So Sorry Botswana, We Have to Move on to Brazil

So our next stop takes us to Botswana, but try as we did, we just couldn't find a recipe for pancakes in Botswana.  We did find that they are called diphaphatha.  After a couple of weeks of trying to find a recipe for diphatphatha without much luck, we decided to move on to Brazil.

We discovered that Brazil has a savory stuffed pancake.  As in Argentina, Brazilians call their pancakes panqueques.  They are not as thin as a crepe, but they also aren't as thick as a typical pancake that you would find in the United States.  So, without further ado, here is how to make Brazilian panqueques.

For the panqueques you'll need:

• 3 cups of flour
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons oil
• salt to taste

For the filling you'll need:

• 500 grams of ground beef
• 1 large tomato
• 1 large onion
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1 cup of tomato juice
• 1 beef bullion cube

You'll want to make the filling for the panqueques first.  We didn't use ground beef for our filling, instead we made it veggie style with ground soy crumbles.  First you'll need to chop your tomato and onion, and then mix it with your protein.

Next cook your protein, tomato, and onion mixture in a pan.  Once your protein is about halfway cooked, add the oregano, tomato juice, and bullion cube (you can use a veggie or chicken bullion cube as well, we used a veggie bullion cube).

At this point your filling should be filling the house with really yummy smells!  Once your filling is cooked, set it aside and begin to make the panqueques.

For the panqueques, mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl.  We beat the egg first before adding it, but that's just out of habit.  You can just put the eggs in and mix all of the ingredients in one bowl.

As you can see from the picture above the batter isn't as thin as a crepe batter would be, but it's not quite as thick as an American pancake batter either.

After you've mixed the batter, get your crepe pan, heat it, and lightly oil it.  Ladle a spoonful of batter in the middle of the crepe pan and swirl it around to spread the batter out.

Cook it until it is almost dry, then flip it and cook it on the other side.

Once it is cooked, you're ready to stuff the panquque.  Spoon about 3 tablespoons of filling at the edge of a panqueque, and then roll it as you would a burrito, just without folding over the ends.

Serve with beans and rice.

These things were fantastic and very filling!  They reheated very nicely, as I ate them the rest of the week for lunch.  Brazil, we will definitely be visiting you for pancakes again in the future!