Daring Cooks: Indian Dosas

For the September 2009 Daring Cooks challenge, our host, Debyi from The Healthy Vegan Kitchen, decided on Indian Dosas from reFresh: Contemporary Vegan Recipes From the Award Winning Fresh Restaurants by Ruth Tal. I ended up making mine out of whole wheat and all purpose flour, seasoned with onion flakes, garlic powder, and salt. They were thin, crispy, and delicious. For the filling, I opted for a mix of fresh tomatoes and thinly sliced onions. I made a chickpea filling, but used a canned curry sauce which ended up having an overwhlemingly strong fish sauce flavor. Fortunately my husband’s stomach can stand that kind of thing.

Indian Dosas: Equipment needed
large bowl
whisk
griddle or skillet
ladle (or large spoon)
spatula

My Ingredients

1 cup flour 
salt to taste
garlic powder to taste
a dash of onion flakes
Add liquid until it forms a really loose batter (I used about 2 1/2 cups of water)

My Method
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the liquid, whisking until smooth.

1. Heat a heavy, cast iron skillet over medium heat. We use a plata that we’ve had since living in Arizona, and it is nicely seasoned, so I didn’t need much oil, just a little around the edges. I found a great video clip of a woman making dosas on Wikipedia that gave me an idea of how to make these. Scroll down the bottom to see the video.
2. Ladle batter into the center of your pan in a circular motion until it is a thin, round pancake. When bubbles appear on the surface and it’s golden and slightly crisp on the bottom, flip it over and cook for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and  gently roll the pancake into a tube. You can put some filling in just before rolling. I’m used to eating these with a mildly spicy potato filling (which is how they serve it in my family’s favorite Indian restaurant). Repeat with remaining batter. Makes 8 pancakes. I used a mini ladle for this (it holds about 1/2 cup of batter) and cooked the dosas on medium high heat until they were crispy and golden brown. They still rolled up nicely, and had a nutty, chewy texture.

mmmm… flatbread

grilled flat bread with tomatoes and basil

Mmmm. I love flatbread. Warm. Toasty. Soft. Foldy. I tried the Italian flatbread recipe from Ultimate Bread and it was divine. After devouring the first round of the stuff, we ended up making a double batch and pan frying it instead of cooking it on the grill. We didn’t have any soda water for the second batch of dough, so I substituted one teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in some water for the doubled recipe. The bread was soft, fluffy, crusty, and perfect both times.

Both were yummy, chewy, smokey deliciousness that we smothered in fresh basil oil (lemon juice, garlic, fresh basil, olive oil, blender, voila!). We ate it all so precipitously that I didn’t even think to snap a picture of it before we had devoured most of them. The grilled corn, grilled chicken wings, and roasted potatoes were equally delicious. Too bad there is no evidence of those either.

I did, however, manage to get a few pics today before we wolfed down the rest for an early evening snack (pictured here). The few flatbreads that were left the second day, reheated wonderfully in the toaster oven and make amazing little pizza crusts for just about any topping.

roasted red potatoes with caramelized onion, garlic and rosemary

I ate the leftovers with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh tomatoes, a sprinkling of sea salt, and torn basil leaves. I’m sure I’ll be making another batch soon to take for lunches in the coming weeks, so check back for pictures of the bread making process.

Flatbread:

• 2 teaspoons dry yeast (you can go ahead and use one of those packets of yeast that come in the grocery store, but one is usually enough for at least double the amount of dough this recipe makes)
• 1 cup soda water OR 1 cup water plus 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 3 1/2 cups flour, unbleached all-purpose
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt