Whole Grains have so much to offer nutritionally. Vitamin E and many of the B vitamins as well as amino acids, which along with those from legumes and nuts, give us protein for growth and repair. Unfortunately, the way grains are grown, stored, processed and prepared leaves them virtually undigestible at best. Grinding our own grains and baking bread at home is, for most people, the only way to eat grains well. Having never had much success with baking, this recipe is my favourite way to get whole grains in our diet.
1 cup lentils (red lentils or moong dahl are my favourite for this recipe)
2 cups brown rice (you can use any pulses and any grains)
warm filtered water
2 tablespoons whey or lemon juice. (Do not use commercially dried whey powder)
1 teaspoon salt
garlic
chili (optional)
cumin
carraway seeds
ghee
Wash lentils and rice well and place in separate bowls. Cover each with warm water, add 1 tablespoon whey or lemon juice to each and leave overnight in a warm place. Drain each and process separately in a food processor with a little water until smooth. Mix lentils and rice together with salt and enough warm water to make a batter about the consistency of cream. Add ground garlic and chili, cumin and whole carraway seeds. Cover and leave another 24 hours in a warm place. You can use a little every day and continue to ferment the mixture for a week. The taste gets more sour and the grains more digestible as time goes on, so refrigerate when you need to slow the fermentation process.
To cook, heat a heavy, cast-iron skillet and coat with ghee. I like to use quite a bit of ghee, about a teaspoon per dosa. You may need to add water to get the batter to the desired consistency again. Ladle about 1/4 cup into pan. Use the back of the ladle to spread the batter in a spiral from the centre. Cook about 5 minutes, until the batter dries, then flip.
We love these dosas with a curry feast or as a breakfast food with salsa and sour cream.
We are grateful to Sally Fallon and Sandor Katz for their inspiring versions of this recipe.
To explore this topic further, we recommend….
Almond Cookies for Fussy Rugrats
Herbel
Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods
Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
About the Author...
Joanne Hay, Editor of Nourished Magazine, Chief Nourisher and Mother of three is very grateful to live in Byron Bay and be able to share all she has learned about Nourishment. She has trained as an Acupuncturist (unfinished), Kinesiologist (finished) and parent (never finished). She serves the Weston A Price Foundation as a chapter leader. She loves sauerkraut, kangaroo tail stew, home made ice cream, her husband Wes and her kids Isaiah, Brynn and Ronin (in no particular order…well maybe ice cream first).
Apr 5th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Thank you for this recipe. I have only just tried it this week for my daughter who can’t eat many foods and they turned out very tasty. Although I followed the recipe (using lemon instead of whey) I found that I could not get a smooth consistency with the rice once I had processed them. they were still quite crunchy. Once I had cooked the dosas I could still taste the crunchy rice grains. Is this how it is supposed to be? Are these dosas esily digestible even though they turned out crunchy? (as if not cooked propertly). Many thanks.
Apr 7th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Pia
Breaking News. I recently read that Sally Fallon is changing her recommendations for soaking. I’ve always had trouble when trying to soak pulses and beans with whey or lemon. They won’t cook properly afterward. That may be your problem. Sally will adjust her new edition of Nourishing Traditions to prepare beans and pulses with water and a little bit of bi-carb. Different needs for different seeds.
If it is the rice that’s not quite soft, try soaking for longer before grinding.
Blessings
Joanne
Jan 30th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Hi Joanne,
I’ve got a question about cooking lentils whole. I’m currently in a hotter climate than I’m used to and food is going off quicker. I cooked some lentils as follows but am unsure if they are ok to eat:
The lentils soaked in plain water for more than 24 hours and had started to ferment a bit (bubbles and smell). Then I rinsed and cooked them at night with coconut oil, onions, caraway and aniseed (they boiled initially but then slow cooked for a few hours). I reheated them in the morning because they weren’t quite cooked and I wanted to add salt (they slow cooked this time too, no boil). They sat in the pot for another 24 hours and ended up tasting sour and smelling sour.
So, does this count as good fermentation, and would they be ok to eat? Or have they simply gone off?
Should I boil them before I freeze them, or freeze as is? Will boiling kill off useful bacteria that might help with digestion? Or should I throw them out?
I did end up eating some, they tasted ok (a bit too sour for my taste but still edible). I felt slightly queasy a few times during the day, but that’s not unusual for me with some food especially ferments.
regards,
kate.
Jun 9th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Wouldn’t this be more nutritious (and maybe less crunchy) if the lentils and rice were sprouted first? I haven’t tries it yet, but iI intend to. I have put it off because I live alone and wouldn’t use much at a time - didn’t think to refrigerate it to slow the process down.
Regards
Julie