Kitchen Anugraha: Rajam's Drop Scones

When I was about 10 or 11, my amma joined the local YMCA cookery classes. She would go with my friend Bina's mother, with a notebook and pen and learn all these yummy recipes. So many notebooks with wonderful recipes! When I came back from school in the evenings, there was always some exotic snack ready on the kitchen table. I was a happy guinea pig - grateful for a nice afternoon snack.

Drop Scones were one of my favourites and when I came to Australia, none of my friends had heard about it. Of course now we have google and we can ask her anything and she will give you a variety of answers. I have been through a lot of recipes and finally added a couple of amma's ingredients because none of the google recipes mention it.

Today is amma's birthday - she would have been 78 years old today if she had been alive.

Happy Birthday amma - this one is for you! I used to love these slathered with home made butter and a good jam.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups self raising flour

4 tablespoons caster sugar

1 egg

1 cup milk - and may be a few tablespoons of extra milk if you need it

1 pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

about a tablespoon of butter for cooking drop scones

This recipe makes about 12 scones that are 4 inches in diameter.

Method:

In a deep bowl, add the flour and sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well.

Beat the egg with the vanilla essence and add to the flour mixture.

Add milk little at a time till you get a thick batter. You may need just a little more than one cup of milk - just add it a tablespoon at a time so that the batter is not runny.

Heat a griddle or saucepan - and add a touch of butter.

Spoon about two tablespoons of batter at a time on the griddle. When the bubbles start to appear, it is time to flip it over. This step takes about two or three minutes.