Fluffy and warmly spiced pancakes – a delightful breakfast option during the winter and a great way to use pumpkins up post Halloween.
What is Kooie Kaka?
These delicious pancakes are inspired by those commonly eaten in and originating from Gilan in the North of Iran.
In the Gilaki language these pancakes are called Kooie Kaka which means Pumpkin (Kooie) Pancake (Kaka). Despite our love for poetry and romanticising everything that is Persian, we Iranians cut straight to the chase with our food descriptions!
How to Make Kooie Kaka?
These pancakes are a also great way to make sure there is no waste from the pumpkins you carve for Halloween.
All you need to do is roast a chopped pumpkin with or without the skin (if you are using the remains of your carved pumpkin) in a medium-hot oven (180°C fan oven) for about 30 minutes or until soft. When cooked and cooled down, take the cooked pumpkin flesh and place into a bowl mash into a purée. The pumpkin purée can be used for the Kooie Kaka pancakes as per the recipe below and any leftovers can be frozen to be used at a later date. Alternatively, I am sure most of you will have a favourite soup or risotto recipe to use the remaining pumpkin for. A small / medium sized pumpkin usually yields about 400 grams of purée.
The pancake batter is a standard American fluffy pancake batter with the addition of the pumpkin and spices (cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg). Traditionally the amount of pumpkin used in Kooie Kaka is more than I use in my recipe below – mine is kid friendly and mostly about ensuring there is no waste from the Halloween pumpkin decoration season. Also the pancake is firmer and keeps better if there are any leftovers. If you do want the pancakes to be more about the pumpkin, then reduce the flour measurement to 200 grams in the recipe below.
Please also feel free to substitute and experiment with your favourite pancake batter, particularly if you prefer gluten free or are vegan.
How to Serve the Pancakes
Serve with either maple syrup, honey or cherry syrup drizzled over and sprinkle with pomegranate arils, crushed pistachios and a dusting of icing sugar as pictured.
Other Breakfast Recipes
- Panir Bereshteh – Persian Scrambled Eggs with Feta & Dill
- Nargessi (Persian Spinach & Eggs)
- Sholeh Zard Overnight Oats
- Persian Eggs Recipe (Borani Esfenaj with Poached Eggs and Aleppo Butter) | Kitchn (thekitchn.com)
Kooie Kaka
Ingredients
- 250 g pumpkin purée (roast pumpkin and mash flesh - see notes above)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 nutmeg (grated)
- 1 cardamom pod (seeds removed and crushed)
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 300 g self-raising flour
- 300 ml milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 2 medium free range eggs
- Vegetable Oil and butter (for cooking the pancakes)
- Crushed pistachios, icing sugar, maple syrup / honey / cherry syrup (to serve)
Instructions
- Place the flour, baking powder, spices, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Crack in the eggs and whisk until smooth. Add the milk while whisking.
- Then add the pumpkin purée and whisk further.
- Heat a splash of oil and a small knob of butter in a non-stick frying pan until sizzling. Add spoonfuls of batter to make pancakes the size you prefer (I make mini ones - approx 5 cm diameter). Cook until bubbles start to form on the surface, then flip and cook the other side. Eat straight away or keep warm in a low oven while you cook further batches.
- Serve pancakes with pomegranate arils, drizzled with honey or syrup of your choice and garnish with a dusting of icing sugar and crushed pistachios.
