Masala Dosa

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 175 g rice (short grain rice)
• 100 g pulses (moong dal, peeled mung beans)
• 2 chili peppers, fresh, finely chopped
• ½ tsp brown sugar
• 2 ½ tsp salt
• 6 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp desiccated coconut
• 3 tsp ginger, freshly grated
• 2 tsp cumin and 2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves, freshly chopped
• 2 tbsp butter
• 4 m.-sized potatoes

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest period approx. 1 day; Total time approx. 1 day 1 hour

Indian flatbreads with potato filling (vegetarian)

For the flatbreads: Soak the rice and mung beans in separate bowls overnight, then wash and drain each one separately, then puree one at a time. Use just enough water to make a paste. Mix the purees together, add a chili pepper, the brown sugar, and half a teaspoon of salt. Let stand for at least 1-2 hours (overnight if possible). Fry the dough in batches in ghee until the flatbreads are as thin as possible (about 20 cm in diameter). The flatbreads should be golden brown, but definitely not dark! The flatbreads are the most complicated and time-consuming part of the whole dish, so here’s an alternative: Instead of using rice and mung beans, simply season pancake batter (about 400 ml) with the chili pepper, half a teaspoon of salt, and the brown sugar. Tastes almost identical (no one has noticed a difference yet, not even compared to the original flatbreads from India!) For the filling: Boil the potatoes until soft, peel them, and roughly mash them with a fork or potato masher. Rub or grind the desiccated coconut, the remaining chili pieces, the ginger, and a few drops of water into a paste (masala paste). Heat the ghee or vegetable oil in a medium saucepan and toast the cumin seeds and mustard seeds, stirring constantly. When the mustard seeds start to pop (careful, they pop very high), stir in the masala paste. After a minute, add the turmeric, followed immediately by the potatoes, the chopped coriander leaves, and the remaining salt. Stir-fry for 5 minutes, then set aside. Divide the filling into as many portions as there are dosas. Place one portion on the center of each dosa and fold it in half. Now remove the frying pan. Grease with butter and toast both sides of the filled dosa again. Serve with chutney and/or natural yogurt.