Baghrir (semonlina pancakes)

My posts have been and will tend to be very Moroccan for a little while since we are celebrating the holy month of Ramadan and of course this means a lot of traditional foods associated with this occasion. Since this blog is not intended to discuss religion I will spare the details and will just say that it's a month of fasting and spiritual cleansing and the biggest event is the meal served at sunset every day called Iftar.

Baghrir is a traditional pancake that is mostly made out of fine semolina but some recipes include regular flour, it is light and fluffy with an irresistible taste. It is always served with a syrup made out of honey and some melted butter and that's where it gets all the sweetness from as the batter doesn't include any sugar. This pancake is charecterized by the many holes it forms on the surface

Ingredients:

3 cups fine semolina
About 3 cups warm water
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 small package active dry yeast
pinch of salt

Directions:
Dilute the yeast in a little warm water to activate it. Add the fine semolina in a blender with the warm water, diluted yeast, baking powder and salt. Mix well and then temper your egg yolk by putting it in a bowl and adding a little warm water to it and whisking. Add the tempered egg yolk to the blender and mix until you achieve a batter that is comparable to pancake mix in consistency. You can add more water if needed as the absorption varies from one semolina brand to the other.

Let the batter rest until it starts bubbling at the surface (about 45 to 60 minutes). Heat a skillet and spread a layer thinner than that of a pancake and thicken than a crepe. Let it cook on low heat on one side only until you can't see any wet batter on the surface. Serve with melted butter and honey syrup.