Kaalu Dosae - Indian Crepe With Field Bean Topping

 KAALU DOSAE 

We enjoy a kaalu dish at least once in two days during the avarekai season.The legume is adored for its distinct aroma. Even a simple dish like upma becomes flavoursome and adorable when a handful of kaalu is thrown into it. 

Kaalu Dosae is a delicacy and it is a sure - fire  hit when served hot. Topped with a dollop of fresh butter and a variety of chutneys to go with it, savouring  kaalu Dosae is nothing but  the seventh heaven!

 I used Puri - puffed rice - while grinding the batter for  dosae  along with rice. The dosaes were very soft and spongy and the edges were crisp and golden in colour.

 INGREDIENTS FOR THE PURI DOSAE BATTER

Raw rice ( Sona Masuri ) - 1 1/2 cups 

Par boiled rice ( idly rice ) - 1 1/2 cups 

Puri ( Puffed rice ) - 1 cup 

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp 

Bengal gram dal - 1/2 tsp 

Sour curds - 1 cup 

Salt - 2 1/2 tsps 

Sugar - 1/2 tsp 

METHOD 

1. Wash and soak all the ingredients except curd, salt and sugar for two hours. 

2. Grind the soaked ingredients adding little water into a smooth and thick batter. 

3. When the batter is smooth add the sour curds,salt and sugar and grind for another three minutes. 

4. Store the batter in a big vessel giving it space for rising. 

5. Cover with a lid and leave it in a warm place for fermenting overnight. 

TO PREPARE THE KAALU FOR THE TOPPING 

 

INGREDIENTS 

Hituku Bele ( Peeled and deskinned Kaalu ) - 1 cup 

Finely chopped green chillies - 2 tbsps 

Finely chopped fresh coriander - 2 tbsps 

Finely chopped fresh ginger - 2 tbsps 

METHOD 

1. Boil the hituku bele in just enough water adding a pinch of salt for ten minutes. 

2. Drain excess water if any and spread it out on a kitchen towel. 

3. Mix all the chopped ingredients with the now dry hituku bele kaalu. 

TO MAKE THE KAALU DOSAE 

1. Heat a tava and grease it evenly with oil using the cut surface of a halved onion. 

2. Pour a table spoon of batter on the tava to check the consistency of the batter as well as the heat of the tava. 

3. When the batter is poured on the tava , it should spread into the shape of a dosae by itself. Small holes should appear on top of the dosae when it is cooked. When you turn over the dosae,  the flip side should look golden in colour. The dosaes will come out well after two or three small ones are tested. 

4. Adjust the consistency of the batter adding water if necessary,and pour one large ladle of batter on the hot greased tava. 

5. Dribble oil all around the dosae and wait for small holes to appear on top. 

6. Spread a scoop of the prepared kaalu on top of the still cooking dosae, and press them down with a spatula so that they get embedded on the dosae. 

7. Cover with a lid and cook for two more minutes on low flame. 

8. Remove lid and check if the dosae is cooked well on the top. 

9. Cooking on the flip side is not necessary. 

10. Gently remove the cooked Kaalu Dosae on to a plate and increase the heat before pouring the batter for the second dosae. 

Enjoy the hot Kaalu Dosae with a dollop of fresh butter and your favourite chutney.

Caramelized Onions and Swiss Cheese Sandwiches

I grew up at a time when food companies were elbowing their way into homes across America. Like many children of the 70s & 80s, I can still hum the catchy jingles that were sandwiched between The Flintstones and Looney Tunes. Our family ate Indian scratch cooking nearly every night. But with persistent pestering, I was allowed Oreo Cookies, Apple Jacks, and other packaged foods.





During the day, my sister and I ate in the school cafeteria where most meals were cooked from scratch. One of the lunch ladies was Italian-America and once a week ate her family's recipe for spaghetti with meat sauce.





I always looked forward to field trips. which called for a packed lunch. I got to sneak a peek at the things my classmates ate at home. Many kids retrieved baloney sandwiches from their lunch box. I longed to bite into a layer of the oddly uniform meat that tasted like hot dogs. But mom was fiercely opposed to baloney. She always made me a ham sandwich topped with lettuce, a slice of tomato and a spoonful of mustard.


I rarely eat meat now. So my days of ogling at baloney dangling in the refrigerated aisle are over. When I want to warm up this time of year, I make French onion soup. If I'm too busy to cook up soup, I toast some French bread and layer it a heaping spoonful of caramelized onions and Swiss cheese.

Sourdough

Going to be trying a sourdough starter, will post how its going.