This recipe/dish takes direct inspiration from pudla, savoury chickpea flour pancakes that are often cooked in Gujarati and Marwari homes. We load the batter up with lots of herbs–to the point where the pancake is tie-dye green and yellow. This is in line with traditional recipes. In addition to the herbs, we go in with some spices and a good pinch of salt.
These vegan pancakes are typically served with chutney and pickles. It should be noted that my lemony tahini accompaniment is not traditional at all (as far as I know). So it is definitely not representative of how pudla is traditionally enjoyed. This is just the inspiration path that I took once I made the pancake itself. You can learn a bit more about pudla here.
This recipe also slides nicely into my frequent preference for dishes with minimum ingredients and time investment. I have a similar buckwheat and chickpea vegan pancake in my cookbook that I employ for similar reasons. I do enjoy a cooking project on the weekends, but fast and nourishing options are ultimately my favourite.
The pancake itself only takes about 10 minutes to make! With the vegetables and sauce, you’re looking at about 45 minutes total.
I’d 100% encourage you to try this recipe if you’re seeking some simplicity and ease! These simple chickpea flour pancakes are super quick, so flavourful, quite hearty and filling, and endlessly customizable with herbs/spices and various accompaniments.
It’s a great dinner move for cleaning out the fridge. I also love making a bunch of these for a brunch and serving them with a couple sauces, salad, and a mix of roasted and pickled vegetables. I went full-on spring with my vegetables in preparation for the warmer days ahead here.
Hope you try this one! It’s one of my favourite “we have nothing to eat/no time” moves. The simplicity of it is the icing on the (pan)cake ;)
Herbed Chickpea Flour Pancakes
Ingredients
Zesty Lemon Tahini Sauce
- ¼ cup tahini
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons agave nectar
- sea salt, to taste
- ¼ cup cold water
Vegetables
- ½ lb asparagus, tough ends trimmed
- 6-7 radishes, cut into quarters
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon za’atar spice blend
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Herbed Chickpea Pancakes
- ⅔ cup chickpea flour
- ⅓ cup flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh dill leaves, finely chopped
- 1 green onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- few twists of ground black pepper
- ⅔ cup water
- oil, for cooking
Notes
- I went for spring-y vegetables like asparagus and radishes because we’re coming up on that season. Feel free to roast or saute whatever vegetables you’d like to go along with.
- The lemon zest is so key! Makes the tahini sauce truly lemon-y. I use a Mircoplane to zest.
- My favourite tahini brands are Seed + Mill and Soom.
- Any soft/leafy herbs are great here (cilantro, basil, parsley, dill)! I love using this recipe as landing spot for any extra herbs in the fridge that I need to use up.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Make the zesty lemon tahini. In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon zest, lemon juice, agave nectar, and salt. Once combined, add the cold water to the bowl. Start by whisking slowly to combine everything. Then, move to whisking vigorously until the sauce is creamy, slightly pale, and smooth. Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use. This sauce will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.
- Roast the vegetables. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the asparagus and radishes on the baking sheet. Pour the avocado oil on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with the za’atar, salt, and pepper. Toss to combine and arrange vegetables in a single layer. Slide the baking sheet into the oven and roast vegetables for 20 minutes, or until slightly tender and browned on the edges.
- While vegetables are roasting, make the chickpea pancakes. Heat a saute pan or crepe pan over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, parsley, dill, green onion, turmeric, nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, pepper, and water. Once you have a smooth batter with minimal lumps, you’re good to go.
- Swish some oil around in your heated pan. Pour half of the chickpea pancake batter into the pan. Let the chickpea pancake cook until golden on the underside and little bubbles are poking through, about 1 ½ minutes. Flip the pancake over and cook for another full minute, or until the other side is browned and the pancake feels firm in the middle. Repeat this cooking process with the remaining batter.
- Serve chickpea pancakes warm with the roasted vegetables and zesty lemon tahini.
Can I keep unused batter in the fridge?
You can for up to a few days. It will thicken up quite a bit though. You’ll need to thin it out with water before cooking.
-L
Thanks Laura and HNY :)
I want to try this recipe, but what can I substitute nutritional yeast with or can I omit it all together?
Thank you!
Hi Daniela,
You can simply omit it here!
-L
These are SO GOOD!! Swapped the parsley for basil and picked all the herbs and radishes fresh from my garden! Will definitely be making this on repeat this summer…I already planted more radishes ;)
Do you have any tips on the best way to reheat if I were to make a bunch?
Um, this was DELICIOUS. period. So good. I love you
Any idea as of why my pancakes were so dense? I followed the recipe exactly and very little bubbles came up
This recipe brightened my day. I made it for lunch and replaced the radishes with leftover roasted potatoes. I could have eaten the pancake alone with the creamy sauce. Thank you!
We really enjoyed these pancakes Laura! Thanks for the recipe.
I’ve used a number of soca recipes that have the batter ‘rest’ for various amounts of time. Can this batter be made ahead, and what’s the maximum hrs before it should be used?
If it can sit for 24 hrs, should the herbs be put in ahead, or added just before using?
Hi Rio,
I think you could let the batter sit up to 12 hours, covered int he refrigerator, so overnight would be the maximum amount of time. I would fold the herbs in right before you cook.
-L
This recipe is fantastic. A really delicious (large!) lunch and easy to make. We may have licked the plates…
I made this for dinner tonight and it was insanely delicious! All the flavors went together so beautifully. Can’t wait to make/eat it again :) thank you!
Great recipe! Thank you for the recipe and inspiration! I used leeks because didn’t have radishes and it was a perfect dinner for a cold night! I want to try them as little “tapas” -mini pancakes; the combination of chickpeas, fresh asparagus and leeks brought me to Spain ;) it is nice to travel with flavors! Thanks again, we enjoyed them to the last bite
You knocked it out of the park with this recipe! Loved it!
Thank you so much, Janice! So glad that you enjoyed it.
-L
I am definitely going to have to try these. I often try to make savoury pancakes that are gluten free but they never really turn out for me. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
This recipe is honestly foolproof! As long as you enjoy that chickpea flavour, you’re set.
-L
Laura, this is so stunning! I LOVE all the chickpea flour recipes descending everywhere this week! I can’t wait to try this version with all of your herbs, it looks so yummy! Couldn’t agree more that these meals are so satisfying and easy to pull together. Such a huge win.
Chickpea flour is my go-to for everything lately! Helps that I have a huge bag of the highest quality one available ;) ;) ;)
xo L
This was FABULOUS! I made a batch for a small group of artists today and added fresh avocado from the tree. Incredibly good. Doubled the recipe without a problem.
Adding avocado is perfect! One of my favourite accompaniments to chickpea pancakes typically. Thanks for this, Janet.
-L
Wow. This is exactly what I want right now. I was going to make socca today anyway – but I have ingredients for this and it sounds AMAZING! So spring appropriate. Seems meant to be.
It’s so lovely with all the extra herbs and spring goodness!
-L
That big pancake photo is gorgeous! Just ate your buckwheat and chickpea crepe from the book last night and yum! So good, easy, and filling :) who doesn’t want pancakes for dinner??
Pancakes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and sometimes snacks! We still eat those chickpea buckwheat ones ALL the time ;)
-L
Laura, My local extended family (brothers, sisters, their kids) and mine (5) are half/half vegan and traditional protein (meat, seafood) eaters. We have monthly family dinners, rotating from home to home. My family is vegan and thanks to your recipes and my well tested use of them, typically when they are at my home, only small amounts of meat are consumed. Why? Because the vegan recipes look so beautiful and interesting. The colors and varieties of vegetables, grains, etc. provide great choices. The non-vegan eaters are “graduating” to eating more of the pretty (and healthy) food. Can’t wait for your next cookbook, my First Mess cookbook is wearing out!
Thanks for your creativity.
Rebecca
Rebecca,
Thank you for this generous and thoughtful comment. I love that you are slowly bringing your extended family into the plant-based fold in such a positive way. It’s really encouraging!
-L
Looks delicious, looking forward to trying these pancakes. Your sauce looks thin like it was easy to drizzle over the vegetables and pancakes. I find anytime I am trying to make a tahini sauce it thickens up no matter how much water I add. Any tips?
Hi Sandra,
My sauce did thicken after I let it sit in the refrigerator. I make tahini and cashew butter-based sauces a lot and they always thicken quite a bit. It’s just something that happens naturally. I usually just add a splash of water and a tiny pinch of salt (to account for the slight flavour dilution) when I want the sauce to be pourable.
-L