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Cornmeal Pancakes
1 Cup flour
1/2 Cup cornmeal
3 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 cup dried currants
1 1/4 plain yogurt
2 large eggs
1/2 stick butter (unsalted) melted or, 4 Tbs. canola oil
Heat a griddle pan on medium heat.
Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the currants. In another bowl, stir together yogurt and eggs with fork. Stir into flour with melted butter.
Drop batter onto griddle pan and cook until bubbles form. Flip to other side for two minutes.
Serve with maple syrup.
History
Did you know that the first pancake-type foods were eaten by ancient peoples? No, they were not the same pancakes we eat today. These simple, fried concoctions of milk, flour, eggs and spices were called "Alita Dolcia" (Latin for "another sweet") by the Ancient Romans. Depending upon the proportion of ingredients and method of cooking, the finished product might have approximated pancakes, fritters, omlettes, or custard. Some of these dishes were sweet (fruit, nuts, honey); others were savory (cheese, fish, meat). These ancient recipes are also thought to be the relatives of waffles, cakes, muffins, fritters, spoonbread and doughnuts. Pancakes, as we Americans know them today, were "invented" in Medieval Europe.
Throughout history, pancake ingredients (finest available wheat flour, buckwheat, cornmeal, potatoes), cooking implements (ancient bakestones, medieval hearths, pioneer griddles perched on campfire embers, microwave ovens), social rituals (Shrove Tuesday crepes, Chanukah latkes, mass quantities for community fundraisers) and final product (thick or thin, savory or sweet, slathered with butter and smothered with syrup, or gently rolled around delicate fruit) have reflected regional cuisine and local customs. Cake-like galettes [France], thick potato pancakes [Germany], Boxty [Ireland], paper thin crepes [France], palascinta [Hungary] drop scones [Scotland], coarse cornmeal Indian cakes [colonial America], flapjacks [19th century America], rich blini [Russia], poori [India], qata'if (Middle East) dadar gutung [Indonesia], bao bing [China] and simply-add-water instant mixes [late 20th century] are all members of the pancake family.
The connection between pancakes and Shrove Tuesday (the day before the Christian season of Lent begins) is rooted in the need to deplete stores of eggs and fat...both forbidden by the Catholic Church for consumption during Lent. The practice began in Medieval times and continues today (in some places) in the form of Pancake day. There are many customs connected with this day. The Olney pancake race is said to be one of the oldest.
"The griddle method of cooking is older than oven baking, and pancakes are an ancient form. The first pancakes clearly distinguishable from plain griddle breads are sweet ones mentioned by Apicius; these were made from a batter of egg, mixed milk and water, and a little flour, fried and served with pepper and honey. An English culinary manuscript of about 1430 refers to pancakes in a way which implies that the term was already familiar, but it does not occur often in the early printed cookery books...Throughout Europe pancakes had a place among Easter foods, especially on Shrove Tuesday (or Mardi Gras), the last day before Lent. Customs varied from country to country...One peculiarly English institution is the pancake race. The oldest of these has been held at Olney in Buckinghamshire, in most years since 1445..."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 571)
Other Articles in Breakfast Recipes
 Apple Pancakes
Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes
Blackberry Muffins
Cornmeal Pancakes
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