This month's Challenge was chosen by Debyi, of The Healthy Vegan Kitchen.

I've made Dosas before. But the ones I've made used regular wheat based flour.And they most certainly weren't vegetarian/vegan.}:P In fact, this was honestly the first time I've actively tried to cook a vegetarian/vegan meal.

I will freely admit that I did not make the filling in this recipe. However, I DID stay true to the vegetarian requirements. To appease the hubby, I also baked a few herbed chicken breasts and served them along side- otherwise, he'd never even of tried them.}:P

It's a quick post, not near as long as my usual ones, nor does it really have as much acerbic humor as usual. It's been a rough 1.5 months. Next Daring Bakers or Daring Cooks post will be back to normal. I promise.







So for my filling, I used red skin potatoes, homegrown heirloom tomatoes, red onions, a mix of mushrooms- including some of my hoarded Hen of the Woods wild mushrooms, dried Tarragon, sea salt, Curry, Garam Masala, pepper. And a splash of unsweetened almond milk.



Everything that needed to be, was chopped up into small pieces and dumped in a large pan. I also added a finely chopped clove of garlic. This was then set on the stove, stirred until everything was thoroughly mixed, then allowed to cook down.



While the filling cooked, and smelled divine by the way, I made a quick sauce. About a cup of the almond milk, Garam Masala and Ginger to taste, with a touch of Tumeric at the end for color, and Xantham Gum powder as a thickener. For something made 'on the fly', so to speak, it was actually quite good. We even dipped the baked chicken in it}:P

I added more chopped heirloom tomatoes and redskin potatoes to the filling mix about 3/4s of the way through cooking, to give it a bit more body as well as juice.



The Dosas themselves are really easy to make. It's spelt flour, water, almond (or soy or rice) milk, Curry, Sea salt, baking powder and really, that's it.



After putting all the dry ingredients in the bowl and thoroughly mixing them until combined, I added the water. Mixed that in well and added the almond milk. Stirred that in and made sure there were no lumps. Well, as few lumps as possible.

Lightly sprayed my frying pan with olive oil cooking spray and set it on a medium heat burner to heat up.



They say that when making crepes, the first one is either for the Chef or the dog. Well, it's pretty much the same with Dosas. This one? Was my third try.}:/



Mine came out thicker than they should be, but, well, I made them and that's what mattered. While I made up the rest, I kept sticking them in a barely warm oven, to keep them hot until they were to be served. I'd already baked the chicken by this time, so the oven had residue heat that was put to use. I also cooked up some Jasmine Rice as a side too.



The verdict? I enjoyed them. But then, I like eating a lot of veggies and salads. Mark? First words out of his mouth were 'Needs Meat.' BUT he liked them. He ate them willingly, although he thought the filling would be better with ground beef added to it.



The filling was really good served over the jasmine rice. Would I make this again? Of course! As a vegetarian/vegan dish? As a side, yes, as a main course, probably not.}:P

Thanks, Debyi for an interesting and challenging Challenge!




THE ORIGINAL RECIPES!

Indian Dosas

This recipe comes 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. You can serve them as a main course with rice and veggies, or as an appetizer. This does take a little planning ahead, so make sure you read the recipe through before starting (I forgot & didn't start making the rice until everything was ready, oops).

Serves 4

Equipment needed:
large bowl
whisk
griddle or skillet
ladle (or large spoon)
spatula
vegetable peeler &/or knife
large saucepan
food processor or bean masher

Dosa Pancakes
1 cup (120gm/8oz) spelt flour (or all-purpose, gluten free flour)
½ tsp (2½ gm) salt
½ tsp (2½ gm) baking powder
½ tsp (2½ gm) curry powder
½ cup (125ml/4oz) almond milk (or soy, or rice, etc.)
¾ cup (175ml/6oz) water
cooking spray, if needed

Dosa Filling
1 batch Curried Garbanzo Filling (see below), heated

Dosa Toppings
1 batch Coconut Curry Sauce (see below), heated
¼ cup (125gm) grated coconut
¼ cucumber, sliced

Dosa Pancakes
1.Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth.
2.Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed.
3.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.

Curried Garbanzo Filling
This filling works great as a rice bowl topping or as a wrap too, so don't be afraid to make a full batch.

5 cloves garlic
1 onion, peeled and finely diced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 green pepper, finely diced (red, yellow or orange are fine too)
2 medium hot banana chilies, minced
2 TBSP (16gm) cumin, ground
1 TBSP (8gm) oregano
1 TBSP (8gm) sea salt (coarse)
1 TBSP (8gm) turmeric
4 cups (850gm/30oz) cooked or canned chick peas (about 2 cans)
½ cup (125gm/4oz) tomato paste

1.Heat a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.
2.Mash the chickpeas by hand, or in a food processor. Add the chickpeas and tomato paste to the saucepan, stirring until heated through.

Coconut Curry Sauce
This makes a great sauce to just pour over rice as well. This does freeze well, but the texture will be a little different. The flavor is still the same though. My picture of this sauce is one that I had made, had to freeze, then thaw to use. It tastes great, but the texture is a little runnier, not quite as thick as it was before freezing.

1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ (2½ gm) tsp cumin, ground
¾ (3¾ gm) tsp sea salt (coarse)
3 TBSP (30gm) curry powder
3 TBSP (30gm) spelt flour (or all-purpose GF flour)
3 cups (750ml/24oz) vegetable broth
2 cups (500ml/24oz) coconut milk
3 large tomatoes, diced

1.Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes, or until soft.
2.Add the spices, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.
3.Gradually stir in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.
4.Let it simmer for half an hour.
Happy eating!