I bought nigella seeds today so I had to find a recipe that called for them. A broad web search came up with chickpea pancakes. I was thrilled to find a recipe that called for chickpea flour since I had a bag of it I’d only used a couple of times since I didn’t like the flavor of it in gluten free bread (the original reason I bought it). One recipe recommended eating the pancakes with mushrooms so these recipes are what I created for dinner tonight. The pancakes would be great with curry dishes and the mushrooms would go well with beef or lamb dishes.

Savory Chickpea Pancakes

1 cup chickpea flour
2/3 cups water
1 Tbs grapeseed oil
1 tsp nigella seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

In a small frying pan, add nigella, fennel and cumin seeds. Dry toast for several minutes, stirring constantly, until the scents of the seeds are released. Once roasted, grind seeds in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, including spices, until smooth. Spoon out onto a preheated griddle. Cook until top of the pancake looks dry, about 3 minutes, and flip. Cook for another 3 minutes or until light brown.

Mushroom Relish

8 oz fresh mushrooms, any variety, diced
1/4 cup white wine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs grapeseed oil
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp sea salt

Add oil and mushrooms to a medium saucepot. Cook on medium until mushrooms are golden. Add garlic and cook for one minute. Add white white and cook down until evaporated. Add thyme, salt and vinegar and cook for another minute.