Fried Pancakes (Tiganites)

These old-fashioned Fried Pancakes are Greek Tiganites. A frugal sweet made of a flour and water batter that gets deep-fried in olive oil and served with honey, cinnamon, and sesame seeds. This is one of the easiest, quickest sweet treats you can make!

In previous decades this was one of the most popular and loved homemade Greek desserts. During periods in time when people didn't have much available in their pantries this little treat was a real savior. Apart from being sweet and tasty, it's also very filling as well (something very important back then).

Table Of Contents

• Ingredients
• Making The Batter
• How To Fry Pancakes
• Serving
• Leftovers
• Recipe

Ingredients

You need 1 ingredient to make this fried pancake recipe. And that is durum wheat flour. In Greece, we call it Horiatiko Alevri which means village flour. This flour is used to make traditional phyllo for pies like Hortopita for example.

If you can't find durum wheat flour at your local grocery store you can order online at King Artur Baking. NOTE: It is not the same as semolina flour. Semolina flour is a bit coarser than durum flour.

The remaining ingredients are:

• Water
• Salt
• Baking Powder (optional)
• Olive oil for frying
• Honey (to serve with)
• Sesame Seeds (to serve with)
• Ground Cinnamon (to serve with)

Ingredient Substitutes:

All-purpose flour instead of durum wheat. You can make these pancakes using all-purpose flour but they will be slightly less tasty. To make them using all-purpose flour use the same amount of flour but less water. For example for every cup of flour use ⅔ of a cup of water. Or for every 100 grams of all-purpose flour use 150 grams/ml of water.

Grape molasses, pomegranate molasses, or maple syrup instead of honey.

Ground walnuts instead of sesame seeds. It's always one of these two that are sprinkled on Greek desserts like this one.

Half vegetable oil, half olive oil for frying instead of just olive oil. Olive oil is what's used traditionally to fry Greek pancakes. It gives a nutty and earthy flavor but it's heavier and can be a bit expensive too. Since we're using it for frying purposes it doesn't need to be extra virgin just plain olive oil will do. And any other vegetable oil like sunflower, corn oil, or canola can be used together with the olive oil.

Making The Batter

To make frying pancake batter mix the dry ingredients together first (flour, salt, baking powder). Then add the water and whisk until smooth. Let stand for 15 minutes while you heat the oil in a pan.

How To Fry Pancakes

To deep fry pancakes, heat plenty of olive oil in a frying pan. The oil should be covering the walls of the pan by at least 1,5 cm in height (that's almost ⅓ of the pan's height). The oil should be sizzling hot but not smokey hot.

The ideal temperature is 180°C / 355°F to 190°C / 375°F. You can use an instant-read thermometer for a precise temperature.

Once the oil gets to the desired temperature, start adding spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil. Do this carefully and add each spoonful at a time. Waiting 10 seconds between each spoonful to avoid dropping the temperature too much.

Deep-fry the pancakes until deep golden. Flipping them as necessary, but waiting for 2 minutes without flipping in the beginning. Transfer the deep-fried pancakes to paper towels and then serve immediately while they're still warm.

Serving

Serve the Greek pancakes while they're still hot, topped with honey, ground cinnamon, and sesame seeds or ground walnuts. Melted dark chocolate is a great modern alternative for chocaholics.

If you are making these for breakfast, you can top them with Greek yogurt and your favorite fresh fruit, strawberry jam, or berry jam. You may also try my healthy and easy raw strawberry sauce.

Leftovers

Keep the leftover batter in the fridge until the next day. You may also use it as a frying batter for fish or vegetables.

Recipe