Delicious Indian Warps (Dosas)

Serves: 4

Difficulty: Easy

Dosas are a traditional Indian food which are totally delicious and fun to eat. Traditionally the batter would have been fermented, but this is an easier "cheat" way of making them.

It's a great way to spice up your food during lockdown while still keeping your food pretty healthy. Note that Dosas are made from gram (chickpea) flour which is high in nutrients, has fewer calories than regular flour and is more filling. Winner!

For the Chickpea Dosa

125g chickpea flour/gram flour (often down the world foods aisle) 

40g rice flour (you can make this by blitzing dried rice in a blender)

1 tsp sea salt

250 ml of water

½ tsp turmeric powder (optional)

1 tsp nigella seeds (optional)

Sweet potato dosa fillings

1 tbsp coconut oil, ghee or olive oil

3 medium sweet potatoes (you could use butternut squash/summer squash as well)

1 white onion

100g cooked chickpeas (from a tin)

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp garam masala

¼ tsp ground ginger powder

¼ tsp ground turmeric powder

A pinch of chilli flakes

Additional fillings & toppings

Halloumi (+ 1 tbsp butter for frying)

Avocado

Mango Chutney

A handful of chopped coriander leaves (optional)

4 tbsp Yoghurt

1 tbsp Mint Sauce or a handful of fresh mint chopped

A few slices of lime

Prep these additional extras first

1. Mix together your yoghurt and mint in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Chop up your coriander leaves and also set aside
3. Slice up your halloumi and set aside to be fried at the last minute
4. Slice your avocado into thin slices and set aside in a bowl

Sweet potato dosa fillings

1. Firstly, prepare your vegetables. Start with your sweet potato cut up into medium-sized chunks just smaller than thumb size. Then your onion into quarter rings. Followed by finely chopping your garlic.
2. Heat your oil up in a large based flat pan and once hot start frying your sweet potato. Flipping them and stirring them continually to cook them evenly.
3. Next, add your onion, garlic, cooked chickpeas, spices and chilli. Continue to fry them until the onions are translucent and sweet potato is cooked through. This should take an additional 5-10 minutes.

For the chickpea dosas

1. Whilst your sweet potato filling is cooking mix together all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, using a hand whisk, until the batter is completely smooth.
2. In a medium-sized flat bottom pan (like a pan you would use for pancakes) heat up some ghee, coconut oil or olive oil. Wait for it to get hot!
3. Once it is up to temperature, add a ladle full of dosa batter to the pan and tilt the pan to evenly spread the batter. Halfway through cooking (about 2-3 minutes in) flip the dosa over to cook both sides.  
4. As each dosa is ready, place them on a warmed plate, one on top of the other, and cover them with a clean tea towel to keep warm.

For the halloumi

1. Heat up 1 tbsp of butter in a pan. Once hot, add your slices of halloumi and cook on both sides until the halloumi surface is golden. You’re looking for a light brown/slight crisp – don’t let them get to the point where they are bunt (dark brown)

How to serve & eat

This is very much hand-eating food, so we tend to place all of the components on the table in individual bowls, plates or jars. That way you can assemble each dosa wrap separately, with different mixtures of fillings and sauces if you like.