Paniyaram and Poffertjes

 This blog began with a motive of observing Holland through Indian lens. I made comparisons, I made connects and sometimes I even grieved the loss of a homeland. And so, to soothe myself, I went home every January and stayed there for a couple of months. This has been a classic case of win-win because this way I escaped the Dutch winter and also the Indian summer; at the same time I could give a break to all the grumbling about needing a break.

Paniyaram and me

I always went back with huge lists about where to go and what to eat. However, I can make no claim of creativity because the list has been duplicated several times over the years. One of the stars of my food galaxy is Paniyaram. It’s a typical south Indian snack and goes by several names amongst the southern brethren. It has the three necessities of South-Indianness – rice, spice and is certainly nice. Let me introduce it to the unenlightened – the base is a fermented batter of rice and lentils, spiced with ginger, green chillies, curry leaves. This is fried in an indented pan. The result is a glorious golden-brown ball; crisp on the outside, fluffy soft inside. This dunked into coconut chutney puts me in a food coma. There is also the sweet variant, made with rice, coconut sugar, cardamom and a sprinkling of cinnamon, fried in clarified butter. Fear not, there is something for everyone!

Dutch paniyarams?!

It goes without a doubt that Paniyaram Is what I miss this year ( along with my family and warmth and sunshine…etc). Imagine my surprise when I found a Dutch snack joint serving these, smack in the middle of a lockdown to a group of people huddled together for warmth and (possibly) better transmission of Covid. However not drifting away from the point, it smelled strongly of butter and was attacked by a powdered sugar storm. This I learn is the sweet Dutch variant made of flour and called Poffertjes. These are favorites of Dutch kids and also adults with the heart of a child. I even know of a family that stocks them frozen for midnight emergencies!

All paniyarams in different forms?

Apparently, several countries have their own versions of Paniyarams. While Dutch have their Poffertjes, Aebleskiver is the Danish sweetheart made with wheat flour. South East Asia is famous for its roadside eateries, all of which sell some kind of Paniyaram as a starter or desert. Filipinos are famous for Panyalams. Also, baby pancakes made of rice, coconut milk and brown sugar. Say hello to the Thai version – khanom khrok which could be both sweet and savory, also made of rice flour.

What does this teach us? I would like to say something spiritual like despite different races, we are all the same, but the truth is, humankind loves bits of fried dough be it savory or sweet. And also that it is time for me to act (this year’s resolution!) albeit on my temptation. So, I bought a pan meant for poffertjes, filled it with my paniyaram batter with extra spice, onions and carrots (yes, I am complicated) and made my ‘India on a plate’ phenomenon!