Plancha goes Indian Style

Indian cuisine is becoming increasingly popular in Europe, not least because it also offers a wide selection for vegetarians. But European tourists are still often warned against enjoying street food in India, as our digestive systems are considered too sensitive for it. A typical street food dish that has long since found its way from Indian cities to western ones is dosa. These are very thin, crispy pancakes or crêpes that are traditionally prepared on a cast-iron plate and are seasoned and filled in a variety of ways. This snack, which originally comes from southern India, has now been declared one of the healthiest foods in the world by the World Health Organization.

For FIRE&FOOD, this was an opportunity to focus on pancakes, as the Indian snack is an excellent tasty starter or a perfect side dish for a barbecue menu. Dosas are an exciting alternative to grilled food, especially if there are vegans and/or allergy sufferers among the guests. The dough is made from rice and a certain type of bean or lentil - depending on the region - which also makes the whole thing interesting for people who are sensitive to gluten or low carbers. And the prerequisite for traditional preparation can now be found as a grill accessory from almost every manufacturer: a cast-iron grill plate. Alternatively, a plancha or fire plate also works, of course. Although preparing dosas requires time and a bit of planning, the dough can be prepared and stored for a few days. Dosas are served in style with sambhar, a deliciously seasoned sauce, and a coriander or coconut chutney. Masala dosas, which impress with a spicy potato filling, are also very popular. But it's also fun to just let your imagination run wild when it comes to the filling. You can use leftover vegetables and cheese, among other things. As handling the dough on the plancha requires a bit of practice, we fried small fritters instead of pancakes. It's important that the grill plate is very hot and that you don't skimp on the fat. You spread the dough on it in portions with a sweeping movement and spread it as thinly as possible. The actual filling is served as a topping.

Marion Fetscher: "Dosas are an excellent tasty starter or a perfect side dish in a barbecue menu."

Recipe for Masala Dosas with Coconut Chutney

Ingredients (for 4 people) for the Dosa dough:
• 200 g parboiled rice
• 50 g regular rice
• 50 g Urad Dal (Indian lentils)
• 50 g Chana Dal (peeled, halved chickpeas)
• ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
• Coconut oil for greasing the grill plate
• Butter

For the topping:
• 8 jacket potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 fresh chili pepper, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 8 curry leaves
• Salt
• some coconut oil

For the coconut chutney:
• 120 g coconut flakes
• 250 g full milk yoghurt
• ½ bunch of coriander
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 4 tsp sesame oil
• Salt and chili powder to taste

Preparation:
Wash both types of rice in a sieve and place in a large bowl. Cover with water and leave to soak in a warm place for at least 5 hours or overnight. Do the same with the lentils and chickpeas.
The next day, drain the lentils and then puree or blend them with the fenugreek seeds until they have a silky consistency. Now puree the chickpeas vigorously and then the rice, adding a little water - both should have a paste-like consistency. Then mix everything well and leave covered in a warm place overnight. The dough should have almost doubled in size the next morning due to the fermentation process and should have a slightly sour taste. Mix well again. The finished dough can be kept in the fridge for up to three days.

Pluck the coriander leaves from the stems and puree them together with the coconut flakes, diced onions and yoghurt. Stir in the oil and season with salt and chili.

Heat the grill plate or plancha to a high temperature. If the dosa batter is too thick, just add a little water. Place the batter onto the plate in portions using a ladle and spread it thinly in circular movements. After 1 minute, place a small piece of butter on the batter and spread it as well. Bake for another minute until the bottom side is golden brown. Then carefully loosen the edges with a spatula and turn it over.

Heat some coconut oil in an iron pan and sauté the onion, chili, garlic and all the spices together. Add the tomato pieces and cook until soft. Add the potatoes, let them heat up and then set aside.
Bake the fritters one after the other and serve with the potatoes and coconut chutney.

Another Indian recipe from the hot plate, namely lamb dosas with mint yoghurt sauce, can be found HERE in our FIRE&FOOD recipe database!


Fancy a hot plate?

Sold out

Sold out

Sold out