BATTER 2 cups all-purpose flour Sea salt 1 egg 1 1/2 cups milk Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Place the egg in a small bowl and beat the egg lightly. Add the egg and milk to the well in the flour and whisk until the batter is smooth. Add extra milk as necessary to create the desired consistency of the batter.

Use the batter to coat foods like fish and vegetables, and deep fry in hot oil until brown and crisp.

On standing, batter will thicken slightly - add more water or milk to return the batter to its original consistency. Batter without raising agents will keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Batter with raising agents should be used soon after making, otherwise the raising agents will deactivate and the pancakes will not be light and fluffy.

VARIATIONS

PANCAKE BATTER
Add an extra egg to batter mixture, 75 g of melted butter, 3 teaspoons baking powder and 1/3 cup of sugar. Add remaining ingredients following recipe for basic mix. Cook over medium heat in a nonstick frying pan until bubbles surface, flip and cook until golden.

BEER BATTER
Replace the milk with 1 1/2 cup of cols beer and mix the batter until smooth. Use this batter for fish and fish fillets to make the classic beer-battered fish and chips. Use a premium beer with a good malty jops taste to ensure a well-flavored batter.

CREPE BATTER
Add 75 g of melted butter and one extra cup of milk to the plain batter, to obtain the consistency of cream. Swirl a little batter in a small, greased crepe pan or frying pan and cook over medium heat until each side is lightly golden. Serve with lemon and sugar.

TEMPURA BATTER
Replace the all-purpose flour with 2 cups of fine white rice flour and replace the milk with 1 1/2 cups of iced water and mix to a thin consistency. Use this batter to coat vegetables, shrimps, fish and chicken strips. Serve with a ready-made dipping sauce.

[New Food Fast, Donna Hay]