More Dosas

I went to the Indian place around the corner this weekend for the masala dosa. Every Saturday, they have dosas, ildy, vada, and sambar. In short, they have a South Indian breakfast.

Dosas are like large crisp crepes, made out of lentils. This one was filled with spicy potatoes & had chopped red chili rubbed on the inside. A vada is a fried lentil mixture. Normally, I like the ones shaped like donuts but these were masal vada. They looked like falafels. Not what I was looking for but they made my brunch buddy happy. Ildy are steamed cakes of rice and lentils, served with a sambar, a lentil like soup/sauce. Both dishes came with coconut chutney.

You might be noticing a large amount of lentils in this meal. I'm still not sure if this vegan thing is working well for me. I see a large piece of beef in my near future.

Out Before I'm Even In

After having only recently joined The Daring Kitchen, I think it's time for me to quit. The rules are simple: you make a prescribed dish once a month, following the recipe given. This should have been my indicator that this club is not for me. Instead, I was intrigued by the idea of belonging to a group of cooks around the world, united by one taste for one month.

I couldn't participate in August due to my vacation plans and furthermore, I didn't find the recipe all that alluring - even if it's from the chef of El Bulli. The month before that, I refused to participate because the key ingredient was skate. After having seen rays on a dive, I refuse to promote the fishing of these beautiful creatures. I'm also opposed to cod, the suggested substitute. So here I am, in September, preparing for the challenge.

Dosas. In theory, fantastic. I consulted with my Indian Friend J (IFJ), and he gave me some ideas. Then I read the recipe. The recipe that I have to follow. It calls for spelt. This is where I bow out & say "No, thank you". I was fine with the vegan meal. I was fine with preparing the 3 components of dosa, filling, & sauce. But somehow, following a recipe for Indian food taken from a trendy restaurant in Toronto seemed wrong. Don't get me wrong - Fresh has good food and some amazing lemonade. Although I think their noodle bowls are great, I just don't know how inspired I am to make them at home.

IFJ says that there's a place down the street that has super-crispy dosas on Saturdays. In the meantime, I made my own. The dosas are out of chickpea flour, the filling is a potato marsala (I cheated & used my Grandmother's favourite curry mix), and the chutney, again, I cheated & used grated coconut. The result: interesting, and certainly a healthy basis for the steaks I had later that night. I won't be repeating the recipe but I certainly have been inspired by it. I will be going to the Indian place down the street tomorrow for good dosas.