Easy Sri Lankan Pancakes

Ridiculously easy to make and yet so delicious- these Sri Lankan pancakes are the easiest elaborate breakfast you need to try making!

Pancakes are an all-time breakfast classic that you can never go wrong with, and if you’re obsessed with them already, you’ve got to give these Sri Lankan pancakes a try. They’re super soft, coconutty, and have a deliciously sweet filling as a surprise.

While they taste best when served as a breakfast specialty, you can always enjoy them as an evening snack or practically any other time of the day. Plus, they’re super easy to make too.

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Ingredients For the Recipe
Kitchen Tools Needed
How to Make the Sri Lankan Pancakes
Frequently Asked Questions
Tips to Make the Sri Lankan Pancakes
Easy Sri Lankan Pancakes

Ready to give the recipe a try? Here’s all you need to know about it before you do.

Ingredients For the Recipe

You’ll need two sets of ingredients to make the Sri Lankan pancakes- the filling and the pancake batter itself.

For the pancakes

All-purpose flour: 1 cup
Salt: 1 tsp
Coconut milk: ½ cup or as required
Turmeric powder: A pinch

For the filling

Sugar: 1 cup
Salt: 1 tsp
Coconut (grated): 1 cup

Kitchen Tools Needed

How to Make the Sri Lankan Pancakes

Got all your kitchen tools and ingredients ready? Here’s what you need to do next to make the pancakes from scratch.

add aal the ingredients of a batter and give it a good mix

Firstly, add all the ingredients for the batter and give it a good mix. Make sure the batter is of flowy consistency.

add sugar, salt and coconut and give it a nice mix

Next, heat the sugar in a pan until it caramelizes. Add the salt and grated coconut and give it a good mix.

Heat a non-stick pan pour a ladle of the batter and spread evenly.

Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip.

Repeat the same with the remaining batter,

now apply some coconut mixture over the pancake

Once all the pancakes are ready, fill them with the prepared caramelized sugar coconut filling and roll them.

once complete roll it over and serve hot with tea

Serve as breakfast with tea.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Can I Add as a Filling?

The best part about these Sri Lankan pancakes is the fact that while its classic coconut filling is pretty great already, you can still play with the ingredients and come up with a filling of your choice.
For instance, you can add some cardamom powder or vanilla essence into the coconut mixture to lend the filling a bit of extra flavor. The combination of coconut and chocolate works wonderfully too, so you can go ahead and add some chocolate sauce or grated chocolate into the mixture. You can also add chopped nuts of your choice into the filling- almonds, cashews, walnuts, and pistachios are all excellent options. Yummy Sri Lankan Pancakes

What Else Can I Add to the Batter?

You can also add eggs into this classic pancake batter- remember that you will need to adjust the number of other ingredients you add into it to compensate, but adding the eggs is another great way to make the pancakes healthier.
You can also consider adding desiccated coconut into the batter itself, especially if you are not planning to make the pancakes with the filling. Sri Lankan Pancakes served on a plate

Can I Use Another Flour?

You can. All-purpose flour is easy to work with and is readily available too, but if you really want to go the healthy route, you can swap it with whole wheat flour, whole grain flour, or even multigrain flour.
Another excellent way to increase the nutritive value of these pancakes is to add a bit of oat flour or ground oats into the all-purpose flour.

Can I Store the Leftover Batter For Later?

You can! Your leftover pancake batter can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, but it is always a great idea to use it within 24 hours to maintain its freshness. Remember that the pancake batter itself takes literally minutes to make, which means you can put it together on a quick, rushed morning too.
All you need to do is prepare the filling in advance and refrigerate it- it can stay good in there for up to 5 days. Remember to get the filling out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before you use it for the recipe. Sri Lankan Pancakes with coconut mixture filing

Tips to Make the Sri Lankan Pancakes

Think you’re all set to give these delicious pancakes a shot? Wait up! You might want to keep these few extra tips and tricks in mind to make sure you nail the recipe.

While using sugar in the filling has its own charm, you can replace it with a healthier sweetener of your choice- jaggery is your best bet, but you can also make do with honey or agave syrup. Dark brown sugar is also a great option to consider.
While the turmeric powder is what lends the pancakes their characteristic golden hue, you can skip using it if you don’t have it. If you still want to get a little pop of color into your Sri Lankan pancakes, you can add a pinch of saffron strands into the batter.
While the fresh, grated coconut is the best choice for the filling of these pancakes, you can use desiccated coconut instead, if that’s what you have. Remember that desiccated coconut can be slightly dry, so you might have to add a couple of tablespoons of water or coconut milk into it to get it to the right texture.
If you’re making these pancakes on a time crunch, as a quick breakfast, you can totally skip making the filling and top the pancakes with some whipped cream and chopped fresh fruits of your choice (or a nice sprinkle of toasted coconut flakes).
Make sure you always use a non-stick pan or skillet to make the pancakes.
To ensure that you get a smooth batter that is free of lumps, use a hand whisk, and slowly add the coconut milk into the other ingredients while stirring constantly. This will also help you get the batter to the right consistency.
Always cook the pancakes on medium heat. This will ensure that they have the perfect softness while still being cooked to perfection.

Serving Ideas & Suggestions

These Sri Lankan pancakes are a breakfast specialty, which means you can team them up with tea or coffee or any of your morning breakfast essentials. And if you’re on the hunt for some more delicious and tempting pancake recipes to try out, you might want to give these a quick look.