Summer Bites - Watermelon Pancakes

Here is a dish straight from my grandma's kitchen. When the days really warm up in the Konkan, dishes like these are favored over traditional, heavier breakfasts. This way you get a filling meal first thing in the morning, that's also cool and refreshing enough to beat the heat.

The traditional way of making these pancakes is to soak rice and then grind it along with the rest of the ingredients. My mother however often adopted the 'short cut' of using rice flour; which is right up my alley because I often forget to soak rice and then crave dosas for weekend brunch!!

Here I must add that these pancakes are actually an ingenious way of using a part of the fruit that would otherwise be discarded - the white part just under the juicy, red slices. I am always amazed at the extent to which life in the villages is respectful to nature. People in rural India have been environmentally conscious long before the rest of the world even coined the term.

Since packaged, pre-cut chunks are more common in the supermarkets here, it's fine to use them instead of the white part. Cut into smaller pieces and give them a whir in the blender. This by the way will give you the prettiest batter ever - candy floss pink in color!

KALINGAD POLE/ GHAVAN (Watermelon Pancakes)
(makes 6)
1 1/2 cups grated white part of a watermelon or thick watermelon puree
1 cup + 1-2 tbsp rice flour (available in health stores or Indian grocers)
4-5 tbsp brown sugar/ powdered jaggery (adjust to taste)
a pinch of cardamom powder
salt to taste
oil for frying

Mix together watermelon and rice flour gradually. Use a whisk to ensure there are no lumps. Add jaggery, salt and cardamom powder. Adjust consistency with water or flour as required and make a smooth batter.

Cover and keep aside for an hour. Heat a griddle with oil, when hot drop a ladleful of batter in the centre and spread into a circle with the back of your spoon (be careful while doing this as the batter tends to bubble).

Fry till the pancake turns reddish brown, then flip and fry on the other side. Serve hot with a spicy chutney. Or do an all American with maple syrup and butter!

Variations:
* use grated cucumber or pumpkin instead of watermelon
* make a savoury version by omitting sugar and adding cilantro and green chillies

Entry for:
Weekend Breakfast Series at Nandita's Saffron Trail
ARF/ 5-a-day Tuesday at Cate's Sweetnicks