Sri Lankan Coconut Pancakes

These gluten-free Sri Lankan Coconut Pancakes are almost like a thicker crepe and are flavored with a hint of almond, vanilla and turmeric – and guess what – they would be perfect for your Saturday morning brunch!

Thanks to my parents, my young insides were not introduced to a burger or fries – even on busy nights! To be perfectly fair, burgers and fries were not traditional Sri Lankan eats 🙂 . The Sri Lankan eats my sister and I devoured happily when we were young, were actually veggie and spice heavy. Back then my mom would feed us homemade kiribath, or mung bean and coconut “salad,” or string hoppers, or a smorgasbord of veggie curries. However, from all the day-to-day Sri Lankan eats my mom made, my all time favorite were her coconut pancakes with a coconut and jaggery filling.

Jaggery is an unrefined and non-distilled sugar that is made from the sap of sucrose rich plants such as sugar cane and/or date palm trees. I first mentioned it here when I posted the recipe for my version of Sri Lankan Watalappan.

My mom would make delicate, turmeric spiced pancakes without any baking powder and she would stuff them with this almost un-earthly, soft and scrumptious, coconut, jaggery, cardamom and vanilla filling. My dad and I shared a wicked sweet tooth so we would compete to see who would end up with the last decadent pancake, but, my mom would always act as referee and get us to both slow down – with the race ending when my sister would appear from nowhere and grab that last pancake!

Today, I have my version of my mom’s baking powder free, Coconut Pancakes – but mine comes with a roasted Coconut and Jaggery topping and Coconut Whipped Cream. While my mom’s pancakes were thinner (like a crepe) – mine are a tad bit thicker – like a thicker crepe. Like her’s, my pancakes are also flavored with turmeric.; but, I also added a bit of almond and vanilla extract to mine. While, my mom’s traditional coconut and jaggery mix was soft – I toasted mine – to make it crunchy and offset the whipped cream topping.

While my mom’s stuffed pancakes were rolled and easy to engage in a pancake eating contest – my version isn’t quite so easy to do so with. But, mine are perfect for lounging around and lazily filling up on on a weekend morning!

This Recipe first appeared on Food Fanatic. Please check out Food Fanatic for more recipes and inspiration.