Semolina Dosai

After my success with Green Gram Dosai, my confidence and enthusiasm grew bigger and stronger. So strong, that not only have re-created the recipe several times, but I threw myself into the world of dosai experimentations. On my dosai exploration quest, I am still, however, faithful to my sweet little Dakshin cookbook - gosh! I am never tired of this one:



It features around 15 completely different dosai recipes (and other snacks). Most of dosai recipes need to stay fermented overnight, which is why I never made them. I always forget to make the batter.
This one though is not the same. Two hours of quick set-aside will do it. Here it is, soft and chewy:

SEMOLINA DOSAI:
(Rava Dosai)

Makes: 15 dosais
prep time: 2 hours and 40 minutes

• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup semolina
• 1 cup rice flour
• salt
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 green chilies
• 1 cup (soy) yoghurt
• a few curry leaves
• fresh coriander leaves
• oil for frying

Mix the flour, semolina and rice flour. Add the salt and cumin, chopped chillies, yoghurt and the chopped coriander leaves. Add enough water to form a stiff dough. Let sit for at least two hours. Add enough water to make thin batter.
Heat the tawa griddle or cast iron wok. When smoking hot, start pouring the batter, from outside inwards, in circular motions to create pancake. Even its surface with the back of the ladle to remove lumps. Pour a teaspoon of oil around the edges. Cook from both sides until soft and crispy.

This is for you Srivalli and your beautiful event Celebrate Dosai. I am looking forward to the round-up and more inspiration.

Traditional Chinese Spring Onion Pancakes

Everyone who knows that I spent two years in China would know that due to my time there I turned into a complete spice-addict. And all that out of a pure fact. Zlamushka could not cook. I dotn mean cooking non-spicy or Western dishes, I mean nothing... zero, nadah. I even called my mum one desperate day to ask her how to boil pasta. I know,... I was 19 years old.

So in order not to starve to death, I ate out every day (or more accurately - 3 times per day). No worries, Chinese street food is more than just affordable, let alone student canteens or street stalls.

My first account with spicy food was an unbearable experience. I never even seen anything apart from A black peppercorn in our FAMILY Sunday soup. Now I was standing there, with a mouthful of different spices, coughing and sweating.

Gradually things went better, I even learned how to make dumplings and fried noodles, even spicy eggplant.

And then, after I returned back home, schnitzel and mashed potatoes simply lost its taste. I found myself dumping chillies and peppercorns onto my plate, which my parents found quite disturbing...

So I got myself a proper Chinese Cookbook and returned "back home"... One of my first attempts (the one that my parents actually fell in love with) was:

TRADITIONAL CHINESE LEEK PANCAKES:

( 葱油饼)

• 3 cups plain flour
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 cup cold water
• 1 tsp oil
• salt
• 1 cup finely chopped spring onions (I used leek)

In a bowl, mix the flour with the hot water until crumbled. Gradually add the cold water, oil and a pinch of salt. Form a big ball, wrap into foil and let sit for about 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough into a thin square, cover with a layer of chopped spring onions and sprinkle with salt. Start rolling. Once rolled up, cut into 8 pieces. Take each piece and flatten. Take the outer part of the dough and cover the cut sides, so the onions would not fall out. Carefully, roll out to a circular shape (I somehow ended up with squares, never mind) and dry-fry* over high heat (just like flat breads).

* Note: A proper Chinese would shallow fry them, which makes them crispier and tastier, but we do mind our health and shapes, eh?

Serve still hot with a dipping sauce made of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and chili oil.

I made mine for Tompa and for beautiful Bindiya´s These Are a Few of My Favortie Things - with Chinese Food as this month´s theme. You have no idea how excited I am about round-up. It will be fun to remember all the foods I used to eat so often.

Chestnut Flatbread

Flatbreads are my favorite side dish to any curries. Back home, we make lokša [lok-sha] - potato-flour flatbread greased with lard. Soft and chewy - absolutely fantastic. Then once I started cooking I discovered chapatti, naan, roti, dosai, tortillas, crepes, wonton and other wonderful flatbreads. I was particularly interested in those with flour AND something else. Something to soften them up, to make them fluffier.

I started experimenting and today, I have my new favorite:

CHESTNUT FLATBREAD:

• chestnut
• flour
• pinch of salt

First prepare the chestnut puree by boiling whole chestnuts in hot water for about 20 minutes or until soft. Drain them and peel the skin off. Mash them just like you would potatoes. Add the salt and flour, enough to make a smooth dough. Divide that into small balls and roll each out into a thin round flatbread.
Heat the iron-cast pan or tawa griddle until hot and fry them one by one from both sides for about a minute.

My little contribution to this month´s Bread Baking Day #7 hosted by Chilli Und Ciabatta. The theme is Flatbreads - my favorite type of bread. Light and delicious.

Green Gram Dosai

I have to admit that I have never tried making dosai before. Not because I would not know how to, but mainly because their preparation requires pre-soaking and grinding and I either did not have time (I tend to think about cooking lunch early in the morning, which is generally too late for dosais) or the utensils (imagine me grinding all those moong dals in my pea-sized mortar and pestle :-S
But anyway, in summer we finally purchased my awesome little dark red kitchen helper - 1 button blender. Oh, how much I love it. Simple as it is, place all the stuff inside, cover and press "da ba´en", voilla! Dinner on the table.
However lately we have been using it mainly for smoothies or Mexican Salsa and so failed to experiment. But watching my lovely blender loosing its abilities to be creative, I sometimes feel guilty for not stuffing it with something else rather than fruit or avocados.
So being a girl of immediate action, I started browsing through all cookbooks thinking out a cunning plan. Here I went (with the help of my favorite Dakshin cookbook), my very first attempt to make:

GREEN GRAM DOSAI:
(Passbirattu)

• 2 cups green gram dal (yellow split moong dal)
• 1/2 cup uncooked Basmati rice
• 5 green chilies
• salt
  
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp shredded coconut (I used dried flakes)
• 1 potato
• 1 bunch coriander
• oil to fry

Wash the dal and soak with rice in 2 cups water for an hour. Drain well and place in the blender. Add the chilies, chopped onions, boiled and mashed potato and a little water and blend to a smooth paste.
Add the rest of ingredients and process to a batter of thick and dropping consistency.

Heat the tawa griddle or an iron frying pan until smoking hot.
Drizzle some oil, coat the pan and add a laddle of the batter. Take a flat wooden spatula and with circular motions, spread the batter around the pan. Fry for a minute or until mostly dry, flip over and continue frying from the other side.
You should end up with crunchy beany pancakes, perfect with any chutney or curry dishes.

( We ate ours with Bean Poriyal, Saffron Rice and Small Onion Sambar)

Here is my contribution to Susan´s Legume Love Affair, and event that truly reflects my passion for cooking dal.

Soy Milk Pancakes

Making vegan pancakes has always been a challenge for me. I do not remember ever succeeding. Making them has been a breakfast nightmare for me, and for that reason I named them "paincakes" and decided that I didn't like them anyway.
Having a long commune and not much time to run around the kitchen with my apron on, I have been trying to experiment on Sunday mornings intending to bring a bit of royal flavor to the breakfast table, rather than the one of cereals with soy yoghurt or soy milk.
You probably know what I am hinting on here, yes, I did fight my paincake nightmare again this morning. Found the most simple recipe and was amazed by the results. Tompa jumped out of bed immediately and attacked his plate.

SOY MILK PANCAKES:

prep time: 25 minutes
makes: 6 big pancakes

• 125g whole grain flour (I used spelt)
• pinch of salt
• 200 ml soy milk (I used vanilla flavored)
• 1 tbsp soy yoghurt (optional, to fluff them up)
• oil for greasing
  

Mix all the ingredients to a smooth liquidy batter. Take care to break all the lumps.
Heat the non sticking frying pan until really hot, add a drizzle of oil and smear it around the pan. Pour in a laddle of batter and with a flat spatula, spread the batter evenly in round motions. Fry for about a minute, flip over and finish.

I added raisins to my batter, but originally I was hoping for blueberries.

Update Feb 17th - I just made these with savory filling and they were fantastic. I even added some curry powder to the batter for some extra flavor.

Update April 17th - Cannot get enough of pancakes, apparently. Today I have thickened the dough by adding some oatmeals. They came out perfect, just like the traditional American Pancakes.

We had ours with fresh cubed mango and whisked yoghurt with honey and carob powder. For even a more royal taste, try my No Fat, No Sugar, Nutty Chocolate Spread. Yum, yum, yum... Sundays are from now on Pancakes Days.
To show off, I am sending this to this month´s Weekend Breakfast Blogging to Rajitha over at Hunger Pangs. The theme is Soy and its by products. Enjoy a piece of health!

Steamed Semolina Idlis - no fancy gadgets

For a very long time, I have been reading about you guys posting tons of recipes for idlis. I have never ate or made those myself. Not that I wouldn't want to, but I was always put off by all those lovely idli makers you guys have and I don't. Then I went to Japan two weeks ago to see my Tompa who was there doing beez-nees and I bought myself a gorgeous South Indian Vegetarian cookbook. Those tempting pictures and fabulous curries just had me wrap my apron around me and get cooking as soon as I stepped off the plane.
I mean just have a look for yourself.

And when I saw those idlis, I was like "I gotta make these and the fact that I have no idli maker will not stop me".

Then I finally asked Bindiya of In Love With Food for a suggestion. She was so sweet and suggested cup cake forms or muffin forms. I was very pleased with her helpfulness but then I realized. Oh... I don't even have separate muffin forms in the house... Argh.

BUT! From having a closer look at the picture I knew it wasn't going to be a problem. With hosting my own A Spoonful of Christmas event in mind, I had a brilliant idea. A spoonful of idlis. So I decided to use a big tablespoon to shape the idlis before putting them into the steamer. Now, how simple is THAT. I figured ancient Indian grandmothers also didnt have idli maker in their houses and they still managed. So I went for it and it came out pretty good:

SEMOLINA IDLIS:
(Rava Idli)

spice ladder: **

prep time: 35 minutes
makes: 12 tiny idlis

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 cup semolina
• 2 cm piece of ginger
• 2 green chilies
  
• 1 handful coriander leaves
• 1/2 cup yoghurt
• salt
• tadka (Indian fragrant oil)

In a wok, heat the oil and roast semolina until golden. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the chopped ginger, green chilies, coriander leaves, yoghurt and salt to taste. Mix well. Add freshly made tadka and mix thoroughly. Add more water, if needed. The result should be a compact dough.
Now take a big tablespoon and spoonful the dough. Press against the bowl to flatten it out and transfer to the steamer. Like this:

Steam for 10 - 15 minutes. They are done when a toothpick pierced through them comes out clean. Serve warm with anything you would serve rice with.

I had mine with buttermilk curry and aubergine chutney.

Plum Cocoa Strudel

I am not a big fan of sweet stuff and I definitely don't like cakes. What´s wrong with me? I don't know, ask my family... ;-)
The only sweet things I really enjoy is some sugar in my morning coffee, dried fruits or digestive cookies (All right, I can eat lots of those....) Occasionally I have a home-made cookie (just because I am stingy with sugar, so I don't put a lot :) Dark chocolate is OK, too... Other than that, I am a SAVORY SPICE FREAK, remember?
BUT!!! I like to bake for my loved ones. And the one I (supposedly) do absolutely the best, is STRUDEL. Don't be surprised. Back home (in Slovakia), strudel is the 'rice of Asia'.
So ever since I moved to Sweden, this has been a sneaky way to Tom´s happy face :) Each time sweet time, poppy seed strudel is the one he s always ready for...
I have rolled up so many poppy strudels that I need a rehab :) So this time, I made another traditionally popular one, with PLUMS and COCOA powder. Tom decided that this one is his favorite, too :)
I decided that it is anti-oxidant enough to be submitted to Sweetnicks´ ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday Food Event. Sweetnicks, here is a Plum, Prune and Raisin Cocoa Strudel for you :














And here is how I did it:

SUPER SIMPLE STRUDEL DOUGH:

spice ladder: (not happening)

prep time: 20 mins
makes: 2 long strudels

• 200 g whole grain flour *
• 100 ml yogurt
• 100 g margarine
• 1 tsp baking powder
  
• pinch of salt

* Note: Apparently, in the olden days, regular unhealthy flour was used. I, however, like the nontraditional whole grain. I prefer spelt flour the best. But feel free to use any type you have.

Put flour into a bowl, add baking powder and salt. Mix together. Grate the margarine (yes, using a squared grater - it saves time and the dough is smoother). Add to the flour and mix together. Add yogurt and knead a dough. Add more flour if the dough is sticky.
That is it. If you don't feel like baking right now, cover it in a plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

When you are ready, take the dough out and cut in half.
Using a rolling pin and enough flour (so the dough doesn't stick to the wooden surface or to the pin), roll each half dough into a thin square.


















(I used cocoa powder mixed with brown sugar, sliced fresh juicy plums, chopped dried prunes and raisins)

Place the filling on top and start rolling towards the end. Once rolled up, pierce the top with a fork four - five times (so the strudel doesn't break or explode in the oven :). Now, my (and everybody else's back home) brushes the top with a beaten egg for the 'golden color'. I don't eat eggs, so I guess, the slightly burnt brown top is just fine.
Bake for 25 minutes on the lowest rack, pre-heated to 185 degrees Celsius. Take out, cut into nice slices and enjoy.

As for the filling, use your imaginations our Ultimate Slovak Traditional Fillings:

1. APPLE & CINNAMON:
The most traditional filling of all traditional fillings. Grate apples, mix with sugar, raisins and cinnamon powder. Set aside. When ready to spread on dough, squeeze out the juice (you don't want a soggy dough, (it usually ends up that way anyway)).

2. WALNUT & VANILLA:
Grind the walnuts or chop very very finely. Heat up a little amount of milk in a pan, add sugar and vanilla, let melt. then add walnuts and let cook until all the milk is absorbed and a paste forms. Let cool down.

3. POPPY SEEDS & LEMON
Grind poppy seeds in a grinder. Add sugar and vanilla. Heat up a little milk in a pan, add the poppy mixture and cook until the mixture is absorbed. Let cool down and mix in the lemon juice. Traditionally, chopped prunes or whole raisins are added, too.

4. PLUMS & COCOA POWDER
Mix cocoa powder with brown sugar. Spread on dough. Add sliced plums and raisins.

I don't like the fruit ones that much for they make the dough very soggy, so I like to experiment with combinations like:

1. Dessicated coconut, cocoa powder and brown sugar.
2. Chopped prunes, cocoa powder and brown sugar.
3. Marmalade and chopped dried fruits.

TRY ALSO VEGETABLE STRUDEL (e.g. samosa filling)

Or whatever else comes to your mind. And please, .... let me know the outcome.