Masala Dose

One of the most well known and loved food from South India is the Dosa. I’m  from the city of Bengalooru, that is well known for its software industry and pubs and dosa places. Here is a newspaper article from a popular Bangalore daily, listing several interesting Dosa hotels in Bangalore.

Of the various types of Dosa, the ‘Masala Dosa’ is very popular. Here is my version of this classic-

Ingredients-

1. Rice- 2 cups

2. Urad Dal- 1/2 cup

3. Beaten Rice( Avalakki or Poha)-   A fistful

4. Fenugreek seeds- 1 Tbspn

5. Channa Dal- A fistful

6. Salt- to taste

Method-

Soak all the ingredients separately overnight, or for at least 4 hours. Drain the water and grind using as little water as needed. A small table top wet grinder like Ultra comes in most handy for this purpose. The batter turns out better because there is a control on the amount of water that needs to be added, and the motion of the stones aerates the batter better than a normal grinder, creating a much better final product. Well, for those of us who do not have such luxuries, a normal grinder works just fine…….

Allow the batter to ferment in a warm place for about 8 hours, or till it rises slightly.  I prefer grinding the batter in the morning, as we stay in a really cold place, and the batter needs to go in a 200 Degree preheated oven, which I need to keep checking on periodically. The longer the batter is let to ferment, the sourer it gets. Add the salt to the batter after it has fermented.

For the Stuffing-

Ingredients-

1.  Potatoes- 4 large, Boiled and peeled

2. Onion- 1 Large, chopped

3. Green Chilies- 3 to 4, sliced

4. Curry leaves- 6 to 8

5. Fresh Ginger- 1 inch piece, finely chopped

6. Coriander- 1 Tbspn, finely chopped

7. Mustard seeds- 1/2 Tsp

8. Urad Dal- 1 1/2 Tsp

9. Channa Dal- 1 1/2 Tsp

10. Oil- 2 Tbsp

11. Turmeric powder- 1/2 Tsp

12. Salt to Taste

13. Juice from 1/2  lemon

Method-

Heat the oil in a thick bottom pan. Add the mustard seed, after they splutter, add the urad dal and channa dal and allow to turn slightly brown. Add the green chilies, ginger and curry leaves and saute for a few seconds. Add the onions, and saute till they become transparent. Add the turmeric powder and salt. Mash the potatoes slightly, and mix with the onions. Turn off the heat. Mix the lemon juice and garnish with the fresh coriander.

For a version of this curry without onions. Follow the initial steps as above, and use a pinch of asafetida for the tadka, but skip the onions. Before adding the mashed potatoes, add a tsp of rasam powder and a tsp of sugar to the oil. Mix the lemon juice as before, and garnish with fresh coriander. Boiled Peas make a good addition to this dish.

This curry goes great with Pooris too…..

For the onion chutney-

Onion- 1 medium, chopped

Tamarind paste- 1/4 Tsp

Red chilies- 2

salt to taste

Grind all the above to make a thick chutney to spread on the dosa.

Alternatively, a mixture of ghee and Chutney powder can be used as a spread.

To assemble the Masala Dosa-

Stick half an onion on a fork and use this to clean the tava, each time after making a dosa. Heat the Tava on medium, spread the batter into a thin, round, approximately 8′ diameter, pancake, and turn the heat on high. Add oil( or a mixture of oil and Ghee) all around the sides of the dosa to prevent sticking. After the dosa turns golden, spread some onion chutney, or chutney powder-ghee mixture, over it, put some potato curry in the center, and fold. Top with a blob of butter, and serve with some coconut chutney and Sambhar( Recipes coming up).

Hey, do you have the tradition of throwing away the first dosa????

Phulka

The secret to making the softest, low calorie, nutritious chapathis or phulkas at home, lies in the quality of the wheat flour used in making them. Even phulkas which do not need a drizzle of oil to keep them soft, remain soft even if stored for a day if they are made with good quality wheat flour. Wheat flour is best if it stone ground(Ground in a ‘Chakki’) from complete wheat, and contains bran too. There should be no loss of any nutrients in the processing of the flour. The color of the dough can be a simple indicator of this. If the dough is slightly brown, it indicates the presence of bran. If the dough is white, it indicates that the flour has been refined, and contains more maida, which also means it has lost most of its nutrients.

Not all wheat flour available in the market are the same. Some brands can make the Chapathi’s or Rotis very rubbery. The best brands I have used are ‘Annapurna’ and ‘Nature’s fresh’, both of which are imported from India, which grows some of the best wheat in the World.

So for all those who think they can never make soft roti’s, here is my method, hope it works for you too……….

Ingredients-

1. Whole wheat flour- 1 1/2 Cups( makes 10 to 12 Phulkas)

2. Canola oil( or any cooking oil)- 4 Tsp

3. Very Warm water- 2 Cups Approximately( use more or less as required)

4. Salt- 1 Tsp

To make the dough-

Mix together the wheat flour, salt and oil well with your hands, so that the oil and salt are well integrated in the flour. Add 3/4 cup of the water and mix well to start making the dough. Keep adding water in small amounts and kneading the dough, till it all comes together as a single, smooth ball. Adding water in small amounts prevents the dough from becoming too watery, which can be a nightmare to roll out. This dough can be used to make most types of unleavened breads like chapathi, Poori, Phulka, Roti and also as the covering for different types of parathas.

Keep the dough covered, or sealed with saran wrap in the mixing bowl for about an hour. This allows for the gluten to form. The development of gluten affects the elasticity and softness of the the final product. Dough that is left in the fridge for a day, makes the best phulkas. Kneading the dough well also promotes the formation of gluten, yielding a soft product.

Method-

Divide the dough into approximately 10 equal parts. Take one part of the dough and roll it into a small ball with your palms, and squish it into a platelet. Dip it on both sides in some whole wheat flour, and roll it out into an 8 inch diameter circle, and put it on a hot tava, and turn till it gets brown spots on both sides.

Remove from the tava with a good pair of tongs and put it directly on the gas flame and increase the intensity of the flame to the highest.

The phulka starts poofing up immediately, due to moisture getting trapped between the 2 layers.

Remove from the heat, and serve. If storing for later use, stack the phulkas and keep them covered at all times with a cloth or tight lid to keep them soft. Heat in the microwave for about 10 seconds before serving.

To make Chapathis( rotis with more layers)-

Divide the Dough into approximately 8 portions. As before, roll out the dough into a 4 inch circle. Brush the surface with a few drops of oil and fold into half. Again brush the surface with a few drops of oil, and fold into a quarter. Roll out the chapathi into an approximate equilateral triangle, with 8 inch sides, and cook both sides on a hot Tava, till it seperates into layers.

Green beans Curry- with yogurt and poppy seeds

I found this great cookbook on vegetarian recipes in the library. Its called ‘The Art of Vegetarian cooking‘ by Yamuna Devi. I find most of the recipes very interesting and delicious and very different from normal, everyday, mundane stuff. None of the recipes contain onions, garlic or eggs plus are not smothered in heavy cream.  Written by a person who was not born in India, but spent a considerable amount of time there learning the intricacies of the Indian cusine and mastering it. Hats off to her!!

One of the first recipes I tries form the book was a green beans curry, cooked in a poppy- yogurt sauce. It was so good, that it got me hooked to the book. The recipe calls for some nutmeg powder, which I the ultra conservative would never have dreamed of adding to anything that was not sweet. Boy! How wrong I was…..

Ingredients-

1. Green beans- about 1 lb, washed and broken into 2 inch pieces

2. Poppy seeds( khus khus)- 3 TBsp, powdered

3. Green chilies- 4 to 5

4. Ginger- 1/2 inch

5. Cumin seeds- 1/2 Tsp

6. Coriander leaves- 4 sprigs

5. Yogurt- 3/4 cup

6. Cooking oil- 3 Tbsp

7. Curry leaves- a sprig

8. Nutmeg powder- 1/4 Tsp( preferably fresh)

9. Salt to taste

Method-

Steam the cut beans till they are just done. Grind together the yogurt, poppy seeds powder, green chilies, cumin, ginger and coriander leaves. Mix the paste well with the cooked green beans.

In a kadhai, heat the oil and add the curry leaves. After a few seconds, add the green beans, salt and nutmeg powder. Stir well, and cook without covering till the liquid almost dries up. Serve with hot phulkas or any kind of roti.