Here are some photos documenting my latest supperclub “Home From Home” at my place in Croydon, a Mauritian lunch supperclub, the first one after returning back from the island with my full notebook of recipes! We had a lovely group of guests about 10 people, feeding them a variety of dishes. We then recently did a Mauritian Melange pop up at Jimmy’s Underground Restaurant at Dvine Wines in Clapham, for a full house!

Mauritian Gajaks- I created some delicious achar and chicken liver bruschetta style canapes for starters aswell as the usual must haves gateaux piment (split pea chilli cakes), shrimp croquettes and aubergine bringele (chickpea batter aubergine slices)

Our tender Cari Poulet (Mauritian Chicken Curry), Vegetable Kofta Curry and Fish Vindaye (the ever popular dish!) Served with our special rice, dhal pouri and tomato chilli satini… tempted yet?

Our dessert Rum Baba using Green Island Rum, homemade ice cream and pomegranate drizzle was a hit! This time I also served some homemade Alouda a refreshing drink with agar and basil seeds.

Mauritian Pop Up @ DVine Wines

A great location from my friend Jimmy who is opening up his underground restaurant beginning of June, it was a chance to guest host a night of Mauritian sunshine food at this location, making our own kitchen and getting down to creating some awesome food for guests!

Introducing the food to our guests for the night, for their first taste of Mauritian cuisine, sharing platters of starters with satini’s and chutneys. Followed by four to five variety of dishes for their mains served with rice and piment confit.  Finishing off with our popular rum bananas with a twist.. 

All in all a great event, evening, awesome feedback from guests and their first taste of Mauritian food, lovely wines to match and some tropical sega and colour to add to the evening.

National Gallery Pop Up! Last month, a grand opportunity!

We cooked for guests at our one off pop up at The National Gallery in London,a great establishment and fine place to be and introduce Mauritian cuisine Yummy Choo Style…

Its a real achievement seeing your food on the pass, ready to go for service.. great food, happy guests, one amazing experience!

If you are interested in coming to one please email me at yummychooeats@gmail.com to be added to our mailing list! We have more exciting events lined up next month…watch this space!

Selina xx

Here I continue my journey around the Island..

Taro Fritters or grated yam, fried in oil, crispy and delicious with hot chilli satini’s, great on the beach..

Our chilli hot coriander satini and fresh coconut chutney..

Homecooked Mauritian Chicken Curry- The perks of having family over on the island, this dish is served with the satinis and a cucumber/salad on the side. Simple!

;Mini Samossa’s always found on ever street corner in Mauritius, filled with tuna, veg, meat, potatoes or even cheese..

These babies, are called Roti wraps, or Roti Chaud, filled with butterbean cari and a little rougaille (tomato chilli sauce) or satinis (chutneys). The roti is so soft, freshly made on the spot, melt in your mouth texture. These unbelievably cost only 30p hence why I had about two.. or three. Stall holders were making gateaux piment (split pea chilli balls) with a soft interior and outta crunch.

Street Food style baguettes stuffed with chicken fricasse mixture (simply done with onions, soya sauce, chilli and salad)

Briani made on a large-scale, cooked for up to 300 people at a local family religious occasion, filled with peas, carrots, vegetables, potatoes, rice and laced with beautiful yellow colouring.

Sugarcane- With sugarcane fields neighbouring onto homes on the island, there is an abundance of it, here simply peeling the hard exterior reveals the sweet sugarcane inside, sucked can be a sweet treat.

Mine Frite- Or fried noodles with a mixture of seafood or chicken, fresh spring onions, soya sauce and eaten with chilli sauce or the addictive garlic water

A fun way to eat Gateaux Piment (split pea chilli balls) that are cooked with spring onion, chilli, coriander and fried. These crispy balls are sold in packets on the street, hot and crispy. Here for lunch, snack or even breakfast you can have gateaux piment in a fresh baguette with some Kraft cheese in there too!

Tandoori style fresh octopus, rich and red in colour and deep-fried a perfect gajak (starter) style meal with some rum or whiskey of course.. (that’s the Mauritian way)

A Mauritian meal.. chicken curry, Mauritian cucumber salad, chilli paste, saffron rice, greens and a lime pickle to complete the meal (home cooked by my family)

Making fresh hot faratas, the dough is left to rest then rolled into itself with oil and rolled out again, cooked for a few minutes on a griddle

For the final picture in this blog post.. because I have overloaded you with amazing food! (AND I’m very hungry) a traditional home cooked Mauritian poisson cari (fish curry) cooked with spices, using this flat fish here it doesn’t break apart, is soft and tender still in the curry sauce..

Until the next blog post in this series… enjoy, savour and any questions feel free to ask me!

Selina x

Tom Aikens was one of the youngest chefs to be awarded two Michelin stars in the UK. Last month he cooked up a tropical storm of his creative modern French cooking for guests to attend his Masterclass at the Royal Palm hotel in Mauritius. Selina was extremely lucky enough to attend.

For three days only Tom worked with the prestigious Royal Palm to source the island’s local suppliers, seasonal ingredients and to re-claim his signature dishes and give them a Mauritian-inspired twist.

Tom commented; “I’m very much looking forward to visiting Royal Palm and working alongside Chef Michel de Matteis. It is a great honour to partner with a leading gastronomic hotel and have the opportunity to offer guests my style of cuisine with a Mauritian twist …I’m sure I will learn a few things along the way too!”

So lucky enough to attend one of his classes on arriving to the towering gates of the Royal Palm Hotel in Grand Baie, its nothing short of spectacular. The serene hotel, quiet and elegant is renowned for the best 5 star service on the Island.

A morning class, with only two other guests we are ushered into Chef’s whites and aprons to meet the modest Michelin chef waiting for us in the kitchen to re-create his special menu. His delicate vibrant green Pea Mousse, Pistachio Risotto and a Panacotta.

Thrilled and excited we didn’t hang around to get started, watching the chef proceed to cook his dishes, regaling us with tales of his career and promptly answering any questions we fired at him.        

While making his pea mousse Tom exclaims “Fresh peas are better for presentation, however you can use frozen for puree” using ice cold water to cool it down (especially needed cooking in hot temperatures in Mauritius). Fresh double cream is poured into the cooled puree exuding a bright green colour.

In the meantime he shifts to making the pistachio risotto prompting me to ask about the age old to stir or not to stir method, which Tom believes “it’s not necessary to constantly be stirring although can prove a more creamier risotto” arms to the rest then. He adds white wine to the same level as the rice, which is he claims the right amount to use. You can add anything to the risotto at the end be it ” making a red wine risotto with beets and shallots baked with olive oil, thyme and sugar” He proceeds to fold in mascarpone here instead of his recommended crème fraiche for a lighter result.

While cooking he takes another pan with the strawberries, mint, bashed lemongrass to release flavour and the all important Mauritian vanilla in sugar water and poaches for a dressing to the panacotta. This creamy dessert is made up of sugar, cream, milk and vanilla, set in moulds in the fridge.

There’s no denying that the work that goes into every single element of each dish is executed to accuracy and perfection. After an hour of cooking and talking as each dish is ready Tom dishes up plates to precision for our pleasure and tasting.

The pea mousse is intricately piped into the pods they came from (he even mentioned a chef that used to pipe the actual pod shells!) it looks elegant and beautiful.

The dish excels in letting the fresh produce speak for itself, a light mousse starter to the intriguing pistachio risotto coming our way.

He finishes off the last touches of chopped pistachios, lemon basil, lemon and parmesan cheese with a drizzle of oil. Another delicate dish, perfectly cooked rice, with an amazing growing tang of the lemon basil, adding a fresh oiled herb note with the creamy comfort of the rice. It was pretty damn good, not to mention I forget to go for seconds.

The final touch to this amazing experience was the panacotta, creamy, indulgent and light with a silken smooth consistency, layered over with fresh poached strawberries with a lemongrass hint and intensity of the mint.

I was curious to find out about Tom’s view on Mauritian cuisine and semi-shocked to discover he hasn’t tried any traditional food since being on the Island. Enlightening him as its part of my heritage and full time job I quickly rectified this saying I would cook for him when back in London. Him, to my surprise, agreeing and me giving myself the ‘I can’t believe I just suggested that’ tap on the forehead.

We were kindly given some closely guarded recipes by the chef himself to take home. Looking at them there are so many elements to some dishes that really I would rather prefer to have the expert chef himself cook and I eat.

Leaving after a great morning at the Royal Palm hotel, still stunned by the exclusivity of the hotel, we thanked Tom for a lovely morning. I then went back into the hustle and bustle of the streets of Mauritius to come back down to earth.

To find out more about Tom Aikens future Masterclasses visit his website. Visit Great British Chefs for more of Tom Aikens’ recipes to make at home.

http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/community/tom-aikens-masterclass-mauritius-royal-palm

Yes! The sun is out in London, it feels like Spring is finally here, lets hope it lasts! In light of this glorious occasion I have decided to share with you all some amazing Mauritian-inspired recipes and here my Black Sesame Seared Tuna with Mango Coriander Salsa is great for a spring time lunch!

Black Sesame Tuna:

1 Tuna Steak

3 tbsps of Black Sesame Seeds

1 Garlic Clove, minced

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to season

For the Mango Salsa:

2 Small Spring Onions, finely chopped

1 Small Mango, chopped

Fresh Coriander, small handful of leaves, finely chopped

1 Lime, cut into wedges

1 Tomato, medium-sized, chopped

1 Red Chilli, finely chopped

To serve- lime wedges, chopped red chilli, freshly washed salad leaves

1) Add the chopped mango,spring onions, coriander, squeeze of lime juice, tomato and red chilli into a bowl, give a gentle mix, dress with a drizzle of olive oil, set aside

2) For the Tuna, on a plate, scatter the black sesame seeds, mince garlic , olive oil, salt and pepper, give it a little mix so it’s a paste, flatten out around the plate

3)Place your tuna steak on the black sesame mix, press down gently so the sesame sticks to the tuna, turn over and do on the other side. Place in the fridge for 10 minutes

4) Heat a griddle pan to medium heat, add the tuna steak on one side, for 1 minute each side to just sear the crust. Tuna should still be pink in the centre

5) Take out place on a board, using a knife, cut slices of the tuna, about 1 inch in width, so you have long strip of tuna.

6) Plate up! Some salad leaves,  on the plate, add the tuna on the top, with a couple of spoons of the mango salsa on the side, add lime wedges and small flecked pieces of red chilli over the tuna and serve.

Enjoy the sunshine! x

I was curious to visit the renowned hotel of Shanti Maurice in the South of the Island near Souillac. Who offer an experience to guests called “Grandma’s Kitchen” which is a supperclub based at a Mauritian family’s home, enlightening hotel guests with a home cooked authentic taste of Mauritius that you would not be able to experience unless you knew people there yourself! So in itself this was a great dining concept, one I was eager to experience (I would have been very shocked if I had ended up at my own Grandma’s Kitchen!)

On arriving to this boutique resort, secluded down quiet lanes along the Southern coast, I was very excited to meet Chef Willibald Reinbacher, the head chef at the hotel before Grandma’s Kitchen and he was eager to show me his herb garden and discuss the concept and philosophy behind the cuisine.

Alongside the lush gardens of Shanti Maurice lie the bountiful herb and vegetable garden, providing the Chef with fresh, organic ingredients for dishes. It hones over thirty varieties of herbs and vegetables depending on season; from citronelle, persil, basil, mint, coriander to beans,cabbage, lemongrass, bananas, chillies to mango, lychee and papaya trees.

Chef Willi explained that ” we offer simple, comfort food, flavour speaks for itself” it is adamant that he is passionate about offering guests Mauritian inspired cuisine, using ingredients sourced locally. They have regulars that return to the restaurant, to come back for the food, offering dishes that people can be familiar with but they have that exciting modern creole twist.

Some of his dishes included a Creole Gazpachio, Duck Salmi, Sea Urchin Salad, Lobster Gateaux Piment,Souillac Duck with an Orange Jus and Ginger Gnocchi to Cassava Chips. The cuisine in itself had my mouthwatering, mind working and totally inspired after our conversation. Its humbling to want to talk for ages with people who share the same passion for food especially when its your own specialist cuisine.

Being so hungry and re-grouping with my family after a quick cocktail in the bar we headed to Grandmas Kitchen with other guests, in total 12 people. In a van we were taken to a local family based ten minutes away, where a family was awaiting us to welcome in their home!

We greeted all the family.. well like family really and famous Grandma was there too (she’s a star in her own right!)

They began this concept 2 years ago, on November 2011, Shanti Maurice was awarded with the prestigious ‘Best Initiative in Clients Experience’ Award by Worldwide Hospitality Awards 2011, for the ‘Grandma’s Kitchen’ experience.

Initially I was expecting it to be a cookery demo/class where you see the family prepare or cook and then sit to dinner but still a lovely opportunity to meet new people from across the globe. The family wanted to explain that every time is the same for the guests, so people from all over the world can have the same true experience of Mauritian homecooking. That the concept is about bringing people together.

Being seated outside to an arrival drink which delighted arrived in pineapples (abundant on the island) and laced with rum, what’s not to like? Accompanied in true Mauritian style with some gajaks (fried street food snacks) served with satini’s (coriander/coconut, tamarind and chilli)

After having our snacks we were led into the house at a decorated table, beautifully ready to seat the 12 of us. Our hosts served us our meals as we went along, from a traditional Cari Poulet- Chicken Curry,cooked with vegetables, mustard and tomatoes , Fish Masala with aubergine curry, Lamb cooked in herbs served with rice, beans and cabbage slaw.

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The whole evening was lovely having wines with the main meal was a welcome accompaniment, the food was like homecooked traditional cuisine, being from the same heritage and having experience doing this from home, I realised the food could have been executed slightly better, only in small attributes like spicing, seasoning and execution of cooking the meats. But I think thats the food critic in me! The plates were portioned controlled so you got a little taste of everything. I think tourists would appreciate the meal, if never having tried it before.

However, our family hosts were very hospitable, very intrigued about the guests, shared stories and we even made connections with my family back in London. ( Mauritians..eh?!)  Someone always knows someone!

The dessert to finish was a frozen yoghurt with Grenadine/Passionfruit syrup, simple, refeshing and light, but I was hoping for something a bit more Mauritian?

Saying that it was interesting to visit a Supperclub style event over in the homeland, a great option for those who want to try something a little different, amongst all the luxury on the Island, it gets you out to the suburbs, villages and mingle with the locals, I would recommend it to anyone going over there.

We leave the home hours later with a Grandmas Kitchen cookery book, packed full with recipes, a memory of our time together and new contacts for the future.

A Culinary Tour of Mauritius, my island and part of my heritage..an amazing experience after visiting more than 5 years later. With a new head on my shoulders, looking for food inspiration to bring back to the UK and cook for guests at our supper clubs and pop up events.

On first reaching there we stayed towards the East of the Island in Trou d ‘Eau Douce heading to my uncle’s local renowned restaurant popular among locals and tourists plus regulars. He dishes up some fresh, hot gajaks (du pain frier, gateaux piment, bhajias) with a dip of chilli sauce..a welcome start to the glorious food on this Island.

The best food in Mauritius is home cooked, local, family recipes which I lucky enough had access to eat and pry knowledge from my family members! Above a trip to my nan’s who cooked up some amazing dishes (obviously) a Kutcha (pickle) above. Nothing is complete without some soft, light dhall pouri, rougaille and curry grois pois. Traditional in homes in Mauritius..

Beautifully fried fish, simple addition to any Mauritian meal ..

Mine Frite ( Fried Noodles) cooked with tofu, vegetables a quick dish

The most delicious thing ever! Sweet rice pudding in dhall pouri – versatile dessert or snack, served in puri at weddings, but dhall pouri is something extra special

A Trip to Flacq Market- Selling fresh vegetables, crafts, coconut water, drinks and snacks to locals. The Flacq Market is the largest outdoor market in Mauritius. This extremely colorful market attracts a large number of people. Some of the markets stalls open here every day,  the best days to visit the market are on Wednesday and Sunday when all the stalls are opened.

The most refreshing fresh coconut water you can have with coconut flesh in it..

Fresh vegetables in the market, local specialities to the region, calbasse, okra, marrows, cucumbers..

Fruit is commonly served with chilli sauce especially pineapple for that extra heat!

Fresh Alouda- A refreshing creamy milk drink using agar strips, basil seeds, vermicelli, comes in pink, greens or yellows!

Cakes sold street style.. layers of puff pastry and custard, cakes are influenced from French pastries and cakes to Indian sweets.

A big pot of fresh hot chicken briani being sold on the street in Mauritius..I wouldn’t mind one of these pots!

Served with hot chilli satini paste and cooling cucumber & red onion salad.

To be continued….

In the meantime a few clippings on Mauritian Cuisine by Yummy Choo Eats in the last couple of months! Spreading the word…

The Good Food Guide:

http://www.thegoodfoodguide.co.uk/news/mauritian-morsels  

The Guardian Cook Section- March 2013

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/mar/16/delicious-from-mauritius-get-togethers

This week I ventured with food loving friends Feel Good Foodbook, Mondomulia & Felcity Spector to the popular quaint joint called Honey & Co. Based in the quiet back streets of Warren Street, this small restaurant/cafe light and airy, already packed when we reach there having had to make a reservation to secure our place.

Perusing the menu, whats not to like? Dishes such as falafel, lamb humus, pomegranate chicken stew on cracked wheat to the devilishly amazing looking homemade cakes perched overlooking the counter.

Wil a simple one sheet A4 menu, with starters priced from £5 to mains on average £10 the flavours of Middle Eastern spices waft around the room. Hot mint tea is enough to heat the soul after another blustery UK day, we chose falalel for starts with hummus dip with feta drenched in olive oil, red speckled paprika and the fluffiest pitta bread to dip and scoop.

The falafel crisp, hot fresh from fried its spiked with strong cumin, perfect for the hummus. The feta crumbled with the paprika on those fluffy warm white pitta were a pleasing starter, all eaten none left, unavoidable to dip and soak the last of the olive oil on the bowl.

Deciding to share dishes, rather than be greedy with one dish, we order another three mains; the roasted cauliflower topped with tahini, pomegranate molasses skewered chicken on cracked bulgur wheat and lamb mince on humus accompanied with a green sauce (that reminded my alot of the coriander satini I make at home)

All dishes presented wonderfully, vibrant in greens, pinks, colours you may associate with the flavourful vibrancy of spices and fresh ingredients used. It was an amalgamation of some of the best freshest tasting Middle Eastern food I’ve had in a long time. I could have eaten more, in fact if I was not careful I would have eaten my friends’ share.. as we battled for the last bits on the plates. None was left.

The chicken molasses was so tender and soft, with jewels of pomegranate sweetness, with fresh coriander, cumin and a haze of other spices running through the cracked wheat. Its healthy and amazing.

The roasted cauliflower intrigued us all, sometimes not always getting exciting dishes from this vegetable, the combination was surprising. Doused in lashings of tahini sauce, dusted with herbs and spices a great vegetarian dish.

The lamb mince dressed the fresh hummus on a sizeable plate, with a green coriander style sauce on the side, adding a fresh zing of herbs and colour to the dipping plate, accompanied with more fluffy pitta, you can’t go wrong!

Finally after eyeing up the cakes from the beginning of the meal we had the luxury of deciding which to delve into. We went for a marzipan cake topped with cream and beautiful sweet, tart rhubarb. So moist, syrupy, divine this cake was beautiful.

We had to go for the chocolate marbled bread like cake perched on the counter, which I now have found out is called a Chocolate Krantz cake from Jerusalem. A must try, swirled with decadent dark chocolate marbled into the bread, its addictive, indulgent.. but you just cant stop. We left no traces of it ever being there..

I highly recommend to go or a re-visit is a must!

http://www.honeyandco.co.uk/

25a Warren Street, London W1, 020-7388 6175. Open Mon-Sat, 7.30am-10.30pm. Three-course meal with drinks and service, around £30 a head.

Morning! It’s a Saturday, after a one of our most successful Croydon supperclub night’s yesterday AND first SEAFOOD supper. It was awesome, such a happy feeling still didn’t get my lie in  but having a cuppa with breakfast over Saturday Kitchen is still quite good!

I wanted to share with you this morning one of my recipes I cooked last night, in the aim to bring a little bit of Mauritian beach side bbq living, but using my griddle pan because lets face it, it was pretty darn cold outside for a bbq! The picture above, shows two types of marinade, one was our traditional coriander, chilli combination and the other is one I didn’t make last night but resulted in a sweet coconut flecked grilled prawn.

Coriander Grilled Prawns with a Mango Salsa

20-25 large raw prawns, peeled with heads and tails intact, cleaned
2 ripe mangoes, chopped
2 long red chillies, chopped
3 spring onions, sliced
1 red onion finely chopped
1 bunch coriander, stems and leaves chopped
1/2 bunch mint, leaves chopped
125ml (1/2 cup) olive oil, squeeze of lime, salt & pepper to season

Firstly, clean the prawns, squeeze over some lime.

Place chillies, spring onions, onion, coriander, mint, 80ml oil in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer half the salsa to a bowl and set aside for later.

Pour over prawns. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to marinate.

Place remaining salsa in processor and process with remaining 2 tbs oil and mango chunks for a smooth paste or you can choose to leave it chunkier.  Set this aside.

Skewer the prawns alternatively threading with peppers or other vegetables if you wish.
Heat a griddle pan, grill or bbq (if your lucky!) to medium-high heat. Cook prawns for 3 minutes each side or until just cooked and golden. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with reserved mango salsa. AH-MAZING!

Have a lovely weekend!

Selina x

No it’s not just a fruit salad, but this recipe has a slight twist to make it more interesting! With infused spices, sweet syrup and a tangy lime syllabub to eat it with, it’s a perfect dessert for a loved one or super  easy to rustle up for one.

Using tropical fruits from Mauritius normally, but you can add what you fancy, I found the best combination is below.. I added the strawberries for some bright colour!

Spiced Exotic Fruit Salad

Ingredients for 6-8 people

1 Pineapple, cored, peeled, cut into cubes or small pieces

1 packet Strawberries, cut into halves

1 Papaya, peeled and  cut into cubes

5 Kiwi, peeled, cut into rounds

2 Bananas, peeled, cut into rounds (do this last minute)

2 Mangoes, peeled, cut into small pieces/cubes

Fresh or canned lychees (optional) or any other exotic fruit

Spiced Syrup

250g caster sugar

150ml water

2 vanilla pods & seeds

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp fennel seeds

5 cardamom pods, split

5 cloves

Lime Syllabub

568 ml Double Cream

3-4 Limes, zest and juice

3 tbsp icing sugar

1 vanilla pod, seeds only

Firstly chop, dice and prepare all the fruit minus the bananas, place on to a serving platter.

Start making the syrup, put the sugar, half the water, vanilla pod, cinnamon sticks, fennel, cardamom, cloves into a small heavy based saucepan over a medium to high heat. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, once it starts to bubble stop stirring and let it turn golden brown in colour

Stand back from the pan, stir in the remaining water, be careful as it will splash! Stir again to dissolve ay caramel, make sure it’s a golden colour, or coats the back of a spoon in consistency. Take off the heat and let it cool slightly.

Pour the syrup over the fruit and leave to cool completely, then cover with cling film and chill in the fridge until serving.

Make the syllabub, beat the cream, lime juice, zest, vanilla seeds and icing sugar together, till soft peaks are formed. Taste test on whether to add more sugar or lime for flavour. Chill until serving.

When ready to serve take out, chop the bananas over the fruit and serve on the platter with the chilled creamy syllabub.

Delicious!

By Selina Periampillai

Get your frying pans at the ready folks, February 12 2013 is Shrove Tuesday, another year has come round again when pancake action is hot on our heels. Compelling people to cook up some crepes, pancakes; loaded with whatever toppings we wish for breakfast, lunch or whipping up something fun with the kids.

Shrove Tuesday marks the last day before Lent, traditionally a period of abstinence, associated with clearing your cupboards of goods such as sugar, fats and eggs. It’s commonly known as Pancake Day because it represents a good opportunity to use such ingredients ahead of the fasting period.

With the possibility of Pancake Day dying out, Lyle’s Golden Syrup in the news recently have signed on The Fabulous Baker Brothers to re-ignite the public’s love for pancakes, will see if the ploy works. Here are a few recipes for Pancake Day, healthy morning breakfast alternatives, not just for this day but more regularly as part of a normal breakfast routine.

Basic Crepe Recipe (Adapted from Nigel Slater here)

50g butter melted, plus extra for cooking

100g plain flour

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

350ml milk

Pinch of salt

Melt most of the butter in a small pan and leave it to cool slightly. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl with a good pinch of salt. Drop in the egg and the egg yolk. Pour in the milk, whisking gently as you go and the melted butter (should be the consistency of cream)

Melt some butter for frying in a pan and swirl the pan to cover the bottom. Ladle the batter into the frying pan. Working quickly, tilt the pan so that the batter runs all over the surface, making a round shape. The base should be covered in batter, but not quite thin enough to see through.

Let the crepe cook for a minute or so until the underside is golden and comes easily away from the pan. Lift one edge up with a palette knife and flip it gently over. The base should be cooked in 1 minute, lift it carefully on to a plate. Brush the pan with a little more melted butter and continue until you have used all the batter.

For sweet pancakes, add 1 tbsp of caster sugar to the mixture. Here I have served them with, a dollop of yoghurt, a medley of dragon fruit, strawberry, mango and banana for a tropical breakfast.

Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients

125g plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 egg

250ml buttermilk

50g butter, melted

These take less than 15 minutes to make, for 3-4 servings

Lightly grease a frying pan, mix flour, salt, bicarbonate together in a bowl, add the egg, buttermilk, butter and stir lightly, it doesn’t matter if there are lumps in it, it should be a thick batter.

Ladle a bit of the batter into the pan, you want smaller pancakes not large, thin ones. Use the back to spread the mixture, cook lightly on each side. Finish off with banana, maple syrup, berries or spiced nuts.

Some other Yummy Choo pancake recipes here.. because we do LOVE them so..

http://yummychooeats.com/2011/11/02/buttermilk-pancakes-fruit-cinnamon-spiced-nuts/

Apple & Pear Pancakes

http://yummychooeats.com/2011/09/30/an-indulgent-breakfast-apple-pear-pancakes/

Blintz- Berry Compote & Cream Cheese

http://yummychooeats.com/2012/02/21/blintz-cream-cheese-fresh-berry-compote-for-pancake-day/

Happy Flippin!

Selina x