My go-to batter for pancakes is Nafisa’s 3-ingredient recipe.

It calls for combining one egg (or two if you like), one cup milk, one cup flour and mixing, pouring and flipping your way towards a tummyfiller of a breakfast.

I’ve been playing around with the basic batter and I now add a pinch of baking powder to impart a light and fluffy texture to the pancakes.

Now, a purist wouldn’t even be calling these pancakes because they are more akin to crumpets or flapjacks of the American variety. But to spare everyone the complication of a recipe title replete with forward slashes and parentheses, I’ll go with good-old pancakes for now.

I’ve adapted Nafisa’s recipe to suit a low-GI approach to eating.

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour (I use Snowflake’s Nutty Wheat)
  • 1 and 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • a pinch of baking powder
  • 1 banana, chopped and mashed

Heat a non-stick frying pan with about a teaspoon (or just a little more) of oil. I use a paper-towel to distribute the oil to coat the pan. This way I end up using far less than if I were to just hover over with the bottle.

Combine all the ingredients in a large pouring jug. Stir until everything is combined. Do not over-mix as the resulting gluten development will make for a tough pancake.

Pour batter into palm-sized circles. Wait until the top of the pancakes bubble before flipping over. A quick test to check if the pancake is done is to gently press your spatula against it. If you see little bits of batter coming up to the surface, your pancake needs a bit more cooking time.

Serve with cinnamon, honey and raisins (if you’re a fan).