Gluten free and CKD friendly pancakes

Healthy and Ayurvedic Food can be TASTY and EASY. Recently when I was at a Panchakarma treatment (Ayurvedic Detox) program I decided to bring some variety into our meal plan with some dishes from South India where I come from. These Gluten free pancakes commonly referred to as Pesarettu in Andhra Pradesh, our neighboring state seemed like a good idea in the limited amount of time we had for cooking between my treatments. Given the different health issues of my fellow clients (inmates) I made this version of pancakes which was healthy and mild to offer a sattvic and satisfying feel. As I see a lot of Chronic Kidney Disease Patients, this is low in Potassium, Sodium and Phosphorus even when 2 servings are eaten as a meal.

Needless to say it was a welcome change to the routine. It is not an unfamiliar recipe for many South Indians but was certainly a treat to the Americans living in the center. The beauty of this recipe is that you can pretty much use the mung beans as base and add any ingredients to satisfy the palette. It is also rich in Fiber. Vegetables like spinach, cabbage and carrots can be added for added vitamins and minerals. Try these and enjoy them for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner!

Gluten free Mung (lentil) pancakes

No. of Servings: 6 Serving size: 2 pancakes

Preparation time: 2 hours for soaking Cooking time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

Moong dal 2 cups.

Rice 1 Tbsp

Fenugreek. ½ tsp

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1 tsp

Salt ¾ tsp

Asafoetida ¼ tsp

Curry leaves A few

Ginger ½ inch piece

Directions:

Rinse the moong dal with rice and fenugreek seeds with water a few times to remove the foam. Then soak it for 1-2 hours. Grind all ingredients in a blender. Heat a non-stick crepe pan (tawa) on the stove and make pancakes approximately 6 inch size. You can sprinkle a few drops of olive or sesame oil around the pancake for a little crispiness on the edges. Flip when golden brown and cook the other side. This can be served with any chutney like carrot chutney, coriander or mint chutney, coconut chutney, red pepper chutney etc. If you like it sweet you can dip in some honey or maple syrup.

Variation:

Chilli powder or black pepper can be added to this while grinding to make it spicy if you can tolerate it.

Vegetables like onions, spinach, cabbage and shredded carrots can be added to the batter before making the pancakes. Green chillies for an added kick.

Ayurvedic Information: Pacifies Vata and Pitta, Good for Kapha too if you add some ginger and black pepper to rev up the metabolism.

Nutrition Information per serving:

Calories: 85 Sodium: 251 mg

Carbohydrates: 16 g Potassium: 183 mg

Protein: 5 g Phosphorus: 71 mg

Fat: .2 g

Dietary fiber: 5.2 g