Don't you just HATE it when you wake up in the morning & have a tune singing, Nay, NAGGING inside your head?
Its been a mixed week in terms of kitchen capers, An extended lethargy, thanks to a wonderful week off with family, combined by a jumble of ideas that I needed to untangle inside my head before making anything, leave alone posting!.
During a never ending session of 'clearing out my cupboards', I came across an sealed, unopened box of Quinoa ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa ) prescribed as a rice substitute when I had Gestational Diabetes... (a clue to how long this had been sitting ... My kid is WAAY over a year old!).
Since Quinoa was touted as a cereal with the highest proportion of protein, I decided to add it to Dosa batter: Result: Delicious with a slight floral note that I couldnt quite place...
Step 2, got a bit bolder, decided to make a pesarattu batter using equal amounts of Quinoa & moong:
BAM!! The flavor notes brought in by the quinoa was quite unlike what one associates with a traditional south indian pancake; Nutty, reminiscent of Molasses (gud), & Sesame (which works very well when using the oil to make the pancakes!).
For the Batter:
1/2 cup Quinoa
1/2 cup moong dal
Salt to taste,
Asafetida (optional)
finely minced green chillies (optional)
Soak the Quinoa & Moong dal for about 3-4 hours till they plump up, Grind until you get a smooth batter, adding the optional ingredients if desired. Add salt and mix well. leave to ferment & rise overnight in a warm place.
Potato Filling:
2 large baking potatoes boiled, peeled & mashed
1 tsp fresh minced ginger
1 green chilli finely chopped
a pinch of asafetida
a pinch of turmeric
water as needed,
1 sprig Curry leaves torn to bits.
For the tempering:
1/2 tsp each mustard, urad dal & channa dal
1 tsp oil
To prepare:
In a skillet, heat oil till smoking, add the ingredients for tempering. Stir till the mustard seeds pop & the dal have turned a golden brown. add ginger, chillies & curry leaves & stir. Add the mashed potatoes & turmeric & combine well. Use a potato masher to remove any potato lumps using water if required. combine till cooked & remove from stove. Set aside to cool.
In a hot griddle, add a tsp of sesame oil & spread with a kitchen towel. Add a ladle of the quinoa batter and spread thin like a crepe. drizzle sesame oil & cover with a lid till the top surface cooks & the underside of the crepe turns a golden brown. Spread the potato mixture evenly on the crepe and roll tightly like a swiss roll. Rremove from griddle & set aside.
To serve as an hors d'oevre, place toothpicks over the outer edge of the rolled crepe at 1/2 inch intervals. Using a serrated knife cut into discs & serve with a chutney of your choice. (Styling inspired from a food network episode featuring Chef Jose Andres from Bazaar restaurant, LA...I think!!)
This makes a great dish for diabetics who may be watching their rice intake without overtly making it evident that it is a substitute!.
Bon appetit!
I love it!
ReplyDeleteDammit, I posted the comment before I'd finished. What I wanted to say was, I use red quinoa to make idli batter - grind 1 cup quinoa with your usual batter ingredients. Gives it a pretty pinkish colour and also a slight sweetness. Yum! :)
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