Fermented Dosas
the pulse and grain
combo flat bread

by Sidonie Maroon , The Food Co-op Culinary Educator, abluedotkitchen.com

Follow Sidonie on The Food Co-op’s Facebook group Cooking with the Co-op

Large thin sourdough griddle cakes are a staple at our house. We rotate weekly between Brittany Buckwheat Crepes, Ethiopian Injera, and Southern Indian Dosas. Besides being absolutely delicious, they’re a nifty way to roll, wrap and bring food to the mouth.

I love the rhythm and ease of these breads: something soaking, something fermenting, something on the griddle. And, when they’re on the griddle in the morning, I get to use my fancy French crepe spreader and wooden turner.

I’m especially fond of the Indian Dosa, because turning only a handful of grains and legumes mixed with water and some salt into a thin crepe like bread is magic. Each region of India has its favorite version of the dosa, and they vary in names and thickness: Paper thin crisp dosas from Tamil Nadu, vegetable laden poori from Gujarat. Cheela,velvety smooth from Uttar Pradesh. They are eaten throughout the day and are nourishing, inexpensive and easily digested. Served with a myriad of fresh chutneys, dal soups, or stuffed with masala potatoes, the variations are endless, especially with all the different spices and herbs that are added into the batters.

How do we eat our homemade dosas? We fill them like a crepe and eat them with a fork, or roll them like a burrito and eat them with our hands. What I like best is to fold them into fourths, and tear, using the pieces to make little parcels for dal and fresh chutney, or my scrambled eggs and greens. See Coconut Mint Chutney below.

For several years I religiously followed the dosa recipe I had copied down from my favorite Indian cookbook The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi. Then one day I was out of urad dal, and white basmati rice, so I substituted split peas and pearl barley and guess what? They were wonderful. So I began to branch out, keeping the proportions and technique the same, but trying all manner of grains and legumes. So far, they’re a crowd pleaser.

Grains and Legumes: pearl barley, millet, long grain brown rice, short grain brown rice, amaranth, red lentils, black eyed peas, mung beans, split peas. I like to bag up a mixture of odds and ends of beans and grains.

1 1⁄2 cups whole grain or mix of grains 3⁄4 cup legumes

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 3⁄4 cup filtered water

I follow a simple three day process. I say simple because while it takes time, it doesn’t take much of your time, and nothing you need to do is difficult.

Step One:

Mix the grains and legumes together in a bowl, cover them with water and let them soak for 24 hours. The mix will always be in a ratio of two parts grain to one part legume.

Step two:

After 24 hours drain and rinse the mixture. Measure out 1 3⁄4 cups of water. Put 1⁄2 of the drained grain/legume mixture in a food processor or blender with 1⁄2 of the water. Blend until smooth for about 4­5 minutes. Pour into a bowl and blend the second half in the same way.

Step three:

You now have a wet smooth batter which will taste beany. Let this sit out in the bowl, covered at a warm room temperature until it ferments and tastes slightly sour. I usually let mine sit overnight because I like it nice and sour, but a shorter time works as well. It should have lost its beany taste, be slightly bubbly or puffed, and taste sour. On a warm day this could be as short as 4 hours. I’ve never had to leave mine longer than 12 hours.

Step four:

Add 1 teaspoon of salt per quart to the batter and stir it in.

Pour into a quart sized mason jar. You can cook some up now, or store as needed in the fridge for up to a week.

To cook the dosas: heat a round cast iron griddle, or nonstick griddle or crepe pan on low for 10 minutes. Move the heat up to medium and oil the pan as for pancakes. I use butter or ghee for this, coconut oil tends to stick. Oil the griddle before cooking each dosa for a crisp bottom.

Pour 1⁄3 of a cup of the batter into the middle of the pan, take a deep breath ­­no hurry and then spread it out as thin as possible with a crepe spreader, or the back of a large mixing spoon, pressing lightly, and moving outward in a continuous spiral motion. This takes some practice but your learning curves will taste great.

When the top looks dry and the edges start to loosen (about 2­­2 1⁄2 minutes) then flip it over and cook the other side for a minute or so. Slip the cooked dosa into a warm oven while you cook more, or eat it right away.

Find the Versatile Dosa recipe and complete menus in the Vegetarian Indian recipe booklet at www.foodcoop.coop/community-cook.

The Port Townsend Food Coop invites you to our first Community Cook with recipes created by our Culinary Educator, Sidonie Maroon. We begin with Vegetarian Indian in March, followed by Greek Feasts in June, and Gluten Free Baking for September. Jump in anytime! Community Cook builds ties among community members through learning new foodways, sharing techniques and discovering the joy of cooking! 

Fresh Coconut & Mint Chutney

Add:

1⁄2 inch of fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic,

1 seeded and chopped jalapeno,

1/ 4 cup roasted cashews,

2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice or vinegar,

1 tablespoon sugar,

1 teaspoon salt,

1⁄2 cup fresh coriander or mint or both,

1 cup toasted shredded unsweetened coconut or fresh coconut.

Blend with 1⁄3 cup of water and correct to taste.