Cottage Cheese Banana Pancakes with Toasted Coconut

Steps

1. Dice the banana and set it aside.
2. Toast the coconut in a dry nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes until golden; move it to a plate.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the cottage cheese, eggs, milk and vanilla until mostly smooth.
4. In a second bowl, whisk the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cardamom and salt to make the dry mix.
5. Stir the dry mix into the cottage cheese mixture just until no dry streaks remain, then gently fold in the banana. Let the batter rest 5 minutes.
6. Heat the skillet over medium heat and brush it with a quarter of the canola oil.
7. Pour scant 1/4-cup portions of batter into the skillet and cook 2 to 3 minutes until bubbles form and the edges look set, then flip and cook 2 minutes more until golden and cooked through to 160°F (71°C) in the center.
8. Cook the rest of the batter in three more batches, brushing the skillet with another quarter of the canola oil before each batch.
9. Serve the pancakes topped with the toasted coconut and a drizzle of the maple syrup.