The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of the East: 150 Asian-Inspired Recipes--from Soba Noodles to Summer Rolls Read Online Free PDF Page B

forms. Blend the rice on high speed, adding as little water as necessary, until a similar but coarser batter forms. Mix both batters together and add the salt.
    3. Place the batter in the warmed oven for 12 to 24 hours or until it is doubled in size.
    4. To make idli, pour the batter into an oiled or cheesecloth-lined idli pan (see Note) and steam for 12 to 15 minutes. You can also line a bamboo steamer or even a collapsible metal steamer with cheesecloth and pour the batter in using a ⅓ cup measuring cup.
    5. To make dosas you may need to add water to the batter. Thicker batter will give you pancake-style dosas. Adding ½ cup or more of water will yield increasingly thinner dosas. The thinner the batter, the easier it is to spread the batter into a circle on the pan.
    6. Either use a nonstick pan or brush a regular (heated) pan lightly with oil and place over medium heat. Use a ladle to pour the batter (about ⅓ cup) onto the hot pan and quickly spread the batter around into a large thin circle (or something like a circle) using the bottom of the ladle. Holes in the dosa are fine; these don’t need to be perfect and are very sturdy once they are done. Let the dosa cook on both sides for a couple of minutes, until slightly brown. Take care not to overcook these; traditionally dosas are still quite white and, therefore, flexible. Serve hot or keep in a warm oven covered with a damp towel until all the dosas are cooked and you are ready to partake.

    Note: An idli pan is essentially a steamer pot with a multilayered insert made just for this purpose. The batter is poured into the rounded indentations, which allow the steam to pass through and cook the batter into perfectly shaped idli.

Variation
    • For a Super Quickie Dosa Batter simply whisk together 2 cups brown rice flour, 1 teaspoon sifted baking powder, and ½ teaspoon sea salt. Add 2½ cups water and cook according to the instructions in step 6 (though spreading the batter with the ladle will not be necessary). This batter yields about eight large quickie dosas. Adding another ½ cup of water will make them even thinner, which is more authentic but a bit harder to handle.

SAMBAR CURRY
    Though this recipe contains a couple of ingredients that most Westerners would consider obscure, sambar curry is eaten daily, and commonly twice or thrice daily, throughout Southern India and Sri Lanka. As early as breakfast this curry is served alongside fresh idli (see page 21), and for lunch or dinner with rice and chutneys. Our friend Vi Herbert from the Tamil Nadu region of India taught us to make this curry, and we are quite grateful to her indeed for that! Sambar powder, a mix of roasted spices and dhals, can be purchased online if you can’t find it elsewhere. Any common lentil or dhal can be substituted for the toor dhal. We recommend the red lentils for their quick cooking time. If you simply cannot find sambar powder, use the garam masala substitution. In a pinch you could even use curry powder. It won’t be sambar curry anymore, but it will still be delish!
    SERVES 6 TO 8
     
    1 cup toor dhal or red lentils
2 cups water
1 tablespoon sesame oil or coconut oil
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
Pinch asafetida
½ medium yellow onion, chopped small
10 curry leaves (see Note on page 6)
2 cups chopped vegetables (carrots,
cauliflower, radishes, green beans . . . )
½ teaspoon tamarind paste or 1 teaspoon
freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice
1 teaspoon sambar powder or
¾ teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
(about 1½ cups)
3 cups water or vegetable stock
(see page 228)
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
    1. In a small pot, bring the dhal and water to a boil, lower the heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes (about 15 minutes if using red lentils) or until the dhal is soft.
    2. Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan or pot, heat the oil and mustard seeds together over medium heat until the seeds