People in Indonesia make pancakes called serabi, and eat them for breakfast with sugar syrup flavoured with ginger or vanilla, or else with sweetened coconut milk. If this reminds you of American breakfast pancakes eaten with maple syrup, that is not surprising, for they are very similar. A Russian blin is the same sort of thing again. The blini described here are made, like serabi, of wheat flour mixed with some rice flour. They are very good for breakfast, but I suggest using little ones as bases for savoury fish or – as here – for a spiced aubergine/eggplant purée. They make an excellent appetizer with a drink before dinner.