The plantain pancake makes a good dessert with strawberries and cream or yoghurt or iced cream on top. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 large green plantain, peeled
• 1 egg
• ½ cup of milk
• ½ tsp stevia or sugar
• a pinch of salt
• Coconut oil / butter/ oil for cooking

Instructions

• The plantain will often be hard to peel. Make a slit in the peel lengthwise, followed by slicing it into thirds, then a knife to peel.
• Place the ingredients in a bowl or blender. Blend until you have a smooth batter.
• First put a little oil or butter into a non stick pan. Then cook like a normal pancake.
• The pancakes freeze well

makes 6 pancakes

If you can’t add milk,  then use two eggs per plantain.
If you want a fluffier panake, add a pinch of baking powder

The Eating

Best with cream and strawsberries
30 seconds in the microwave to bring them back to life, if  they have been in the fridge.

The gluten free dosa is a great bread substitute. Vegan, lectin free and easy to make. It ticks every box.

The Dosa is a flat bread / crepe / wrap made with fermented rice and lentils.   The traditional recipe uses round white rice and  white lentils,  and  feeds millions of people in South India.

You can  also make it with chickpeas (garbanzos that can be found in any supermarket) or you can do a mix of lentils and chickpeas.  The result of the chickpea version is more like a pancake or crepe… or even a gluten free chapati!

Many thanks to Nitu Chugani‘s cooking classes for introducing me to the Indian dosa, which is more thin and swirly than mine .  see www.nitudidi.com for authentic indian recipes and more.

INGREDIENTS

The proportions are 3 rice to 1 white lentils and 1 chickpeas /garbanzos.

• 3 cups round bomba rice
• 1 cup urid dall (white lentils)
• 1 cup  garbanzos (chickpeas)
• a big pinch of fenugreek leaves or cumin or coriander OR
• Western Herbs to taste : mixed herbs or rosemary &/or thyme
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups of water

This makes enough for a few days.  It will keep well in the fridge or freezer.  if you want to make a smaller quantity, use 1/2 cups instead of 1 cup in the measurements above.

HOW TO DO IT

Overall it takes 40 minutes to prepare, then as long as it takes to cook a pancake.   But the process spans 24+ hours.

STEP 1

Put the rice, lentils and chickpeas  together into a large pan with lots of water to soak for 6 to 8 hours

STEP 2

• Wash the ingredients two or three times till the water is less cloudy.
• Drain them , add 4 cups water
• add the fenugreek leaves / spices
• Grind / liquidise the mix until it is smooth
• Put in a large container and leave for 12-24 hours in a warm place to ferment.  the misture expands by 20%+ during fermentation.
• Do NOT add the salt till after fermentation

STEP 3

• Add salt to the mixture, and it is ready for cooking
• Put a non stick pan, without oil, on  a low flame
• Spread a large spoon of the mixture on the pan
• cook for 4 minutes,
• drizzle a drop of oil on the top side of dosa.
• turn the dosa when it detaches from the pan.  The first always takes a while

The cooked dosas can be kept in fridge or frozen.     15-30 seconds in the microwave will bring a dosa back to life.  But best eaten straight from the pan, when they are crispy

THE EATING

My favorites are

• Egg on dosa
• Dosa wrap with half an avocadoe or asparagus
• Cheese on dosa (30 seconds in the microwave to melt the cheese)
• Dosa wrap with sliced tomatoe
• Dosa with pickle/ curry paste
• Dosa wrap with a sweet potatoe chana (mild curry)
• Dosa by itself as a biscuit/bread substitute
• Dosa with bean paté

The dosa is vegan and gluten free. The process of fermentation eliminates the lectins in the rice and lentils and makes them even better for you.  If in a hurry, the dosa  can be cooked before fermentation, but it would not be so good for you.