American Indian Sunflower Seed Cakes

Nasseh's Note:

I found this recipe in an American Indian cookbook. I can't wait to try it.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 15 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 15 cakes

• 2 ½ cups shelled sunflower seeds (fresh or dried)
• 3 cups water
• 6 tablespoons fine cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• ½ cup oil

Directions:

1. Simmer the seeds in the water, covered, for 1 hour. Drain & grind the seeds when done.
2. Mix the syrup & cornmeal, 1 tablespoon at a time, into the ground seeds, making a stiff dough. Shape into 3 inch flat cakes, about 15 cakes.
3. Fry the cakes in hot oil on both sides. Drain on paper towels & serve hot.

Reviews

[Lalaloula]

Nasseh, I was intrigued by this special sounding recipe and didnt quite know what to expect. Well, Im sold on sunflower seed cakes now! These turned out delightful! Very soft, creamy and with an intense roasty, sweetish, lemony flavour, that I cannot really describe. Mmmm!
My sunflower seeds (I used roasted ones) were cooked through in 45 minutes and I simply blended them with my immersion blender. It worked like a charm.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing this great keeper with us!
Made and reviewed for Everyday is a Holiday February 2011.

[Mia in Germany]

I got this recipe from an American friend some years ago and found it absolutely lovely. As I'm on a gluten-free diet it has been one of my keepers since. Perhaps you'd mark this as gluten-free soomehow (if you didn't already).

[blancpage]

Nasseh I am so very sorry I really messed up this recipe, so I'm not giving it stars. My first problem was that after I tagged this, I realized the only sunflower kernels I had was Planter's Dry Roasted Sunflower Kernels, which aren't the same as what the recipe calls for. I had regular yellow cornmeal and real maple syrup. When I simmered the seeds and water, I somehow had the heat above "low" and the seeds began to dry out. So I added a lot more water and made sure my heat was on low. I think maybe an hour wasn't enough to soften the seeds or the seeds were just the wrong type. I could not for the life of me get the seeds ground down correctly. When mixing the maple syrup and cornmeal, I noticed my mixture was dry and crumbly with a tiny bit of moisture, which made me wonder if I read the directions wrong. I thought I was supposed to simmer an equal amount of seeds with an equal amount of water and then drain and grind. My mixture would just not stay together to form patties. I cut the recipe way down because I'd be the only one eating these and I didn't know what to expect. Needless to say I wasted some ingredients and dirtied some dishes, and unfortunately got a big mess. I first tried a mortar and pestle, then a coffee grinder. When I didn't get any results I didn't even bother dirtying a blender. I take full responsibility for messing up this recipe. I guess I'm just not good at making foreign foods. This sounded good though! I hope someone else has better luck. Made for Please Review My Recipe tag game.