Tired of the same old breakfast? These absolutely delicious Comorian Mkatra Foutra pancakes with a Coconut Coffee Sauce will send your morning taste buds in a dizzy and leave you craving for more!
We are in round two of the MENA (Middle Eastern & North African) Cooking Club. Having covered in round one all the cuisines of the countries found in these parts of the world, we are back this time with new recipes and a twist: a secret ingredient revealed monthly must be used! Usually we have two savory recipes and a sweet dish as a suggestion to make but this time we had free range to make anything we wanted. This month we are off to the Comoros islands and the secret ingredient is coffee, for which I prepared a Mkatra Foutra pancakes with a Coconut Coffee Sauce.
The Comoros
The Comoros is a volcanic archipelago off Africa’s east coast, in the Mozambique Channel. They are located to the east of Mozambique and north-west of Madagascar. The largest island, Grande Comore (or Ngazidja), is home to the capital, Moroni. Around the island you will find ports, beaches and old lava from active Mt. Karthala volcano. The first traces of human life date back to the 6th century.
Numerous peoples have crossed over and mixed, including those of Bantu, Malagasy, Indonesian, Arab, Portuguese, French and Indian origin. From the 11th to 15th centuries, trade with the merchants from the Middle East flourished and Islam was introduced, which remains the main religion. It is a great destinations for those who wish to trek or cycle around volcanoes or explore the sea underwater.
Comorian Cuisine
Many people consider the Comoros as a culinary paradise because it has been so heavily influenced by the French, Arabs, India and other African tribes. A typical meal should always contain rice and meat, seasoned with one of the many locally produced ingredients like vanilla, coriander, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Fish and seafood is very popular to, particularly the very rich dish made with lobster boiled in vanilla sauce. Curries , chapattis, lentil soups and a large variety of pickles are available. Local peppers, maize, chiles, tomatoes, bananas, pineapples, limes and oranges are used a lot too.
Mkatra Foutra pancakes with a Coconut Coffee Sauce
We did not cover the Comoros islands the first time around, I guess that is what attracted me the most about participating this month. I may concentrate on the six new countries added but maybe more. And what a challenge it was! The online resources for Comorian recipes is slim at best.
Then I found these gorgeous little Mkatra Foutra pancakes. I think these are my new favorite breakfast bread. So good! The are like a cross between a pancake, a roll and crumpets. They are soft and so chewy. I never before used yeast in a batter recipe before. It was really a revelation. Mkatra Foutra pancakes can be accompanied with sweet and savory condiments. Jam and peanut butter would be just as great.
But now for the secret ingredient: coffee!
Coffee has been a crop, just a tiny one now, so it is not a common ingredient. I found no traditional recipes with coffee in it. What to do? I came close to giving up.
Well savory breakfasts are much more common in these parts of the world. And I came across a lovely coffee coconut curry sauce. After all Indians left a big mark in the cuisine. So this curry recipe is not Comorian but the marriage of it with the Mkatra Foutra is simply a match made in heaven. Warning: this breakfast can become very addictive!
I found the Mkatra Foutra pancakes recipe on this French Comorian recipe page and the adapted curry sauce here. Check out the other bloggers below who participated this month and look for the hashtag #menacookingclub. Why not join us as well get the info here MENA Cooking Club.
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Mkatra Foutra with a Coconut Coffee Sauce
Ingredients
For pancakes
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast rounded
- 7 to 10 oz coconut milk
- Butter
- Sesame seeds
For the sauce
- 1 1/2 cups onions finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1/4 cup ghee or butter
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 cups coffee strong and hot
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- salt
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water with a pinch of sugar.
- In a bowl mix the flour, yeast mixture, salt and eggs thoroughly.
- Mix the coconut milk in slowly, until you get a batter that is neither too liquid nor too thick. Leave it to rise for 45 min to an hour in a warm place.
- Heat a skillet on med to med-high. Have a bowl of hot water with a bit of salt. For each batch, sprinkle with your fingers this salted water in the skillet.
- Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter per pancake in the skillet. Do not spread the batter and sprinkle the top right away with sesame seeds.
- When the top appears dried out, turn over the pancake in the skillet and cook till golden on the bottom.
- Place cooked pancakes on a plate and spread each sesame top with a bit of butter. Keep warm in a low oven while you prepare the sauce.
- Stir-fry the onion and garlic in the ghee and oil on medim heat until slightly golden.
- Add the garam masala and cook for 2-3 minutes, or till fragrant. Lower heat.
- Pour in the coffee and coconut milk, and stir. Season to taste with salt.
- Simmer the sauce unutl it reduces and thickens just a bit. Spoon over the Mkatra Foutra.
Check out more MENA group recipes here:
Am comorían thank you for this it’s an amazing way to use the mkatra foutra
So cool you are from there and know mkatra foutra. I really need to make this again, it was so good!
I’m totally speechless! This is such an unusual pancake and breakfast. Love the combination of the coffee and coconut milk for the sauce and those pancakes look so fluffy. What a scrumptious breakfast! African cuisine is so unusual, but the couple of dishes that I’ve made were delicious. I’m sure this one is as well.
Thank you MJ. I know some countries have a much savory take on breakfast than we do but I was really surprised by how much I loved it. Curry sauce in at AM lol. I also feel I need to explore Africa cuisine more, they have usually been great positive experiences.
Oh my – coffee coconut sauce! That sounds devine! I have to try this!
Awesome sauce Pat, let me know what you think of it!
That sounds like all my favourite ingredients rolled up into the one dish. Cool! I am always on the lookout for coffee recipes, too, so I will definitely have to try this one.
ha that is awesome Elissa lol. You will love it if you make it!
Wow! Coconut Coffee Sauce sounds amazing! 🙂
It is the bomb this sauce 🙂
You win the interwebs with this one. Such a neat recipe! Looks wonderful, and I’m sure tastes better. And that coffee sauce is terrific! Thanks so much.
LOL thanks John for the award! Definitely I recommend the sauce!
Wow this is totally exotic for me, I am loving your blog everyday! I learn new things everytime I visit, when are you having your own TV show 🙂
Ha ha ha I wish a TV show was coming soon, Thanks so much for your great comment. Wiat till you see the next post, totally something new.
I love the texture of these pancakes…and that uses yeast…I will definitely give this a try Evelyne…soft and chewy…yum!
Thanks for the recipe…have a wonderful week 🙂
Thanks Juliana, I know you will love th eyeasty texture with the recipes you put up. Have a great week too!
Whoa, these pancakes look terrific! I’m a carb lover and I know I’d love them!!
Thanks Liz they will please for sure! Chin chin to carb lovers.
I really want to try these now! I’ve never heard of them but from your description I think I’d really enjoy them. And lobster poached in vanilla? Wow!
You will not be disappointed Lorraine. Yeah I know lobster poached in vanilla !!!!!!! So want to make that to!
I really like the sound of these; sort of half sweet, half savoury!
Thanks! They are delish! Sweet or savory, it can go either way with the choice of topping 🙂
Wow! You just jazzed up the pancake to another level with that interesting coffee curry! Wow! The secret ingredient is real fun isn’t it?
Thanks Famidha, yeah that sauce is so good! Loving the secret ingredient.
I love how we all use different words for the same thing. To us, pancakes are flat like a crèpe. These look more like crumpets which the Australians call pikelets.
LOL that is funny and I honestly can’t find a word that describes these. Here a pancake is “thick” and we use crèpe for the thin. Too me a crumpet is like maybe 2 cm high where as these things are much taller , but they are closer in texture. Now I have to google pikelets 🙂
Even I chose the Mkatra Foutra and made them vegan! 😉 Yours look more like buns and am sure that sauce would have really pepped up the pancakes..
Thanks Rafeeda 🙂 Oh a vegan version looking forward to checking that out!
I’m so glad you didn’t give up, that’s the fun thing about cooking, going out of your comfort zone. This one was really hard for me too, but wow just look how great yours came out. I really want to try those buns, I think they would be perfect to wake up too, they look so soft. Thanks for joining us this month, I always love when you do and I hope you do every month to give your spin on the recipes 🙂
Thank you Noor, this was a real challenge but a fun one, but a challenge. I am thrilled with the result. And thank you for your kind words, I will do my best it is such a great group.
Yeast pancakes prepare with coconut milk…I have absolutely no doubt that these would be a hit at our home too. That sauce sounds really great with coffee and coconut.
They are the best , really I was blown away by these pancakes. let me know what the household thinks 🙂
What an interesting meal. That coffee sauce sounds perfect for meat dishes as well!
Oh that coffee sauce will definitely find more uses, totally would go great with meat or roasted veggies!