Dosa-licious
These are so easy to make and they are freezable making them the perfect snack! They are loosely based on the Indian dosa – traditionally a thin pancake with various fillings made from chickpea flour (gram flour). Mine are not thin, they are more an American style pancake, but they are packed with the Indian spices of cumin and turmeric, and they also have curry powder to boot – I do heart my spice. I have added chopped up squash and broccoli meaning they really are flu and cold fighting: vitamin C & Glutathione – from the squash and broccoli, protein from the egg and milk, and zinc from the gram flour! Turmeric has be shown to have antibacterial properties. I have got so disheartened looking for snack ideas recently for Zahara all the savoury snacks out there are loaded with cheese, I wouldn’t eat that much cheese in a snack ?? Maybe on a cheeseboard, anyhow I digress – these dosas are super light and pack full of the nutrients you need for the winter! Zahara wolfed hers down this morning, and I was tempted to make her a lassi to go with it! For grown-ups I would add some heat with some chilli flakes and also pop a bit of chutney on it too! They are good served hot or cold.
Makes approx 15 pancakes 8-10cm diameter
Ingredients
½ a medium sized butternut squash
100g broccoli
5 spring onions finely chopped
130g gram flour
250ml milk – any milk should work, we used full-fat cows milk
1 egg
1 tsp sunflower oil
¼ tsp cumin
½ tsp turmeric
1-3 tsp curry powder (depending on how strong flavour you want)
Sunflower oil for frying
Method
1. Peel and cut the squash into rough chunks. Put in pan with cold water and boil until cooked and soft (2cm chunks took 15mins). Drain and allow to cool.
2. Cook the broccoli by placing in boiling water with a lid on, simmer for 3-4 mins then turn heat off and leave in hot water for a further 1-2 mins. Drain and allow to cool.
3. Gently fry the spring onion and set aside
4. Roughly chop the broccoli and the squash into pieces no bigger than 1cm3.
5. Mix egg, milk and oil and then beat this into the gram flour and spices/curry powder with a whisk, whisk until obvious large lumps of flour have gone – note gram flour is quite coarse so there will be a few lumps in there, don’t worry about them.
6. Fold in the veg into the pancake batter.
7. Heat some oil in a large frying pan to a medium heat then ladle in around 2-3 tbsp of mixture making sure you pick up squash and broccoli. With the back of your spoon quickly spread and broccoli/squash that’s doubled layer.
8. Leave the pancake until it starts to dry out on the edges on the top side you can see, then carefully flip it over and push down gently with the back of the spoon – so you semi squash the lumps of broccoli/squash. Cook for around 2 mins, then flip one more time and cook for another minute. Judge the temperature of the hob, after the first flip, you want to make sure the egg is cooked through but likewise not burn the pancake.
Tips
Freeze as a single layer, defrost in fridge overnight. For grown-ups I would add some heat with some chilli flakes and also pop a bit of chutney on it too!
Facts
My dosa-licious have flu and cold fighting: vitamin C & Glutathione – from the squash and broccoli, protein from the egg and milk, and zinc from the gram flour! Turmeric has be shown to have antibacterial properties.
Makes approx 15 pancakes 8-10cm diameter
Ingredients
½ a medium sized butternut squash
100g broccoli
5 spring onions finely chopped
130g gram flour
250ml milk – any milk should work, we used full-fat cows milk
1 egg
1 tsp sunflower oil
¼ tsp cumin
½ tsp turmeric
1-3 tsp curry powder (depending on how strong flavour you want)
Sunflower oil for frying
Method
1. Peel and cut the squash into rough chunks. Put in pan with cold water and boil until cooked and soft (2cm chunks took 15mins). Drain and allow to cool.
2. Cook the broccoli by placing in boiling water with a lid on, simmer for 3-4 mins then turn heat off and leave in hot water for a further 1-2 mins. Drain and allow to cool.
3. Gently fry the spring onion and set aside
4. Roughly chop the broccoli and the squash into pieces no bigger than 1cm3.
5. Mix egg, milk and oil and then beat this into the gram flour and spices/curry powder with a whisk, whisk until obvious large lumps of flour have gone – note gram flour is quite coarse so there will be a few lumps in there, don’t worry about them.
6. Fold in the veg into the pancake batter.
7. Heat some oil in a large frying pan to a medium heat then ladle in around 2-3 tbsp of mixture making sure you pick up squash and broccoli. With the back of your spoon quickly spread and broccoli/squash that’s doubled layer.
8. Leave the pancake until it starts to dry out on the edges on the top side you can see, then carefully flip it over and push down gently with the back of the spoon – so you semi squash the lumps of broccoli/squash. Cook for around 2 mins, then flip one more time and cook for another minute. Judge the temperature of the hob, after the first flip, you want to make sure the egg is cooked through but likewise not burn the pancake.
Tips
Freeze as a single layer, defrost in fridge overnight. For grown-ups I would add some heat with some chilli flakes and also pop a bit of chutney on it too!
Facts
My dosa-licious have flu and cold fighting: vitamin C & Glutathione – from the squash and broccoli, protein from the egg and milk, and zinc from the gram flour! Turmeric has be shown to have antibacterial properties.
