I am not a US citizen, but 4th of July does bring a surge of patriotism, a sense of joy, sense of being and a big thank you to our fore fathers who fought for us and off-course the Almighty for the gift of freedom.

For me, it a reminder of the independence, the freedom struggle and finally the birth of my country, India. For all she went through, and for all her short comings, I take great pride in being born there. After 3 continents and countless countries, India is like home coming for me. The very feeling when the airplane touches down at the New Delhi Airport, is just inexplicable. It has to be felt. It is one place, I feel most welcome and for me India, is like that mother, waiting for her children, with her arms outstretched and I become a child all over again.

Having said that, I have great regards for countries that fought for their freedom and United States is a fitting example. So here we are celebrating  the Birth of a nation and yes, not to mention the first  official long weekend of the Summer. Since it was independence day, we decided to go all American with a traditional All American dish, Pancakes with honey and strawberry syrup. Very easy to make and you can prepare the dry mix ahead so all you need to do is add a eggs and buttermilk/ milk and you are sorted.

This recipe has been adopted from Nigella Lawson’s Homemade Instant Pancake

Ingredients:

For the Pancake Mix

• 600 grams plain flour
• 3 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 40 grams caster sugar (or vanilla sugar)

For the Batter  to each 150g / 1 cup of pancake mix, add and whisk together

• 1 large egg
• 250 ml semi skimmed milk (or full fat) or I used Buttermilk, I feel that gives a more smooth texture. Go with what suits your taste buds..
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

For the strawberry syrup

• 15 strawberries (medium size) washes and halved
• 2 table spoon of honey/maple syrup
• I table spoon of sugar.
• Wizz all the ingredients together in a blender and the syrup is ready. If you find it too thick add a little bit of water, for the desired consistency.

How:

• For the Pancake mix: Mix all the ingredients together and store in a jar
• When ready to make the pancakes, proceed as follows: Heat a flat griddle or pan with no oil.
• Spoon drops of 1½-2 tablespoons ( mine were slightly bigger as I used 5 table spoon) of batter onto the hot griddle or into the pan and, when bubbles appear on the surface of the little pancakes, flip them over to make them golden brown on both sides. A couple of minute or so a side should do it.

Note:

Should make about 15 pancakes, each about 8cm in diameter. ( if you use 1.5 -2 table spoon) in case you use 4-5 tablespoon it would be roughly, 8-9 pancakes.