Daring Cooks September Challenge: Indian Dosas (vegan)

The Daring Cooks September Challenge was hosted by Debyi from http://www.healthyvegankitchen.com/. She chose Indian Dosas from the refresh cookbook by Ruth Tal as the challenge.

This recipe came in 3 parts, the dosas, the filling and the sauce. It does take awhile to make, but the filling and sauce can be made ahead and frozen if need be. The dosas can be eaten as a main course with rice and veggies, or as an appetizer. We were allowed to use our own filling, the only requirement was that it had to be free of animal products. I decided to make small appetizers - what means just the dosas with some filling. As I don't like chickpeas I decided for a filling wih lentils. I used De Puy lentils - as a matter of fact, I accidentally stepped on them when searching for red lentils (masoor dal). Because they are not getting so soft and taste more like nuts than others I picked them. They are originally coming from France and are also very suitiable for salads (I remember I had them as a salad with thyme and rosemary which was very tasty).

Dosa Pancakes

• 120 g flour (I used 60 g rice flour and 60 g chickpea flour)
• ½ tsp (2½ gm) salt
• ½ tsp (2½ gm) baking powder
• ½ tsp tumeric powder
• ½ tsp tandoori masala powder
• ½ cup (125ml/4oz) coconut milk
• ¾ cup (175ml/6oz) water
• cooking spray or oil, if needed

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed. Ladle 2 tablespoons of 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 no longer looks wet, flip it over and cook for a few seconds. Remove from heat and repeat with remaining batter. Makes 8 pancakes.

Lentil filling

• 250 g lentils (De Puy)
• one onion, chopped
• one clove garlic, chopped
• ginger (half a thumb size), grated
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala
• (1 tsp red curry paste)
• 2 tsp tamarind paste
• eight tomatoes, cut in eights
• 150 ml tomato puree
• salt

Cook the lentils in 1 l of water for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile steam the onions with the cumin, chili powder and garam masala until they are soft. Add garlic and ginger and stew for another minute. Add the tomatoes and boil on medium heat for about five minutes. Add the tamarind paste and the tomato puree. You should get a sauce-like consistency. Mix the cooked lentils with the sauce and season with salt and red curry paste. Boil on small heat for five minutes until most of the sauce is absorbed by the lentils.

Robert liked both the dosas and the filling. I had to keep an eye on the plate because some of the dosas dissappeared while I was waiting for the filling to finish ... The filling is also great as a single dish or with rice (if you have some left).