South Indian Semolina Crepe... Also Known as 'Rava Dosa'

"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach..."

So they say... Well, I don't know who "they" are, but they must personally know my husband because I cannot think of a truer statement relating to him, and especially to his love of South Indian food. So... this past weekend, I decided to surprise him by learning a new South Indian breakfast/brunch item to make - rava dosa.

If you've ever eaten in an Indian restaurant, then you've probably seen a giant crepe-like dish that looks something like this:

A giant restaurant dosa

Unfortunately, in general, dosa is a somewhat complicated item to make. The batter requires fermentation and there's a whole process that goes into its creation. Well, luckily for me, there is a somewhat similar cousin to the regular dosa known as rava dosa, and it is easy easy easy to make.

Rava dosa can be made the day of, and does not need any preparation in the previous day / days like regular dosa does. I found this great recipe on Pinterest and with a few adjustments, I made something that we both really enjoyed!

I started off making the batter right after my morning coffee, which was about an hour and a half before we actually started making and eating the dosas. I followed the recipe as is except I did not add any yogurt, onions or cashews.
 

My rava dosa batter consisting of rice flour, rava (semolina), all purpose flour (maida flour), cumin seeds, pepper corn (ground up), green chilies, curry leaves, coriander leaves and salt.
 

Once you're ready to "fry" up the rava dosas, you take a flat pan / skillet put a few drops of oil (I used vegetable oil) on it and spread the batter out as thinly as possible while trying to avoid any holes and while trying to make it look like a nice circle (I'm still working on that part).
 

The thinner you can spread the batter, the better the rava dosa tastes.
 

Once you have cooked up the rava dosa, you can eat it with homemade chutney or pickle for a scrumptious and easy brunch. The only thing my husband didn't like about this recipe was the pepper corn, so I will probably leave that little ingredient out next time.
 

Rava Dosa with a little mango pickle.
 

Overall, I'd call this one a success. This was the first time I've ever attempted rava dosa and it came out pretty well! So, the next time you're wondering what to make for brunch and you don't feel like omelets, hop over to that link I posted above and check out this recipe... it's worth a try!

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Another ABCD Mommy

The Curious Chayote Squash

Have you ever seen this interesting little item at the grocery store?

Chayote Squash...

It took me a while before I connected this strange looking vegetable to the curried version of this known in Kannada as "seeme-badhnakai palya" that I've been eating since I was a kid. Once I figured it out, it quickly became a staple in our house once in every two weeks or so... and cooking it up is so easy: 

What you need (enough for two to three people): 

- 2 chayote squashes (if you can't find it at your regular grocery store, you can probably find it at the Indian store)  

- 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil 

- 1-2 small green chilis (depending how spicy you want it) 

- 1 tablespoon of vangi bath powder (you can find this powder at your local Indian store)

- 1-2 teaspoons of mustard seeds 

- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 

- pinch of hing 

- 1 teaspoon of channa dal 

- 1 teaspoon udad dal 

- small amount of shredded coconut to garnish (if you want) 

- salt to taste

Here's what you do: 

- Peel, wash and chop the chayote squash into cubes and keep it to the side (the flat seed in the center of the squash is easy to overlook, but make sure you take it out when chopping).

- Warm up the oil with the mustard seeds, turmeric and hing within it (this curry is easiest to make in a deep dish open skillet like this one).

- When mustard seeds start to pop, add the vangi bath powder, channa dal and the udad dal to the oil for a few seconds before also adding in the chopped chayote squash (watch this step carefully because the dal will burn quickly).

- Add a bit of water (about a 1/2-3/4 cup of water), reduce to low heat, and cover the squash to let it cook. As the squash cooks, the water will boil out and disappear.   

- Keep monitoring the squash and add small amounts of water, when needed, until it is fully cooked and tender.

- Add salt to taste and a bit of shredded coconut (if you want) and mix it all together and you're done! 

The finished product - Curried Chayote Squash or "Seeme Badhnakai Palya"

I personally like to eat it with these Malaysian Roti Parathas that you get in the Indian store...

And, as a bonus! I also found this yummy-looking recipe for an egg and cheese casserole with chayote squash in it. I have not tried this yet, but it definitely looks like a good weekend recipe to try out some time! 

Egg & Cheese Casserole with Chayote Squash and Green Chilis

And finally, if you buy this squash and then don't like the way it tastes... you can always do this: 

Hahaha! I found this image online posted by some very creative person... 

If you end up trying it, hope you like it as much as we do!