INDIAN DOSAS

IN INDIA U CAN FIND EVERY CITY OR VILLAGE TGIS INTRESTING AND DELICIOUS DOSA FOR BREAKFAST OR LUNCH...I LOVE INDIA.

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

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) watercooking spray, if needed

Dosa Filling:1 batch Curried Garbanzo Filling (see below), heated
Dosa Toppings:1 batch Coconut Curry Sauce (see below), heated¼ cup (125gm) grated coconut¼ cucumber, sliced

Dosa Pancakes:
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.
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
Heat a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.
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.
1 onion, peeled and chopped2 cloves garlic½ (2½ gm) tsp cumin, ground¾ (3¾ gm) tsp sea salt (coarse)3 TBSP (30gm) curry powder3 TBSP (30gm) spelt flour (or all-purpose GF flour)3 cups (750ml/24oz) vegetable broth2 cups (500ml/24oz) coconut milk3 large tomatoes, diced
Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes, or until soft.
Add the spices, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.
Gradually stir in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.
Let it simmer for half an hour.
Happy eating!

INDIAN SPICES

CAKE

250 g soft butter
230 g brown sugar
4 eggs - lightly beaten
160 g raisins
160 g currants
185 g mixed dried fruit - dates, figs, apricots, prunes
60 g dried cherries
60 g Amarena cherries - substitute with cocktail cherries
95 g powdered almond
90 g almond slivers
240 g all-purpose flour - sieved
1 teaspoon baking powder - sieved
2 tablespoons rum
120 g whole almonds - peeled

Notes about the ingredients:
The original Dundee cake is made with currants, raisins and sultanas. My mother substituted the sultanas with a variety of mixed dried fruit. Tante Stephanie also used cocktail cherries in her version of the cake. My own touch was substituting theses with delicious Amarena cherries. Furthermore, Tante Stephanie used dried orange an lemon peel in her cake, which gave a wonderful fragrance. This time I chose to use dried, slightly sour cherries. Cranberries would also make a great additions to the cake.

Pre-heat the oven to 150 degrees C. Prepare a round cake form (20 cm diameter) as explained above.

In a mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar using a hand mixer or your kitchen machine, until smooth. Slowly add the eggs in portions - beating each portion until in has been fully incorporated into the batter.

Transfer to a larger mixing bowl and add all of the dried fruit, Amarena cherries and the almond slivers and powder. Fold into the batter.

Add the sieved flour and baking powder and pour in the rum. Using a metal spoon carefully fold into the butter cream.

Pour the batter into the cake form and smooth out the top. Line with the whole almonds. Bake for 2 to 21/2 hours. About half an hour before the the time is up check to see if the cake is done. Place a toothpick into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean it is ready to be taken out.

Allow to cool for at least 4 hours, recommended overnight. Store in an airtight container for a few days, to allow the flavors to infuse.

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MOROCCO

Thai Mango Passion Cocktail

INGREDIENTS:

• SERVES 6-8
• 2 ripe mangoes
• 1/2 cup vodka
• 1/4 cup lime juice (or juice of 1/2 lime)
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup natural syrup (like maple syrup), or substitute 1/4 cup palm or brown sugar
• 1 bottle champagne, OR sparkling white wine (OR substitute sparkling spring water if you prefer less alcohol)
• Garnish: ice cubes OR crushed ice, lime wedges/slices, plus fresh cherries or other fruit of your choice

Thai Pineapple Salad with Cucumber and Peanuts

INGREDIENTS:

• SERVES 4 as a Salad or 2 as a Main Entree
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh or canned pineapple chunks (if using fresh pineapple, see cutting instructions below)
• 1 English cucumber, or 1 medium field cucumber
• 3 spring onions (green onions), sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly, or diced
• 1/2 cup dry whole roasted unsalted peanuts
• handful of ground peanuts (or roughly chopped), OR subsitute another nut, such as cashews
• 1 cup fresh coriander + handful of fresh basil leaves (roughly chopped if leaves are large)
• SALAD DRESSING:
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red chilli, de-seeded and minced, OR 1 tsp. chili sauce (or more if you want it extra spicy)
• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. fish sauce, OR vegetarian fish sauce (look for vegetarian fish sauce at Vietnamese stores)
• juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 Tbsp.)
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. shrimp paste, OR 1/2 Tbsp. more fish sauce (or vegetarian fish sauce)
• optional: 1 Tbsp. pineapple juice (use the juice from the can, OR squeeze a little from a fresh slice of pineapple)
• OTHER (optional): To make this salad a complete meal, add 1 cup cooked shrimp, or 1 package deep-fried tofu