This article is about the food. For the Irish style pancakes with honey, see Soda bread. For the Jack Johnson song, see In Between Dreams.
For the album by the Darkness, see Hot Cakes. The pancake’s shape and structure varies worldwide. In the United Kingdom, pancakes are often unleavened and resemble a crêpe. Commercially prepared pancake mixes are available in some countries. Like waffles, commercially prepared frozen pancakes are available from companies like Eggo. When buttermilk is used in place of or in addition to milk, the pancake develops a tart flavor and becomes known as a buttermilk pancake, which is common in Scotland and the US. Pancakes may be served at any time of the day or year with a variety of toppings or fillings, but they have developed associations with particular times and toppings in different regions.
In North America, they are typically considered a breakfast food and serve a similar function to waffles. The Ancient Romans called their fried concoctions alia dulcia, Latin for “other sweets”. These were much different from what are known as pancakes today. Lahoh is a staple in Somalia, Djibouti, and Yemen. Lahoh is a pancake-like bread originating in Somalia, Djibouti and Yemen. It is often eaten along with honey, ghee and tea. In Kenya, pancakes are eaten for breakfast as an alternative to bread.
They are served plain with the sugar already added to the batter to sweeten them. Kenyan pancakes are similar to English pancakes and French crepes. A “pancake” in South Africa is a crêpe. Chinese pancakes may be either savoury or sweet, and are generally made with dough rather than batter. The dough mostly consists of water, flour, and vegetable oil. In Japan, okonomiyaki are made from flour, egg, cabbage and a choice of ingredients. Oyaki are pancakes often stuffed with anko, eggplant, or nozawana.
The Japanese have also created a soufflé-style cooked-in rings-pancake, which is taller and fluffier than the American pancakes it is inspired by, and found in Singapore, Toronto, Australia, and the United Kingdom. India has many styles of pancake. Variations range from their taste to the main ingredient used. All are made without the use of added raising agents. Pancakes prepared using a north Indian cooking style are known as cheela. Sweet cheela are made using sugar or jaggery with a wheat flour-based batter.
Dosa, appam, neer dosa and uttapam are pancakes made in a south Indian cooking style. In Western India, the multi-grain thalipeeth is popular. In Goa, a traditional crêpe-like pancake known as alebele or alle belle is eaten at tea-time. It is usually filled with jaggery and coconut. In Eastern India, malpuas are sometimes prepared in the form of pancakes.
In some regions of Middle India, thin green Cheelas are made with ginger or garlic leaves’ paste, and rice flour batter. In Nepal, the Newar people have a savoury rice pancake called chataamari cooked with meat or eggs on top. This dish is also known as the Newari Pizza, as it is served and eaten similarly to American pizza. Besides being served with meat or eggs, it can also be served plain. In Pakistani cuisine, rishiki is a pancake, slightly thicker than a crepe, which is made from whole wheat flour, water and eggs and usually served with honey. It is widely consumed in the far north and is a staple of Chitrali cuisine. Banana pancakes are a menu item in backpacker-oriented cafes in Southeast Asia.
This has given rise to the term Banana Pancake Trail or Banana Pancake Circuit, given to the growing routes travelled by backpackers across Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Pancakes in Indonesia are called panekuk. The Indonesian pancake serabi is made from rice flour and coconut milk. The dish is often served with kinca, a thick, brown-colored coconut sugar syrup.
The traditional Malay pancake in Malaysia and Singapore is called Pek Nga or Lempeng Kelapa. The traditional Burmese pancake is called bein mont, and is a traditional Burmese snack or mont. In the Philippines, traditional dessert pancakes include salukara, a rice pancake made from glutinous rice, eggs, and coconut milk. The American style of pancakes is also a common offering in fast-food establishments in the Philippines, usually as a breakfast fare, as well as in specialty restaurants like IHOP and the local restaurant brand Pancake House. Eastern-Slavic cuisines have a long tradition of pancake cooking and include a variety of pancake types.