Seeds from about 6 cardamom pods (or 1 – 1 1/2 tsp whole cardamom seeds if your using the kind that come already de-podded in a spice bottle and had a “best by” date from about a year ago so they’ve lost some of their flavor… I won’t judge you if you don’t judge me)
1 large yellow/white/sweet onion, halved and sliced
1-2 serrano peppers or 1/2 tsp chili powder or 1 tsp Berbere seasoning (my preference)
2 cloves of garlic, minced (or garlic scapes if you can get them, which are low FODMAP!)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
2 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ras al hanout spice mix (I use Frontier Co-op, but use your favorite if you have one)
1 head of cauliflower (about 2 lbs with stalk and leaves, about 1.75 lbs without)
21-28 oz firm or extra-firm tofu, cut into ~1″ cubes, depending on how much tofu you like.
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups total of lite coconut milk and/or milk alternative (e.g. soy milk)
2 med-large zucchinis (I’ve also used green bell peppers here, which I can recommend as a substitute if you prefer)
1 lb. sugar snap peas (use frozen peas to make up for however many fresh peas you don’t have)
To serve: cubed roasted potatoes (or rice, chapati, naan, or grain of choice)
Optional garnish: Greek yogurt (non-fat works great), Dal Mix
Algorithm
Put a large frying / sauté pan or wide stock pot on medium heat.
Add the cumin and cardamom seeds a couple of minutes until the cumin seeds get a shade darker and they start to smell fragrant. Add the chopped onion and sauté until golden, 5-10 minutes.
Add the garlic, peppers if you’re using them, and spices to the pan. Stir and let cook about 1 minute until they just start to smell fragrant.
Add the cauliflower and tofu to the pan, and stir to mix with the onion and spices. Add the 1/2 cup water and the coconut milk; stir to combine. Put the lid on the pan and let simmer for 5 minutes, until the cauliflower has softened slightly.
Meanwhile bring a small sauce pot of water to a boil. Add any frozen peas you’re using, let them come back to a boil and boil for about a minute. Add sugar snap peas, let them come back to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Take off the heat and strain from the water. Set aside
Add in the zucchini (and/or green bell peppers) and stir. Let simmer for a couple minutes until the cauliflower is softened and cooked to your liking (shouldn’t take too long).
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the peas.
Serve with grain or starch of choice. Optionally, pass around Greek yogurt and Dal Mix to top each dish.
If you are grain-free, or grain-challenged, being able to have a “wrap” for a meal is a huge treat! (To be fair these contain a little fine corn meal, and I think corn can count as a whole grain depending on the context. I’ve omitted the corn meal from these before, it still works, so that’s an option if you need it!) These dosas are delicious with any number of fillings; pick your favorite wrap or sandwich filling, or even a mishmash of roasted veggies and a protein of your choice, and you are good to go. There’s one filling in particular I’ve been kind of obsessed with, so I’ll definitely be making a separate post for that one. I’ve got a couple other recipes in mind, that have made excellent dosa fillings in the past, so will probably also be making an appearance here eventually.
I’m not going to lie, making these dosas takes a little thinking ahead, but other than that there’s almost no prep required; after you’ve soaked the mung beans, everything goes into a blender and gets blitzed. It takes some time to make each dosa one at a time in a big frying pan, but fortunately the actual active time required from the cook is not too much; there is quite a bit of down time while each side of each dosa cooks. These dosas also freeze and reheat beautifully, so once you’ve made a batch, they can make putting together a meal pretty quick and easy. I recommend making a bunch whenever you have time and energy (and anytime you have extra greens that need to be used up!), whether or not you’re going to eat them right away. Then stick a few in the fridge in an airtight container and put the rest in the freezer (also in an airtight container, with parchment or wax paper between the container and between individual dosas) for later.
Probably the most important thing to know before diving into this recipe, is that you have to soak your dried mung beans for about 8 hours at room temperature, and you can safely leave them soaking at room temperature for up to 24 hours. So it helps if you can commit to making these a day in advance, and start soaking your beans right then. Fortunately, if you start soaking your beans and it turns out you’re not able to make dosas the day you planned to, just pop the soaking mung beans (still in their soaking water) into the fridge, where they’ll be fine to wait for you, up to a few days, until you’re ready to cook. I soak the beans in a mason jar with a lid; then if I’m not able to make the dosas when the beans have soaked, I just move the whole thing to the fridge.
If you give these a try, I’d love to hear how you eat them, and what you fill them with! Let me know in the comments!
Green Mung Dosas
Makes about eight 12-inch dosas / wraps — freeze and reheat *very well*
Bits:
225 g (1 1/3 cups) whole dried mung beans, soaked at room temp for 8 to 24 hours
14 oz cold water
1 serrano pepper, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp 1 tsp
1/2 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp 1 tsp fine corn flour
3-4 cups spinach or mixed hearty greens (I use Organic Girl Super Greens salad mix)
Butter, ghee, or oil to grease the frying pan, if needed
Algorithm:
Heat a 12-inch frying pan or skillet on the stove on medium heat. (The larger the pan, the more filling you can stuff in the dosa! But don’t worry too much if you only have smaller frying pans; the dosas will be smaller, but you’ll of course get more of them).
Add all ingredients to a large blender (use a high-speed / high power blender like a Vitamix if you have one). Blend just until the consistency is smooth and uniform.
If your pan is not non-stick, grease it lightly with ghee, butter, or oil
Pour 1/8th of the batter onto the hot pan and quickly tip the pan so the batter coats the whole bottom evenly. Let the dosa cook for a few minutes until the edges look dry and start pulling away from the pan.
Flip the dosa and let it cook for two more minutes on the other side. TBH, I find it easiest to pull it up and flip it over with my fingers, but you can give it a try with spatulas if you like. Be careful when you are pulling the dosa up to flip it; if it starts to come apart in the middle, it’s not ready to flip yet! Try turning the heat down a nudge, and giving it another minute if this happens.
Lift the dosa from the pan and set it on a plate to cool.
Repeat until you’ve used up all the batter.
* Notes about freezing and reheating: If you’d like to freeze some dosas for later, be sure to put some parchment or wax paper down on the bottom of a freezer-proof, airtight container. Fold each dosa on itself, however it will fit in the container. Put squares of parchment or wax paper between each dosa. If you don’t do this, the dosas may stick to each other and the container when you try to take them out (unless you want to reheat them all at once; I take them out of the freezer and use them one at a time, personally). When you want to eat one of your freezer dosas, take it straight out of the freezer but don’t try to unfold it yet. Put it in whatever shape its in on a large plate, and microwave it for 1 minute (full blast, no need to wait around for “defrost”). Once it’s warmed up, unfold it and put it back laid flat on the dinner plate. Microwave it for another minute, or until hot. (Careful not to over-microwave it, or it will shrink up a little and get chewy).
I can’t even try to pretend; I’m a bit obsessed with pancakes. These savory pancakes are the perfect excuse to have pancakes for lunch or dinner without feeling too weird about it (honestly, I wouldn’t judge either way). Like my breakfast pancakes, these are made with only chickpea flour, and are also secretly packed with shredded carrots. So there’s your protein and your vegetable, check and check! You can also change it up by using shredded zucchini, hearty greens, onions, or whatever you fancy, instead of, or in addition to, the carrots.
Instead of syrup, these are topped with a bright, flavorful tomato ginger chutney. If you’re not vegan, I’d also suggest adding a dollop of yogurt and/or an over-easy egg to these to really round out the meal.
Savory Tomato Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Tomato Ginger Chutney
Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Vegetarian India
Bits:
For the tomato ginger chutney:
3-4 large (24 oz total) tomatoes, finely diced
4 tsp peeled and minced (or grated) fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder (such as cayenne)
1 tsp whole yellow mustard seeds
6-8 fresh curry leaves, finely chopped
For the pancakes:
150 g chickpea flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp rasam powder spice mix (substitute curry powder if you don’t have rasam)
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/8 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1 1/4 cups water
1 large tomato, finely diced (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup diced onion
1 jalapeño, finely diced (ribs and seeds discarded for milder heat)
Butter, ghee, or oil for greasing the pan
Algorithm:
Start by making the chutney:
Put a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves.
When the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the remaining ingredients to the pan, and bring to a low simmer. Stir every minute or so for about 10 minutes, until some of the juices have evaporated off and the chutney has thickened slightly. Keep over low heat, stirring occasionally when needed, to keep warm.
Make the pancakes:
Preheat a large frying pan on the stove over medium heat.
Sift the chickpea flour into a bowl. Add the salt and spices through asafoetida, and stir to combine. Slowly add the water, mixing with a fork continuously to maintain a smooth consistency, until you have a thin, smooth batter.
Add the tomato, onion, and jalapeño to the batter and stir to mix.
When your frying pan is hot, add the minimal amount of low-fat butter to coat the bottom of the pan (or more if you can tolerate it in your diet). Use a 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter into separate blops in the frying pan to make the pancakes. Cook until the edges look dry and bubbles form on the surface of the pancakes before flipping the with a spatula; cook for two to three minutes on the other side. When done, remove the pancakes to a plate and set aside. Repeat with remaining batter
Top pancakes with the tomato ginger chutney. (If you’re not vegan, the pancakes and chutney are extra tasty with an added dollop of yogurt or topped with an egg!)
Robot Recipes 