Baghrir- Moroccan Sweet Semolina Pancakes

Baghrir Recipe with step by step photos

Ramdan is ahead, all of our friends started their Ramadan fasting already. So this time, I wish to post a recipe for them. A sweet Moroccan pancake, Beghrir. It is not only sweet but also soft, delicate and spongy. We can consider this as another form of Muttayappam (A maida based pancake prepared by Kerala Muslim community). We are also using maida in it but only a small portion and much easier preparation compared to  muttayappam.

For preparing beghrir, here I am using active dry yeast (commonly available in supermarkets) which is dissolved  in lukewarm water for about ten minutes before preparation. If you have instant yeast, you can skip this step and can put directly into the flour while mixing. As we are using yeast, we need a hot climate to aid fermentation within the time ,which I mentioned here.

If these pancakes are perfectly cooked, they will come out non-sticky, soft, spongy and will be riddled with so many tiny holes. Because of this, beghrir is also known as thousand hole pan cakes. Did you noticed the above picture? Is it looks like muttayappam ?  These holes appear only when we cook this on medium to high flame.

Baghrir is usually served with butter honey sauce, but we always like to have this with spicy Indian curries. It is also so delicious with sweetened coconut milk.

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Baghrir Recipe | How to make Moroccan Pancake baghrir

Soft and fluffy pancakes

Preparation time: 45 minutes | Cooking time: 15 minutes | Total time: 1 hour

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Ingredients

• 1 cup semolina or rawa
• 1 cup all purpose flour or maida
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• Salt as needed
• 2.5 cups of lukewarm water 

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How to make baghrir - Video

Baghrir Recipe with step by step photos

1. Ten minute before you start preparation, dissolve yeast, and sugar in 1/2 cups of lukewarm water. Leave this aside. Use of lukewarm water is very important. The water should not be too hot or cold. The temperature of water and presence of sugar alters the activation process. After ten minutes, the yeast will be like this, a thin froth will appear on top. 
   
2. Now take all the dry ingredients (semolina, all purpose flour, sugar and salt) in a bowl and give a nice stir.
   
3. Break the egg and and beat slightly till the white and yolk combines together. Presence of egg alters the texture of beghrior.
   
4. Add egg.
   
5. Then pour the activated yeast
   
6. Mix well by adding lukewarm water until you get a thin free flowing consistency. Less water will give in sticky pancakes. So make sure that you have added enough water.
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7. Pour this into a blender and blend this till you get smooth batter. There should be no lumps in the batter. So blend this well. Keep this covered for 30 to 40 minutes for fermentation.
   
8. After the resting period, sometimes, you will find the liquid and solid portion separated. So stir it well before use.
   
9. Heat a pan on high flame, when the pan is hot, you can pour the batter. Pour one spoonful of batter. Do not spread this with spoon. The batter should spread itself. If the batter is not spreading by itself, that means less quantity of water. So add more water. Never turn the flame to low, it should be kept between medium to high for a perfectly cooked beghrior. Low flame will not support the formation of pores over it. So heat is also important.
   
10. Once the batter dries up and the pancakes cooks completely, you can remove this from flame. Serve hot with butter honey sauce or any spicy non-veg gravy.
    

Baghrir recipe -Tips

1. I use active dry yeast here. If you have instant yeast, you can skip the activation step and can be directly add while mixing the batter.
2. The presence of sugar and use of lukewarm water is very important in the activation of yeast. Cold or hot water will not support the activation.
3. The batter should be liquidy, other wise you will get a sticky pancake.
4. Cook on medium to high flame for perfectly cooked pancakes.