The Major requirement was to keep the dish vegan. This really is a challenge in my house since Chris is a meat and potatoes sorta guy. Every time I have made a vegetarian meal (not even vegan) in the past I get the same response "this would be really good with chicken in it." Almost like he missed the entire point of the meal. I do have to say, a few of the times I have really agreed with him.
I have toyed with the idea of being a vegetarian for quite some time. For no real reason other than to see if I could actually survive on that diet. I would have to move into it slowly since I have trouble figuring out the protein bit since I have a few picky food eating quirks of my own, not even mentioning Chris and my children. But Vegan is something I have never really thought about. I have thought about eliminating other things from our diet, like milk, since I think Eli might have an allergy, but he eliminated it from his own diet and will usually not touch dairy with a ten foot pole. I didn't want to become one of those moms who has to pack "special" snacks for their child to go and visit with others. (if you are one of those moms, I am not trying to offend you, I actually feel for you. But you are probably a pro at it and feel sorry for me because my kids are filled to the brim with all sorts of terrible processed and chemical filled foods. So we are even.)
Anyway, I was VERY hesitant to make this dish. First reason being, how in the world am I going to trick Chris into eating a vegan dish. The second reason being, I have never even heard Chris mention a time when he accidentally allowed Indian food to pass his lips. And I had only even eaten it once. And I did not cook it. So I had a real challenge. But I did end-up trying it. I actually made 2 dishes. One with the original recipe (ok... almost original, I did have to tweak it a bit if I had any chance of Chris trying it) and a second one I would call more of a fusion dish. (Indian-Mexican)
I decided on Mexican because for some reason I felt the recipe had "Mexican Food" written all over it. I was basically making a pancake/crepe/tortilla sorta thing. It used Cumin, beans and she suggested making rice.
I did not get any pictures of the process cuz it was a crazy week. Sorry.
I did not add the peppers to the original recipe, but I did add some potatoes. Why, you ask? Frankly, cuz I had to use them up. I found the filling to be Extremely dry. So I ended-up adding some broth. (before you scream cheater, it was veggie) I think it help immensely.
For my fusion dish I used a black bean and kidney bean combo. (as a note for the original recipe I had a heck of a time finding chick peas down here in the South, but I did find them) Instead of oregano I used cilantro. The only other spice I used was cumin. I also added black olives, rice, tofu ground beef substitute and used diced tomato instead of tomato paste.
I really felt the fusion dish needed a creamy, cheesy sauce. SHOOT! vegan. So I did a little research and found an interesting sounding vegan cheese sauce. (to tell you the truth, I found it amazing I found a website dedicated to vegan Mexican food www.veganmexicanfood.com I did not have any Nutritional Yeast on hand (I did have the raw cashews though) and the trip to Whole Foods was out. So I had to make something up. I used the rice milk, veggie broth, cilantro, and cornstarch to make a gravy. It tasted pretty good. I served it with more black olives and some avocado.
I found 2 T to make the dosas too small... so i increased the batter amount to a 1/4 C, or 4 T. Much better!
I personally felt the original recipe was WAY too salty. I liked the fusion dish better, but even that was too much for me. Good thing I made some rice to go with it. I ate a bowl of rice and a few slices of watermelon. (Hey, it was still vegan)
Now here is the crazy part. I made the fusion dish with Chris in mind. I thought there was no way he would eat Indian food. It turns out he thought it wasn't bad. I asked if he would eat it as leftovers and he said no. So I threw it away. I can't believe Chris liked it better than I did.
Later that evening the Missionaries came by to visit unexpectedly. I found out they hadn't eaten. I felt so bad the only thing I had to offer them was this weird attempt at dinner. I didn't even know what to tell them it was. Vegan? Indian? Mexican? So I told them it was a hobby. They ate it. I told them they did not have to be kind and eat it to be polite. I am VERY used to people scoffing at what I cook. I live with 2 extremely picky, hard-headed eaters.
I had a really hard time taking pictures. I had no idea what to garnish with. I also had no idea how to make the food look appetizing. All the other pictures I saw of other people competed challenges never seemed to look appetizing to me either. Maybe that was part of the reason I had a hard time eating it. So here is my best attempt at photos.
The original recipe
Indian/Mexican Fusion
Now my big question is.... How do I get the nasty smell of Curry out of my house?
The recipe as I received it:
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 (I forgot & didn't start making the rice until everything was ready, oops).
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) water
cooking spray, if needed
Dosa Filling
1 batch Curried Garbanzo Filling (see below), heated
Dosa Toppings
1 batch Coconut Curry Sauce (see below), heated
¼ cup (125gm) grated coconut
¼ cucumber, sliced
Dosa Pancakes
1.Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, slowly adding the almond milk and water, whisking until smooth.
2.Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray your pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, if needed.
3.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
1.Heat a large saucepan over medium to low heat. Add the garlic, veggies, and spices, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally.
2.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. My picture of this sauce is one that I had made, had to freeze, then thaw to use. It tastes great, but the texture is a little runnier, not quite as thick as it was before freezing.
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
½ (2½ gm) tsp cumin, ground
¾ (3¾ gm) tsp sea salt (coarse)
3 TBSP (30gm) curry powder
3 TBSP (30gm) spelt flour (or all-purpose GF flour)
3 cups (750ml/24oz) vegetable broth
2 cups (500ml/24oz) coconut milk
3 large tomatoes, diced
1.Heat a saucepan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic, cooking for 5 minutes, or until soft.
2.Add the spices, cooking for 1 minutes more. Add the flour and cook for 1 additional minute.
3.Gradually stir in the vegetable broth to prevent lumps. Once the flour has been incorporated, add the coconut milk and tomatoes, stirring occasionally.
4.Let it simmer for half an hour.
Happy eating!
Dosa Pancakes
Filling
Sauce
Plating
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