Real African Dishes: [MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] South Indian Rice and Black Lentil Crepes Wraps

* Exported from MasterCook *

South Indian Rice and Black Lentil Crepes Wraps - Dosa

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 17 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : LowCal (Less than 300 cals) LowerCarbs
LowFat (Less than 15%) Unleavened
Vegan

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3/4 cup urad dal -- (black gram dal), or white split peas, soaked overnight in water to cover
3 1/2 cups water
2 cups rice flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Drain the dal and place in a blender. Add 1 cup cold water and blend until smooth. (This may require giving the dal a stir manually at intervals.)

In a small saucepan, heat up 1/2 cup water over low heat. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the rice flour, and cook, stirring until it begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the ground dal, salt, the remaining rice flour and 2 cups water. Stir well to make a thin batter. Add the thickened rice paste and stir again to mix well. Cover the bowl and let stand for at least 5 to 6 hours at room temperature. (You can let the batter stand for up to 12 hours if necessary.)

Heat a large griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. With a paper towel, lightly oil the griddle. The batter should be the thickness of a thin crepe batter; add a little more water to thin if necessary. Pour 1/2 cup batter onto the hot griddle, starting at the center and moving out. Use a spatula to help spread the batter as far as possible to the edges of the griddle; the dosa should be as thin as possible. Cook for approximately 2 minutes on the first side, then turn and cook for 1 minute longer, or until cooked through.

Remove the dosa from the griddle, place on a plate, and cover with a clean cloth to keep warm.

Repeat with remaining batter, stacking the dosas as you finish them and covering to keep warm.

Serve with South Indian spicy lentil stew and coconut chutney for a very traditional South Indian meal. For a lighter, simpler meal, serve with sesame-tamarind chutney powder mixed up into a paste for dipping.

Makes 15 to 20 thin, soft, crepe-like breads, 8 to 10-inches in diameter

AuthorNote: There are as many different kinds of dosas as there are kitchens in the south of India, but a basic dosa is prepared with a batter made from rice and urad dal. The batter is left to ferment, and then poured out onto a griddle to make anything from an eight-inch pancake to an enormous thin crepe. Unlike the North Indian chappatis, which are used as spoon to pick up other foods, moist and absorbent dosas are wonderful dipped into a curry or eaten with a coconut chutney - finger food par excellence.

Dosas, like other traditional breads and grain preparations from South Indian vegetarian cooking, have been made for centuries. Nor only are they delicious and wonderfully creative from a cooking point of view, but they also combine complementary amino acids (from the legume and the grain) to create a full protein.

South Indian Sesame Tamarind Chutney Powder
8 dried red chiles
1/4 cup white sesame seeds
1/4 cup urad dal (black gram dal)
1/8 teaspoon asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon tamarind paste
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a dry heavy skillet roast the chiles over medium heat, stirring them constantly to prevent scorching, for 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside.

Using the same skillet, dry-roast the sesame seeds until they begin to turn slightly golden. Remove from the heat and keep stirring for a minute or so; they will go on roasting in the retained heat of the pan, and it is important not to let them overcook, as they can lose their sweet nuttiness and become bitter. Remove form the pan and set aside.

Using the same technique, dry-roast the dal, stirring constantly, until roasted and golden, 5-8 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

In a spice grinder, grind the chiles and then, separately, the dal, and place in a bowl. Then grind the sesame seeds; you can grind them in the spice grinder, but they quickly turn into a paste and start to release their oils, so we prefer to use a mortar to pulverize them.

Add the sesame seeds to the other ground ingredients, together with the asafoetida, and mix well. Transfer 2 to 3 tablespoons of the ground powder to the spice grinder, add the tamarind paste and salt, and blend well. Return this mixture to the remaining powder and mix well. Let dry completely, stirring every now and again, before storing in a well-sealed container.

Makes 1 scant cup powder (16 one-tablespoon servings)

The... recipe [from Kerala] makes a powder that stores well. To use, just sprinkle the powder over bread or rice or, in more orthodox fashion, mix it with vegetable oil or water to make a paste, and serve in condiment dishes as you might a hot mustard.

Use as a condiment for bread; Dip bread into the powder or sprinkle a little powder on top. Alternatively, mix up with a little oil to make a paste, and place on the table to accompany lentil crepes or dosas.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 1 Calories; trace Fat (13.8% calories from fat); trace Protein; trace Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 67mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch).

Cuisine:
"Indian"
Source:
"Flatbreads & Flavors: A Baker's Atlas by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, William Morrow, 1995"
S(Formatted by Chupa Babi):
"Oct 2011"
Yield:
"17 8 to 10-inch wraps"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 105 Calories; 1g Fat (10.1% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 128mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fat.

Nutr. Assoc. : 5096 0 0 0 0