Spiced Apple and Blueberry Whole Wheat Pancakes

When I was young I used to hate a couple of things - waking up on a Sunday morning and Cinnamon. You might wonder what the connection is. Well, there is a connection. Growing up as a staunch vegetarian amongst meat-eating neighbors meant that I have to endure the strong smells of Spiced Biryani and Mutton Kurma wafting from their kitchen and assaulting my nostrils in a very bad way. So besides the cooked meat its the smell of cinnamon stick that will linger the whole day! In many Indian households Sunday is not a part of a Fasting/Religious day and its this day that anything can be eaten.So my Flexitarian neighbors deemed Sunday as the day when they would transform into "meat eating gluttons". The men would rush to the Butcher's shop to get their plump poultry or meat and the ladies will start preparing the spices and such. There was no concept of buying frozen meat..at-least not when I was growing up. To a butcher, Sunday is like what Black Friday is to retailers. To top it, street hawkers would be selling all the nasty-smelling fish you can possibly imagine. It was terrible. And Cinnamon was the most hated spice.Because I always associated it with meat and such. I wouldn't touch a Vegetarian Kurma if I see cinnamon stick floating on it. My mom fearing my tantrums would take care not to add it in any of the foods. Poor mom!
Even after transitioning to a Flexitarian, developing a love for Chicken Biryani and Mutton Kurma, I still continued with my cinnamon-hating stint. Except this time it was being averse to baked goodies that had it. Given a choice between eating boiled cow's testicles or a cinnamon bun I would clearly choose the former. Ironically, I started craving for McDonald's Cinnamon Spiced Baked Apple Pie, Cinnabon's Classic Cinnamon Rolls when I was pregnant. I suppose it wasn't me. It was my boy who was wanting them when he was "In-Utero". He will keep kicking me until I have my share of those with a tall glass of orange juice. LoL. The fact that there were was a McDonald's a stone throw away from my work place at Park Avenue didn't help. Every-time I passed by, I would smell the Cinnamon Apple Pie in the air. What used to be revolting suddenly became pleasing. :-). Now I am at peace with the Cinnamon. Yeah, we have a treaty of sorts, thanks to my little boy. Its not high up there with Cardamom, the much-loved spice but not much hated either.
Anyways, today I will address my son's second favorite -- Soft and Fluffy. Right after little A wakes up he will ask me if he can either have Marshmallow and Charms Cereal or Fluffy pancakes. I prefer the latter cause I can always sneak in a few fruits in the pancake batter and he wouldn't know.While I am much of a Cocoa Pancake or a Banana Berry Pancake  fan, my son prefers(you guessed it) Spiced Pancakes. Well, he knew what he wanted while he was still "In-Utero". While I don't care for the strong aftertaste it leaves on my taste-buds it doesn't bother him. So I happily make this for him.

Ingredients(Makes 10, "3.5" Pancakes"):

• 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 3/4 Cup Apple Juice
• 1/4 Cup Apple Sauce
• 1/4 Cup Blueberries
• 1 Apple, peeled and grated
• 1 Egg, whisked
• 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Milk
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/8 Tsp Allspice powder (Cinnamon Powder may be used instead)
• A pinch of salt

Procedure:

• Add all the dry ingredients(Flour, Baking Powder, All Spice, Sugar and Salt)  in a wide shallow bowl.

• Add the Oil, Apple Sauce, Milk to the dry ingredients and mix.

• Stir in the whisked egg along with the blueberries and grated apple. Let it sit for 5 minutes.

• Pour a ladle-ful of batter on a greased nonstick skillet and cook for 2 minutes on a low-medium flame.

• Flip and cook for a minute or two. Repeat for the remaining batter.

• Pile and serve with warmed maple syrup.

Makes 10, 3.5" Pancakes.

Enjoy!

Check out the Blogging Marathoners doing (Group 3) BM#4 along with me-
Diabetes Diet/Management: Kamalika, Smitha, Suma
Kid Friendly Recipes: Anusha, Cool Lassi(e)
Seven Days of Soup: Priya Suresh
Seven Days of Indian Bread: Jayasree, Pavani
Seven Days of Cakes:  Priya Vasu
Seven Days of Preserves: Gayathri Kumar, Vaishali
30 Minutes Meals: Priya Mahadevan, Sriv

Note: If you are a sneaky mom looking to sneak in veggies into a pancake, check this recipe.