Chickpea flour is called Besan in South Asian cooking. Grown and milled in the Prairies, it’s renowned globally for its quality. Buckwheat flour adds real nuttiness to these delicious dosas which are, in effect, a flat bread similar to crepes into which you can stuff almost any mixture curried mixture like Spicy Sweet Potato Masala with a side of Winter Pear and Apple Chutney.
To make clarified butter, which is called ‘ghee’ in Asian cooking, simply melt unsalted butter over a low heat and let the solids and liquids settle. Drain off the clear fat on top and use in any recipe calling for butter to be clarified.
- 1 cup (250 mL) chickpea flour
- ¼ cup (60 mL) buckwheat flour
- ½ tsp (5 mL) salt
- ½ tsp (2mL) ground cumin
- 1 ½ cups (375 mL) water
- Clarified unsalted butter (a.k.a. ghee), as needed
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the chickpea and buckwheat flours. Stir in the salt and cumin. Whisk in the water to make a thin batter. Let stand for about 30 minutes before using.
Heat a cast iron griddle or crepe pan over medium high heat. To test to see when pan is ready to use, sprinkle the pan with water. If the drops hiss and dance, it’s ready to cook the dosas.
Brush the pan quickly with clarified butter and pour on about ¼ cup (60 ml) of the batter. Spread it with the back of a spoon or swirl it to ensure that the dosa is very thin. (If the batter is too thick, stir in a bit of water. ) When the top surface is dry, brush with more clarified butter, loosen the edges and flip. Cook till the underside is richly golden. It will take only take a few seconds if the pan is hot enough. Keep the dosa warm and repeat till all the batter is used.
Makes 6 dosas.
