I've been pulling some wonderful recipes (not all ff) and ideas from
the tv food network pages. (http://www.foodtv.com/) If you haven't
been there yet, the pages are worth checking out. The recipes stay
online for about 2 weeks and it's sometimes worth checking out the
recipes for a show because not all the dishes are necessarily listed
well or at all in the one-liner description.
This week, I noticed that there are some Indian recipes in the Bakers'
Dozen show.
Here were some ff recipes from yesterday that look tasty....
bread - CHAPATI
dosai - FRESH CORIANDER, GINGER, AND CHILE BREADS
There was also a third recipe for a lentil dish (LENTILS WITH
GARLIC, ONION, AND TOMATO) but as it wasn't ff and I haven't
tasted it, I am not including it below.
[Disclaimer: recipes are untested and I have no relationship with the
TV Food Network! :-) ]
BAKERS' DOZEN
ALFORD AND DUGUID
SHOW #BD1A27
CHAPATIS
Making chapatis can be a very relaxing thing to do. In quite a short time
you can produce eight or ten breads, each one turning out a little bit
different from the others, but all of them attractive, nutritious, and good.
We've grown so accustomed to making chapatis that they now feel almost like
a convenience food, a household staple of the best kind.
2 cups Atta flour (or whole wheat, sifted)
1 teaspoon salt
Approximately 1 cup warm water
You will need a medium-sized bowl, a rolling pin, a castiron griddle or
heavy skillet, and a small cotton cloth or a paper towel.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the salt and the flour. Make a well in
the middle and add just less than 1 cup warm water. Mix with your hand or
with a spoon until you can gather it together into a dough (depending on the
condition of your flour, you may need a little extra water or a little extra
flour to make a kneadable dough). Turn out onto a lightly floured bread
board and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth or a plastic
wrap and let stand for 30 minutes or for up to 2 hours. The longer the dough
stands, the more digestible the breads.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces and flatten each with lightly floured
fingers. Continue flattening with a rolling pin until each piece is 8 inches
in diameter. Once you have started rolling, roll out each bread without
flipping it over. To keep the bread from sticking to your bread board, make
sure that the bread is lightly floured underneath. Cover the breads with the
damp towel or plastic wrap as you roll out others (make sure not to stack
the rolled out breads; if you don't have enough counter space for the
breads, roll out just a few and begin cooking, rolling out the others as the
breads cook).
Heat a cast iron griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. When the griddle
is hot, place a chapati on the griddle, top side of the bread down first.
Let cook for only 10 seconds and then gently flip to the second side. Cook
on the second side until small bubbles begin to form, approximately one
minute. Turn the chapati back to the first side and finish cooking (another
minute approximately). At this stage, a perfect chapati will start to
balloon. This process can be helped along by gently pressing on the bread.
The bread is hot, so we find the easiest method is to use a small cotton
cloth or a paper towel wadded up to protect your finger tips. Gently press
down on a large bubble forcing the bubble to extend itself wider. If the
bread starts to burn on the bottom before it has ballooned, move the bread
(with the help of your paper towel) across the skillet, dislodging it from
the point at which it is beginning to burn.
When you are satisfied with your chapati, remove it and wrap in a clean
towel. Continue to cook the other breads, stacking each as it is finished on
top of the others.
Yield: 8 chapatis, 7 to 8 inches across, thin and supple.
FRESH CORIANDER, GINGER, AND CHILE BREADS
These delicious crepe-like breads are called rava dosa in India. They are
made from semolina flour and spiked with chiles, ginger, curry and coriander
leaves.
2 cups semolina flour
1 cup plain yogurt
1 fresh red chile (seeds and veins discarded), finely chopped (or 1
jalapeno)
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
1 tablespoon curry leaves (if using dried, rehydrate by soaking before
using)
2 tablespoons coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups warm water
Oil for griddle surface
You will need a medium-sized mixing bowl, a large castiron or other heavy
griddle, a paper towel, a flat wooden spoon or rubber spatula, and a metal
spatula.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the semolina, yogurt, chile,
gingerroot, curry leaves, coriander leaves, and salt. Add the water a little
at a time, stirring while you pour. When all the water has been added and
the batter is smooth, cover the bowl and let the batter rest for
approximately one hour.
To cook the breads, heat a large cast iron griddle over medium high heat.
Lightly oil the surface of the griddle using a paper towel, and reserve the
towel for use between each dosa. When the griddle is hot, pour on one-half
cup of the batter. As you pour, move in a circle out from the middle, trying
to distribute the batter in as large a circle as possible. Immediately
after, use the flat back side of a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to move
the batter to cover the gaps, trying again to increase the diameter of the
dosa. Try to make a circle 9 to 10 inches in diameter.
Over a medium high heat, the dosa will cook on its first side for one minute
and a half. After it has been cooking for one minute, begin to loosen it
from the griddle with a sharp-edged spatula. Coax the dosa, don't force it,
as it will come off easily from the griddle when it is ready. When ready,
flip to the other side.
The second side will cook in one and a half to two minutes, depending on the
thickness of the dosa and the heat of the griddle. You can check the dosa by
simply lifting a corner with your spatula. It should have nicely browned
spots, but not nearly as uniformly brown as the first side. When ready,
remove to a plate. Before starting the second dosa, rub the surface of the
griddle with the oily paper towel, or if it's particularly dry, add a little
more oil. Continue cooking until all the dosas have been made (they can be
stacked one on top of the other when they finish cooking), or serve
immediately as they are made, flapjack-style.
Yield: eight dosas, each 9 to 10 inches in diameter.
Copyright, 1996, TV FOOD NETWORK, G.P., All Rights Reserved
------------------------------