Vegan and naturally gluten-free.

Puda are Gujarati style crepes. Growing up, rainy cool days treats were coal fire baked Hondvo, methi na gota, or the when the puda batter hit the hot tavi and made the sizzling sound, everyone knew it’s time for breakfast. And thicka (spicy chickpea crepes) and garya puda (jaggery sweetened whole wheat crepes) with an assortment of pickles, sweet chundo and lasanyu marchu and teapot filled with never ending adu wari chai was the ultimate breakfast treat! 

My weekend mornings would be filled with the rhythmic squeaking on one of the three wooden antique swings where I would sit with my favorite masi/aunt whose childhood nickname by me was Tun,  a hot cup of steaming chai between us, we would roll up pudas into cigar rolls and dip them into the hot chai. Our breakfast would run into lunch, whilst she gave a 6 year old her undivided attention, listening to my gibberish as if it was gospel…. Oh those mornings!

In a world where my Saturdays were my Sundays, and where Sundays were filled with driving an hour each way to Sunday School,  sports activities, this pandemic has brought so much relief (online Sunday school, no activities) that I am able to recreate these lazy Sundays for my kids.

These savory or sweet crepes or puda’s are made with minimal ingredients, often considered the poor man’s substitute to deep-fried delicacies. My Mum used to make the garya puda, the jaggery sweetened whole wheat crepes, with fennel seeds and fresh cracked black pepper for me, she would crisp up the edges so they were almost burnt, ah the sweet crunchy edges were to die for!

Her favorite way to eat these was to lay the sweet crepe on top of the savory one, roll them up into a cigar and dip them in chai. The savory crepes/thicka puda are the vegetarians’ version of the omelet, at least that’s what my Mum and Masi told me, since I didn’t eat eggs. They are gluten-free and vegan and one of my go-to breakfast recipes when hosting gluten-free friends.

The recipes I share here are how my Grannie and Mum made it, recipes and traditions that are passed over from generation to generation and that I hope the next one will preserve… If you try them and they bring a little sizzle to your life, do let me know.

Thicka Puda/ Savoury Chickpea Crepes (Vegan & Gluten-Free)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Gram flour/chana no lot
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 teaspoon hot green chili paste
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon amjo/carom seeds
• 2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• A handful of chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon oil
• Extra oil for shallow frying
  

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, sieve Gram/besan flour, turmeric powder and salt, then add carom/ajwain, ginger, garlic green chili pastes, and water to make a medium-pancake/heavy-cream like batter.

2. Add the onions, cilantro and 1 tsp oil, and then whisk the batter to incorporate air into the batter for soft and fluffy puda’s, making sure there are no lumps.

3. Let the batter rest for 15 minutes.

4. Heat a non-stick pan/ tavi/ griddle on medium flame and grease it lightly

5. Spread the batter as you would for crepes, a ladle full of batter ( 1/4 cup or a bit more) to make a 4-inch circle, spreading it out thinly and pouring a teaspoon of oil at the edges until it crisps up a little with some brown spots on both sides and little holes appear.

6. Cook on one side, flip over, spread some oil and cook until they are golden brown on both sides.

7. Serve hot with sweet mango chundo, a hot pickle or plain yoghurt.

Garya Puda/ Sweet Whole Wheat Crepes (Vegan)

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour
1 Cup +3/4 cup water
½ cup grated Gur/ jaggery/ unrefined cane sugar
1 tablespoon fennel seeds/ Variyāḷī
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan, add water and grated jaggery, and heat until jaggery is melted, then set aside to cool down.

2. In a bowl, add wheat flour, fennel seeds, and freshly cracked black pepper.

3. Add cooled jaggery water- straining it as you pour it in to remove any impurities, mix well
4. Add required ¾ water and make a smooth batter with the consistency of heavy cream, making sure there are no lumps.
5. Cover and rest batter for 15-20 minutes so wheat flour is properly soaked.
6. Heat a non-stick pan/ tavi/ griddle on medium flame and grease it lightly
7. Pour the batter (1/4 cup or bit more) into the pan spreading it consistently in a circle.
8. Cook puda on medium heat and once the top is cooked, flip over and cook on the other side until golden brown on both sides with crisp edges.