Quinoa Masala Dosa with Potato Curry

Quinoa is a superfood - one of the healthiest foods in the world. It is a complete protein, and contains so many nutrients, fiber, magnesium, and folate to name a few. Though it isn't a grain, it can be used as a cereal grain. What I'm confused about is why more people don't incorporate this amazing food into their diets. I'm ready to make the change myself. In my opinion, quinoa is like the healthier, fitter, better looking cousin of rice.

Today I'm sharing a very popular Indian recipe in which I've substituted rice with quinoa to make a healthier version of the dish - quinoa masala dosa! My husband, who is actually Indian, said it was pretty darn authentic, even though I substituted the entire grain! I have to say, it was really delicious.

Notes-

• This time, I've only substituted half the rice with quinoa. To go the whole way, just use 1 1/4 cup of quinoa and leave out the rice.
• Serve this delicious dish with sambar and red chutney. 

Try it out and let me know how it goes!

Quinoa Masala Dosa with Potato Curry
Makes 8-10 large dosas

Dosa-
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup urad dal
1/2 cup rice
1/8 cup chana dal
5-7 fenugreek seeds
salt to taste

Potato Curry-
2-3 potatoes
1 green chili
1 onion
salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
a few curry leaves
2 tbsp oil or ghee
some water

Soak all of the dosa ingredients except salt in a large bowl filled with water for 6 hours or overnight.

Wash them and grind them in a blender with a little water to get a fine batter. Make sure to strain the batter and regrind the chunky bits, you don't want any little pieces or chunks. It has to be ultra smooth.

Add salt and water to get the consistency you want, somewhere between pancake batter and crepe batter. Let it ferment for 5 hours if you want, but this step is not necessary.

To make the curry-

Boil the potatoes or cook them in a pressure cooker till completely soft and cooked through. Peel and chop into small pieces and mash them (leave it a little chunky for texture)

Heat oil and add the chana dal and urad dal.

When they start changing color, add the mustard seeds, cumin sees, curry leaves, and turmeric.

Add green chili and onions and fry till translucent.

Add potatoes, around 1/4-1/2 cup of water, and salt. Cook covered for 5 minutes and turn off the heat.

To assemble-

Heat a large nonstick pan on medium heat and brush it with an onion and some oil.

Ladle a 1/3 cup full of the batter in the center of the pan and swirl or use the back of a wide spoon in a circular motion to spread it into a thin, even dosa. If you didn't use oil before, spoon oil around the edges of the dosa now.

Cook for 2-3 minutes until the bottom of the crepe is golden brown. On top, spread red chutney and  the potato curry. Close it and serve! Enjoy!