be confused with oat bar flapjacks) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying with oil or butter. Archaeological evidence suggests that pancakes were probably the earliest and most widespread cereal food eaten in prehistoric societies.^[1]

The pancake's shape and structure varies worldwide. In England, pancakes are often unleavened and resemble a crêpe.^[2] In North America, a leavening agent is used (typically baking powder) creating a thick fluffy pancake. A crêpe is a thin Breton pancake of French origin cooked on one or both sides in a special pan or crepe maker to achieve a lacelike network of fine bubbles. A well-known variation originating from southeast Europe is a palačinke, a thin moist pancake fried on both sides and filled with jam, cheese cream, chocolate, or ground walnuts, but many other fillings—sweet or savoury—can also be used.

When potato is used as a major portion of the batter, the result is a potato pancake. Commercially prepared pancake mixes are available in some countries. When buttermilk is used in place of or in addition to milk, the pancake develops a tart flavor and becomes known as a buttermilk pancake, which is common in Scotland and the US. Buckwheat flour can be used in a pancake batter, making for a type of buckwheat pancake, a category that includes Blini, Kaletez, Ploye, and Memil-buchimgae.

Pancakes may be served at any time of the day with a variety of toppings or fillings but in America they are typically considered a breakfast food. Pancakes serve a similar function to waffles. In Britain and the Commonwealth, they are associated with Shrove Tuesday, commonly known as "Pancake Day", when, historically, perishable ingredients had to be used up before the fasting period of Lent.

Pancakes in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia) are known as injera (sometimes transliterated as enjera, budenaa (Oromo), or canjeero (Somali)). Injera is a yeast-risen flatbread with a unique, slightly spongy texture. Traditionally, it is made out of teff flour and is a national dish in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Canjeero, also known as lahooh or lahoh, is a similar kind of flatbread eaten in Somalia and Yemen.

Kenya

In Kenya, pancakes are eaten for breakfast as an alternative to bread. They are served plain with the sugar already added to the batter to sweeten them. Kenyan pancakes are similar to English pancakes and French crepes.

South Africa

A "pancake" in South Africa is a crêpe. In Afrikaans, it is known as a pannekoek (plural pannekoeke) and, traditionally, is prepared on gas stoves and eaten on wet and cold days. Pannekoeke are usually served with cinnamon-flavoured sugar (and, sometimes, lemon juice) that is either allowed to dissolve into and soften them or, if their crispy texture is to be retained, eaten immediately. They are a staple at Dutch Reformed Church fêtes.^[21]

Plaatkoekies ("flapjacks", or lit. "plate cookies") are American-style "silver dollar" pancakes.

Uganda

In Uganda, pancakes are locally made with bananas (one of the staple foods of the country) and usually served as a breakfast or as a snack option.

Asia

Banana pancakes are a menu item in Western-oriented backpackers' cafes in Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, India, and China. This has elicited the term Banana Pancake Trail.

China

Chinese pancakes may be either savoury or sweet, and are generally made with dough rather than batter.^[22] The dough mostly consists of water, flour, and vegetable oil.^[23] The dish can be served as a side, usually alongside duck, or as a snack, topped with scallions along with hot and sour sauce.^[23]

India

India has many styles of pancake. Variations range from their taste to the main ingredient used. All are made without the use of added raising agents.

Pancakes prepared using a north Indian cooking style are known as cheela. Sweet cheela are made using sugar or jaggery with a wheat flour-based batter. North Indian salty pancakes are made using batter prepared from gram flour or green gram paste (moong daal) and are sometimes garnished with paneer, a cottage-style cheese.

Dosa, appam, neer dosa and uttapam are pancakes made in a south Indian cooking style. They are prepared by fermenting rice batter and split-skinned urad bean (black lentil) blended with water. Meetha pooda – sweet pancakes often eaten with pickles and chutney – are a common breakfast food item in the Punjab. Most of the pitha in Assam are types of pancakes served on occasions such as Bihu festivals. The Bengali semi-sweet pancake pati-shapta is stuffed with grated coconut or thickened milk.

In Western India, the multi-grain thalipeeth is popular. In Goa, a traditional crêpe-like pancake known as alebele or alle belle is eaten at tea-time. It is usually filled with jaggery and coconut.

In Eastern India, malpuas are sometimes prepared in the form of pancakes.

In some regions of Middle India, thin green Cheelas are made with ginger or garlic leaves' paste, and rice flour batter. Other ingredients included are salt, cummin seeds, green chili, oil, curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Greece

Greek pancakes are called tiganites (τηγανίτες, from the ancient Greek τηγανίτης) and are popular across Greece and Cyprus. They are slightly thicker than crêpes and can be sweet or savoury. Their main ingredients are flour, olive oil or butter, milk and eggs. They are usually drizzled with honey and cinnamon, and sometimes topped with cheese, nuts, fruits or vegetables. Various small shops in Cyprus called creperies sell crepes, either savoury or sweet varieties. Tiganites can be served for breakfast or dessert, and in some places like Corfu and Patras are customarily served in the feast days of Saint Spyridon and Saint Andrew. In Cyprus the pancake recipe is used for a similar dish such as Genoese cannelloni – ground meat with tomato sauce, cheese, and sometimes bechamel sauce – instead of the traditional cannelloni dried pasta sold at supermarkets.