fancy a weekend food project? dosas with a pea and potato curry and paneer

dosa pancakes with peas, potato
and paneer curry

Do you fancy trying a weekend food project? Dosas, lacy savoury southern Indian pancakes made from a fermented mixture of soaked rice and urad dal lentils are not difficult, just a little time consuming. It may takes about two days, but the results are well worth the effort. If you follow the recipe for dosas by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall here, you should have no trouble at all! 

This curry is one of the simplest - it is a useful curry to have in your back pocket, particularly if you need a vegetarian one in a hurry! 

Serve with a selection of fresh Indian chutneys and a simple tomato and onion salad.

Serves 4
Skill level: Easy

ingredients:
dosas
150g paneer, cubed (or other soft white cheese such as ricotta)
pea and potato curry
2 x large potatoes (about 450g), peeled and diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 x green chilli, very finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1-2 x medium English onions, finely chopped
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
half tsp ground turmeric
quarter - half tsp ground chilli
2 x tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
250g blanched fresh peas (or thawed frozen peas)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh coriander, finely chopped (to serve)

directions:

1. Peel and cut and the potatoes into a 2 centimetre dice. Parboil them in a pan of salted boiling water for 10 minutes. (I often place the peelings in a sieve over the pan so that the boiling water bubbles through. I am convinced that the peelings add extra flavour to the potatoes. It definitely seems to for roast spuds. But you may think it is too much of a faff!) Drain the potatoes well and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and fry until they begin to pop and splutter in the hot oil.
3. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, before adding the onions. Lower the heat and cook the onions for about 10 minutes, or until soft.
4. Add the rest of the spices and cook for 1 minute before adding the peas, tomatoes and potatoes. Stir well to combine and simmer for about 5 minutes. Check the seasoning.
5. Assemble the stuffed pancakes by placing a little of the pea and potato curry in the centre of the dosa with a sprinkling of fresh coriander.
6. Top with a little of the paneer and roll up.

tips:

• You could use a mixture of lightly cooked cauliflower, chickpeas or broccoli.
• Add a few spices and herbs to the dosas before cooking.
• I used urad dal (white split lentils) but you could use red lentils.