I know what you are thinking: You want a gulab jamun, but can’t be bothered to actually knead, roll and cook your own gulab jamun. Well I got you friend! Introducing the giant no-flip gulab jamun pancake!
This is the pancake you did not know you needed in your life! The batter is a perfect lazy mans recipe. In fact the lazier you are the better because you should not over mix the batter. The whole things cooks in one oven proof frying pan. First put it on the stove top to get the bottom nice and golden, and then pop it into the oven to finish cooking. Once its out of the oven, give it a flip onto a large serving plate and voila! Your giant gulab jamun pancake is good to go!
The Giant Gulab Jamun Pancake
The flavours in this pancake mimic the flavour and texture of a gulab jamun and it is ready in a fraction of the time (20 minutes from start to finish!). You should already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen. The saffron and cardamom give it the perfect flavour profile . The only ‘special’ ingredients in this recipe are buttermilk (but feel free to sub some watered down yogurt instead) and cornmeal. The cornmeal adds a more cake-like texture to the giant pancake which also gives it the ‘chew’ of a gulab jamun.
Gulab Jamun Syrup
Make sure to douse the whole thing in syrup to get you that sticky gulab jamun feel. I provide the option of a typical gulab jamun flavoured simple syrup in the recipe notes. You just need to boil equal quantities of sugar and water with cardamom, saffron and a splash of rose water. Let the syrup boil to dissolve the sugar and then let it cool before pouring it over your warm pancake. But I honestly loved this served with a generous drizzle of maple syrup too. I also like adding a sprinkle of chopped nuts on top, but this is totally optional.
Giant Gulab Jamun Pancake
Ingredients
- 1 cup All purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cornmeal (medium to fine ground)
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup buttermilk (divided)
- 4 tbsp melted butter (divided)
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/4 tsp saffron
- 1 tbsp rose water
- 2 tbsp slivered almond, plus more for garnish (optional)
- 2 tbsp oil (I use avocado oil)
- maple syrup or honey (or see the recipe notes for a more authentic flavoured simple syrup option)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup AP flour with 1/3 cup cornmeal. Set aside.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp saffron, 1/4 tsp cardamom powder. Mix well until it turns a light yellow colour and is nice and smooth.
- Add 3/4 cup of the buttermilk and half the dry ingredients into the egg mixture, whisk until just mixed (careful not to over mix). Add the remaining 3/4 buttermilk, dry ingredients and 2 tbsp melted butter. Mix again until just mixed. The mixture will still be a bit lumpy.
- Add 2 tbsp of slivered almonds and mix until just combined. Set aside.
- Heat a large oven proof, non-stick frying pan on medium high heat. Add 2 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp butter. Heat until until the butter stops foaming, about 2 minutes.
- Turn to heat down to medium and add the pancake batter to the pan, using the back of a spatula or spoon to gently smooth out the mixture to spread out to the edges of the pan.
- Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. The edges will start to cook and pull away from the pan. But the centre will still be quite wet, with bubbles starting to pop on top (like a pancake).
- Transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, and place a large serving plate on top of the pan and gently flip! The giant pancake should come off the pan very easily.
- Sprinkle with some slivered almonds and a generous drizzle of maple syrup or honey.
Notes
Want more brunch inspo? Try some of these:
