Curried chick pea dosa, with coconut gravy

An Indian brunch maybe not so Indian… Well, dosa is the pancake from India, but this recipe has traveled via Canada, it seems.

This month is a retro challenge, as we had to pick an older one we had not done yet, so mt choice was September 2009’s Indian Dosas (Vegan Style) :
Recipe here.

The 3 elements : curried chick peas and veggies, dosa crepes and the coconut sauce.

The curried chick peas with shishito peppers and kabocha pumpkin.

The coconut gravy with a shishito pepper and a little bit of habanero pepper.

I made the dosas with plain flour. Well, that’s easier and quicker, I prefer rice and lentil dosas :

red dosa
green dosa

Side veggies : goya bitter squash and cucumbers.

So let’s fill the crepes…

… pour the sauce and sprinkle coconut snow.

Baked hana mame beans, buckwheat berry flan

Beans and grains, simply. Baked beans with huge beans and a twist, spicy buckwheat flans with balsamico icing.

I had a leftover of cooked buckwheat groats, so I’ve added minced onion, garlic and feet of shiitake mushrooms, pasted parsley, turmeric, a little massala spice mix, water and potato starch. I’ve steamed the mix in a muffin tray till that became solid. On top, it’s (bought) balsamic reduction sauce. I know it’s cheating, but as I have this product, I use it.

Hana mame. The name literally means ‘flower bean’, but in English that’s runner bean. The Japanese ones are really huge. These are 紫花豆 murasaki hanamame (purple flower beans) and there exist some white ones too.
This photo was taken after soaking.

Other posts about murasaki haname beans.

After soaking the beans overnight, I boiled them of course. Then in a pottery, I’ve put beans, simple passata tomato sauce, and a mix of bean cooking broth + miso + sakekasu (sake lees)+ olive oil. And baked.
Beside, I steamed and cut a mizu nasu aubergine, to serve with these beans.

The sauce gets creamy thanks to the sakekasu.

Island shred : green papaya, goya bitter squash, shikwasa lime juice and peel and pinch of salt. Mix and let 30 minutes.

Another delicious and filling plant-based meal…

So let’s mix in the aubergines…

Red dosa

Another version of the Indian pancake. I had soaked enough grains for 2 batches.

That was the occasion to cook these long red peppers. They are not hot at all.

Same process as the previous green dosas. I’ve added a whole red chili (minus stalk and seeds), a little minced onion, garlic, ginger and some masala spice mix.

Okra.

Scramble tofu with basil, black pepper and salt.

Goya bitter cucumber.

I made coffee jelly (with agar).

Served as dessert, sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Pesto and chirimen-jako

Pesto spaghetti with a Japanese twist.

A base of spaghetti in a basil sesame pesto I had as a leftover of the day before.

ちりめんじゃこ chirimen-jako are fish bait of the anchovy and sardine family. They are dried under the sun and can be kept a few days. That’s salty and tasting of fish of course.

The other topping : boiled and skinned favas (broad beans). And a few ribbons of basil leaves.

Side dish : ginger cukes.
A quick tsukemono : Sliced, cut, rinsed white cucumber. Added sea salt and minced ginger. Mixed well. Let one hour in the fridge.

Scallop biryani

It’s the second biryani for the Daring Cook Challenge.

The key ingredient : baby scallop. I got them already steamed.

The gravy with sweet spices (wuxi, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron, paprika…), shimeji mushrooms and goji berries.

Thai jasmine rice soaked in a mix of thick coconut milk and water, then cooked.

At the layering stage, I’ve added a few edamame beans. More shimeji mushrooms ans saffron threads on top.

It’s ready. Toppings : dry coconut, gojis and minced coriander leaves. Goya (bitter squash) to decorate the plate.

Fingerlicking yummy… Biryani is eaten with the hand. Well, I do that after taking the photos.

The extras standing behind the star, on the first photo. They are greenhouse mikan that just arrive on the markets now.

source daring cook
Fish Biryani:

Servings: 4

Ingredients

3 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 green chillies
4 cloves garlic
1 onion
3 tablespoon (60 ml) (2 oz) (60 gm) ghee
2 cups (500 ml) (370 gm) (13 oz) basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes and drained
3 cups (750 ml) coconut milk
1 lb (½ kg) white fish fillets, cut into 1 inch (2½ cm) pieces
Salt
Directions:

1. Blend the tomatoes, turmeric, cumin, chillies, garlic, and half of the onion to a smooth paste.
2. Thinly slice the remaining onion and fry it in the ghee over medium high heat until lightly browned. Stir in the rice and fry for 2 minutes. Add the coconut milk and enough water to bring the liquid about 1 inch (2½ cm) above the rice. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes until the rice is half cooked.
3. Add the paste, fish, and salt. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes or until the rice is dry.