Spiced butternut mash with pancake omelettes (pomlettes)

When we get asked what inspires us, our responses usually vary: home, friends, things we grew up eating, places we’ve visited, etc. Oftentimes, though, what inspires us at the OTK is each other—adding our own identities to something both new and familiar. These pancake-omelettes are the brainchild of Claudine, who struggled to find flour during lockdown and resourcefully used up the arrowroot in her cupboard, keeping these wonderfully gluten-free. Noor quickly renamed the pancake-omelettes “pomlettes,” and found they were the perfect vehicle for this spiced butternut mash. Breakfast sorted.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Step 2

2. Put the butternut squash, 1½ tablespoons of oil, ½ cup/120ml of water, and ½ teaspoon of salt into a 9 x 13 inch/23 x 33cm baking dish. Roast for 45 minutes, stirring halfway through, until nicely browned and the liquid has evaporated.

Step 3

3. Meanwhile, put 2½ tablespoons of oil into a large sauté pan on medium-high heat. Once hot, cook the onion for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned. Add the garlic, ginger, and chiles and cook for 3 minutes more, stirring often. Add the garam masala, tomato, and 3 tablespoons of water and cook for 4 minutes, until the tomato has broken down. Off the heat, add the roasted butternut squash and ½ teaspoon of salt and use a fork to roughly mash everything together. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Step 4

4. Make the tempered oil by heating the remaining 3 table-spoons of oil in a small frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and curry leaves and cook for 60–90 seconds, or until the leaves turn translucent. Remove from the heat and add the mustard seeds.

Step 5

5. Make the pancake mixture by putting everything except the oil into a food processor, along with 1 teaspoon of salt, and blitzing until smooth.

Step 6

6. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a medium nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Ladle about ¼ cup/65g of the pancake batter into the pan, swirling to spread it around, and cook for 30 seconds on each side, or until nicely browned. Transfer to a plate and keep warm under a kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining batter and oil to make 12 pancakes in total. Speed this up by using two frying pans.

Step 7

7. When ready to serve, stir half the tempered oil into the butternut squash mixture and transfer to a bowl, spooning the remaining oil and solids on top. Arrange the pancakes on a large platter (they don’t need to be neat). Put the yogurt into a bowl and nestle this and the butternut squash bowl around the pancakes with the lime wedges. Get everyone involved in building their own pancakes.

Step 8

Make it your own:

Step 9

– Swap out the butternut squash for sweet potato or pumpkin.

Step 10

– Alternatively, serve the butternut mash with flatbread instead of the pomlettes.

Step 11

– Eat these pomlettes alongside the smooshed carrots (this page).