A few weeks ago I saw a post on Bonzai Aphrodite about Pudlas. A pudla is a type of savory breakfast pancake made in north western India. It is filled with a variety of vegetables—really anything you like. I was so excited to try these! I mixed up my batter and—stick city. I spent over an hour battling with my non-stick pan trying to get these pancakes to come together. I don’t know if it was my pan or just an off night, but I was so frustrated. I reluctantly handed a plate of mangled pancakes over to my boys—and they devoured them! They were horribly ugly, but they turned out to be so tasty!
So, if the flavor was right, it was the cooking method that I had to work on. Pudlas are made with garbanzo flour (besan). I’ve used it before in French toast because it has a bit of an egg-like taste. These pancakes, in all their scrambled glory, reminded me a little bit of an omlette—which lead me to a quiche like tart. I made a pie crust and filled it with my pudla batter and baked it all up. I was really happy with the results. You can call it a tart or a quiche—either way it’s very filling and tasty. It is great for breakfast and dinner—your pick! For a gluten free option, go ahead and skip the crust. Just make sure to grease your pie pan REALLY well!
I made a double batch of filling and used half of the filling to make little muffins. I popped out a few for David’s breakfast this morning (use a muffin liner to prevent sticking). They would be great to freeze and reheat for a quick breakfast on the go.
Pulda Pie
Crust (adapted from Veganomicon):
1 ½ c whole wheat pastry flour
1 T sugar
½ t salt
¼ t baking powder
1/3 c cold coconut oil (or shortening)
¼ c water, plus 2 T if needed
2 t apple cider vinegar
Filling:
1 c besan flour
1 c water
juice 1 lemon
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp turmeric
1/2 t onion powder
¼ t garlic powder
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 ½ c spinach, roughly chopped
½ c frozen peas (no need to thaw)
1 medium potato, grated
1 small zucchini squash, grated
¼ c fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry crust ingredients together: flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the coconut oil and massage with your fingers quickly to evenly disperse the oil, leaving clumps of oil throughout. Combine ¼ c of water with the vinegar. Add to the dough mixture in three batches. The dough should hold together when pinched. If you need to, add up to 2 more tablespoons of water.
Gather the dough into a ball and knead it a couple of times to get it to hold together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. Once chilled, roll out on a piece of parchment paper, sprinkling rolling pin with flour. Carefully move crust into pie pan, fitting into dish, and crimping the sides to make a nice crust. Poke all over bottom with a fork to prevent bubbling (this is a great job for kids to help with!).
Bake crust for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients—besan flour, cumin, turmeric, onion powder, garlic powder, baking soda and salt. Add lemon juice and water and whisk together. Add all vegetables and mix well. Pour into crust—it’s ok for it to heap above a bit.
Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. It is done when it has firmed up and slightly golden brown (don’t undercook—besan flour does not taste good raw!). Let cool for a few minutes and serve.
*If you make “muffins” bake for 25-30 minutes.
“muffins”
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