Thick spongy buckwheat pancakes sweetened with jaggery and cardamom — the festival pancake of Himachal Pradesh made for Navratri and harvest celebrations.
Ingredients
1.5 cups buckwheat flour (kuttu ka atta)
1/2 cup milk (or water for a fasting version)
3 tbsp jaggery — dissolved in 3 tbsp warm water
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
Ghee for cooking
Method
Combine buckwheat flour, baking powder, cardamom and a pinch of salt in a bowl.
Add dissolved jaggery water and milk. Whisk until a smooth, moderately thick batter forms — similar to thick pancake batter.
Rest the batter 10 minutes.
Heat a tawa or non-stick pan on medium. Add 1/2 tsp ghee.
Pour a ladle of batter onto the tawa. Spread gently to a round 12 to 14 cm wide and 1 cm thick — aktori is thicker than regular pancakes.
Cook on medium for 3 to 4 minutes until the top surface is mostly set and bubbles form throughout. Flip.
Cook 2 to 3 more minutes on the second side until golden.