I have an obsession with dosa.

There is something about this delicious Indian crepe that far outshines it’s French cousin.  Perhaps it is the golden crispness, the sourdough tang or high protein nutritional profile make a dosa the ultimate meal or snack.  Here in New York, I tend to get my fix at Hampton Chutney Co. or Chennai Garden but I had a hankering to do it myself.  I enrolled in an evening course at The Natural Gourmet Cookery School choosing a class called Delectable Dosa, taught by Chef Richard LaMarita.

In just 3 1/2 hours we perfected the delicate art of making dosa batter and griddling it to perfection (ghee being key in making the edges extra crisp). We also cooked several fillings from spiced potatoes with black mustard seeds to curried cauliflower and spinach to roasted butternut squash with tomatoes and mustard greens.  We also whipped up three vibrant chutneys (coconut, tamarind and mint) and a golden yellow lentil vegetable sambar and washed it all down with mango lassi.

Chef Richard LaMarita’s Mint Chutney

1/2 bunch fresh mint leaves

1/2 bunch cilantro leaves

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1 teaspoon ginger juice

8oz plain yogurt (cow, sheep or goat)

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon agave

1 tablespoon lime juice

chaat masala to taste

Place mint, cilantro, jalapeno, and ginger juice in a blender and whirl until smooth, scraping down as necessary.  This should be liquid, not to thick.  Empty contents into a bowl.

Fold in yogurt and add salt, agave, lime juice and chaat masala to taste.

Yield: about 1 1/2 cups

This entry was posted on Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 12:22 am and is filed under City Life, Recipes, Winter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.