My First Time

Lately, I have been eating very well. This is because I have added Dhal curry to my menu. I am continuing my South Indian food sojourn. However, the variety of South Indian foods I can take are very limited at the moment and I will savour the rests when I recover. Not even Roti Prata (commonly called Roti Canai locally) this time but I will settle for Chapati (60% rye and 40% unbleached wheat flour mix specially for cancer patients).

This morning, my mother will be away for a medical check-up and so I will have to prepare my own lunch. So I thought yesterday, why not prepare Dosa (or more commonly called Tosai locally) for lunch tomorrow? I grew up near an Indian community and have been eating South Indian food since I was a kid and Dosa is one of my favourate breakfast meals. I will be having Dosa for lunch. Then the thought occurred, why not have Masala Dosa for dinner as well? The only thing missing is of course the chutney (or chatni as it is called locally). There's just too much work to prepare, so I will leave chutney out for the time being.

So far, I only know how to eat but as you know, making food is another thing all together. I have to thank my Indian grocer for giving me some tips because this is my first time I am making Dosa and Masala Dosa. I have completed all the preparation and just waiting for the time to cook. Making Chapati is so much easier and faster than making Dosa.

Because the foods I eat are so plain for the past 20 months, by just adding a little Dhal curry, the food taste really different, even without the salt and oil. I love to eat and would not mind to drive for a few 100 kilometers just to try out different foods in my pre-cancer days. So it was not easy for me to take the Gerson diet initially.

Dosa Recipe
Dosa (crispy savory pancakes) from South India is a staple food in its home region. This recipe will make approximately 20 Dosas.

Prep Time: 12 hours
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 12 hours, 5 minutes

Ingredients:
- 3 cups brown rice (for cancer patients only, otherwise use white rice)
- 1 cup skinless split urad daal (skinless black gram)
- 3/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
- Salt to taste*
- Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil*

Preparation:
- Separately soak rice, fenugreek seeds and urad dal at least 6 hours or overnight in water.
- Grind to paste and leave it to ferment for 6 hours in a warm dark place.
- Mix together, add salt with water to make batter.
- Mix onion and chilies to the thin batter (if making Dosa Rava).
- Heat pan or griddle with little ghee or oil.
- Spread the mix on pan in circular motion to make thin Dosa.
- Cook on both the sides, if desired.

Masala Filling:
- 2 large potatoes
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow split peas
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1-2 green chili
- 1 tablespoon oil*
- Salt to taste*

Preparation:
- Heat oil. Add mustard seed, peas, onions and spice.
- Fry for about 5 minutes on medium heat or/until onions are turned into golden brown
- Add potatoes and mix and cook some more
- Add filling inside Dosa and roll. Serve hot with Chutney and Dhal Curry.

Note *: I do not use oil and salt in my cooking. Because I do not use oil to cook, I used a good thick stainless steel wok to heat the mustard seed, peas, onions and spices (no water is added) until it smells aromatic. Make sure you do not overcook the ingredients, otherwise it will taste very bitter.