spontaneous fermention of legumes II: dosas

[khoomeizhi]

so i'm still in love with some of the various beany goods made better through some fermentation. came to the conclusion that acaraje is a little too labor-intensive, with all the de-skinning of cowpeas going on, so i've been making a lot of dosas (correct pluralization is dosai, but...so?)...it's an endlessly adjustable recipe. my standard is 2 parts white basmati rice to 1 part split red lentils, and a handful of whole fenugreek seeds, soaked in water for 8 hours or so (overnight, whatever), then drained and blended (with a blender) with a bit of fresh water, some onion, garlic, maybe some serrano or similar hot pepper, and a bit of salt.

left, covered & room temperature, for somewhere between 12 and maybe 48 hours, until the batter starts forming its own bubbles...

like so

then i heat a well-oiled cast-iron frypan (mediumish), and spoon out a thin layer

(bad pic)and pan-fry for a bit on each side. maybe a sprinkle of salt.

the end products are flexible, fucking delicious rice-and-lentil based psuedo-tortillas that are pretty awesome wrapped around some slightly stewy highly spiced indian-style foods. holy shit good.


prep is really simple, but i guess does require getting it all started at an appropriate early time. it's real forgiving though, i've had plenty of times where i made it in advance for a particular meal, and it  didn't happen for whatever reason, and they were awesome when i finally got around to making them a day or two later. and you're cooking them so people who are a little squeamish about fermented food...it's no weirder than sourdough, really.

[MadJohnShaft]

I am totally doing this

[RAGER]

And tell 'em what it is after the fact for added fun.  And put bugs in it too.

[khoomeizhi]

when i do bugs, they're being showcased. i'm excited for the beginning of paper-wasp season starting soon. sweet sweet wasp brood.

/off topic but true

[RAGER]

pics of that shit yo!

[MadJohnShaft]

I have step one done. Tomorrow I'll blend and start the fermenting.

[khoomeizhi]

awesome. stir it maybe a couple times a day while it's fermenting. i should also warn you that the first time you stir after it's been sitting for a while can smell...questionable. have faith.

rager, if the lady's iphone is around when i'm doing bug cuisine, there'll be pics...it's the only camera in the house now. probably a good month away anyway.

[MadJohnShaft]

All done and Ready to start fermenting....



Do you think this would work with any beans/peas?  I have 6 kinds of stuff I got from the Indian groceries on Devon.

[khoomeizhi]

that's a big maybe. not sure some things get soft enough for the blender just through soaking. also, beans (including lentils) with their seed coats still on keep the batter from getting as thin as i like it - i have done it, though, they're just less flexible.

[RAGER]

I was just gonna do this but I have no daal.  Another day soon though.

[MadJohnShaft]

I got....

Urad dal
Split Matpe beans
yellow split peas
Chana Dalia
Tadnoori masala
Poha flattened rice (thick)



I bet you could use the dal and poha....  I'll see if anyone even like eating this later this week - probably Tues or Wed dinner. Looks cool.

[MadJohnShaft]

I made a couple experimental pancakes and they went over well - tonight will be the big run, can't wait.  It hasn't really started fermenting near as I can tell, seems fairly inert.

[khoomeizhi]

then they'll be better if you wait.

[RAGER]

Seems they will lack that tang and slight elasticity if they aren't fermented.

[MadJohnShaft]

Yeah, very much, unfermented they are like toasted bendy rice flats - still pretty good. Tonight will be the maiden run assuming they are finally fermented.

I had to put the batter in the fridge so it doesn't get tossed today.

[khoomeizhi]

only takes a day and a half for the batter to be ready in this heat.

[MadJohnShaft]

Good idea, started one now - rice, red lentils, fenugreek, and some yellow split peas

[khoomeizhi]

it's rain day dosa day here. cooked some up for whatever brunch-ish meal we're having now, with eggs and greens. we'll do more for dinner, with some tandoori-style fish and more veggies.

sons of bitches are tasty.

[MadJohnShaft]

Made a couple this morning, pre-fermented. Lovely.

[khoomeizhi]

the tandoori-ish fish thing we did last night was one of the best things i've had in a while. awesome combination of flavors.
salad was homegrown purple mizuna, local hydro lettuce, homegrown sugarsnap peas, and then some.

as with any meal i plan around dosas, everything need to be able to go in the dosa, like so:

picture doesn't really do the flavors justice. we kept having to stop between things and say, 'FUCK, that's so good!' ...put any fish taco i've ever had to shame, and that really is saying something.

[RAGER]

that looks really good man.  Gotta do these.  Been too damn busy

[MadJohnShaft]

These little things are well loved around here.  Once made they sit nicely too and are good cold. I like.


I made homemade Arepas from dried white corn, similar process - I wonder if they would benefit from the ferment.