Re: Bean experiment

[Guest guest]

Hi,

My husband and I had given up eating beans

due to digestion problems. We also had

trouble digesting wheat products.

Then I began to make Dosas.

I use fermented brown lentils and basmati rice.

I soak my rice ( I found the basmati to be best, but

I have tried the brown also) and lentils each in 1 gallon jars

for 48 hours. I pour out the water and add clean water

the first day and the second day.

I then grind them in my blender until they are

fine like cream of wheat. I blend them together.

I then use fenugreek to ferment them for 3 days.

I have also used yogurt to ferment the batter also.

Both did great.

I pour the blend in a 10 in deep plastic round pan,

then I sprinkle the fenugreek over the top, cover with

a cloth or dish towel and let ferment for 2 to 3 days.

I then blend the fenugreek back into the fermented

grains in my blender. I pack quart jars full and put into

the fridge. The longer they are in the jars the more tart

they get.

I then use 1 quart jar full and mix a small amount

of water to make a thin batter and fry them in just

a little oil. They are great hot with real butter or you

can reheat them. They are great with many foods.

( I have used different herbs to give each batch

different flavors) great fun to experiment.

They are easier to digest and a very cheap way to

make great tortillas.

They are a cheap way to feed the family a

different kind of bread.

Aniya

[Guest guest]

Heidi wrote:

>[...]

>So I'm gonna try another batch. And some rice!

Fermented beans and rice, huh? What, like this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idli

http://www.indiacurry.com/recipessouth.htm

(After Tove talked about them, I did some reading and told my wife - now

I have to make some when we get back from a trip away - decorticated

urad dahl in the cupboard waiting already...)

--

Ross McKay, Toronto, NSW Australia

" There is more to life than simply increasing its speed. " - Mahatma Gandhi

[Guest guest]

Aniya wrote:

>My husband and I had given up eating beans

>due to digestion problems. We also had

>trouble digesting wheat products.

>

>Then I began to make Dosas.

>[...]

Brilliant! This is exactly what my wife is asking me to do - she had

dosa in a South Indian restaurant once, and when I told her about making

idli and dosa, her eyes lit up. Thanks for posting this info, it makes

it sound very achievable.

Question: when you say sprinkle fenugreek, I assume you mean the seeds,

not ground fenugreek seed or the greens, yes?

--

Ross McKay, Toronto, NSW Australia

" Let the laddie play wi the knife - he'll learn "

- The Wee Book of Calvin

[Guest guest]

Yes, I sprinkled the whole seed.

Aniya

[Guest guest]

Hi Aniya,

Would you please, please, please, share your recipe/proportions for these dosas?

And also tell us at about what temperature you are fermenting them at. When you

grind them in the blender do you drain all the water first? or do you use any of

the water? if so how much?

I want to make them. It's been many years since I've had them.

Thank you

Tonio

Re: Bean experiment

Hi,

My husband and I had given up eating beans

due to digestion problems. We also had

trouble digesting wheat products.

Then I began to make Dosas.

I use fermented brown lentils and basmati rice.

I soak my rice ( I found the basmati to be best, but

I have tried the brown also) and lentils each in 1 gallon jars

for 48 hours. I pour out the water and add clean water

the first day and the second day.

I then grind them in my blender until they are

fine like cream of wheat. I blend them together.

I then use fenugreek to ferment them for 3 days.

I have also used yogurt to ferment the batter also.

Both did great.

I pour the blend in a 10 in deep plastic round pan,

then I sprinkle the fenugreek over the top, cover with

a cloth or dish towel and let ferment for 2 to 3 days.

I then blend the fenugreek back into the fermented

grains in my blender. I pack quart jars full and put into

the fridge. The longer they are in the jars the more tart

they get.

I then use 1 quart jar full and mix a small amount

of water to make a thin batter and fry them in just

a little oil. They are great hot with real butter or you

can reheat them. They are great with many foods.

( I have used different herbs to give each batch

different flavors) great fun to experiment.

They are easier to digest and a very cheap way to

make great tortillas.

They are a cheap way to feed the family a

different kind of bread.

Aniya

[Guest guest]

Dosas:

1 cup of rice

1 cup of lentils ( can use red lentils, lima beans also)

1 cup of yogurt ( if using instead of fenugreek)

1 tablespoon of fenugreek seeds ( sprinkle on top

of batter)

I used 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning to the mix

above to flavor one batch and it tasted like Thanksgiving

dressing or the stove top flavor if any one has ever tasted

this boxed food.

My family loved them the best.

I live in Hawaii,and my rooms are range from 70 winter

to 80 degrees spring and summer.

After soaking beans and rice, drain the water out and then

put into my cuisinart. Be careful regular blenders may not

be able to grind them fine enough.

If the batter was too thick I would add about 1/4 cup water to

make the batter thinner while blending. You want your batter just pourable.

( You can buy special grinders on the web at the

web sites that sell from India the brands they use.)

I found Cuisinart to work for me.

After grinding, put into large plastic deep

pan and sprinkle seeds or mix yogurt and let

stand 2 to 3 days. (I mix if using yogurt, after blending

and right before putting into my pan)

I have even left for 4 days, did not harm it any. ( The top may turn purple

colored, but do not worry it is still fine to eat.

Will even smell a little more tart.

I think that comes from the gas put off by the fenugreek)

I only add a water to the mix right

before I get ready to cook them. I like

my batter thin. Experiment for yourself

which you like better. We liked the

tortillas thinner because we could roll

them up with stuffing inside better.

I first made small ones, but began to

make large ones the size of my skillet

because 1 or 2 was plenty for each of us

for a meal. Would cook up 10 to 15 and store

them in the fridge. You have to put sheets

of wax paper between them or they stick together

steaming. Was great because you could

take out as many as needed at a time for any

meal.

I have never frozen any, may want to try that,

let me know how that works.

I recommend doubling for whatever size family you have,

and how fast you would eat them. I have kept them

in the fridge for a week or more and then reheated.

This is a great way to store food for emergency that

you can turn into bread without losing nutrition.

Wheat cannot store as long as beans and rice.

Hope this answers all your questions.

Aniya

[Guest guest]

Forgot to mention:

Always after fermenting, blend

the fenugreek in the blender one last time

to break up the seeds in the batter.

then store in quart jars in the fridge.

They give the batter a good flavor also.

Aniya

[Guest guest]

I make injera - this is very similar to dosas but made with teff flour.

This last time I mixed 2 cups of teff flour and a 1/2 tsp of salt with 2

Tbsp of the yeasty apple stuff from the bottom of the kefired apple cider

and 2 cups of spring water (so that the chlorine-stuff in my tap water would

not kill the yeasts) and let it sit on the counter for 2 days. Then I

ladled out the batter (one injera at a time) onto a lightly greased griddle,

covered with a pan lid until I could hear the condensed steam hit the

griddle and the teff had turned dark with bubbles on the top, then moved

each to a plate in my warm oven.

This is really very simple and has a wonderful, sourdough flavor. These are

used in Ethiopia and Kenya as plates and utensils to pick up the food. They

soak up thick sauces wonderfully.

I served these as the carb with Doro Wat - spicy chicken stew and sautéed

kale with seaweed.

Connie

Re: Bean experiment

Hi Aniya,

Would you please, please, please, share your recipe/proportions for these

dosas? And also tell us at about what temperature you are fermenting them

at. When you grind them in the blender do you drain all the water first? or

do you use any of the water? if so how much?

I want to make them. It's been many years since I've had them.

Thank you

Tonio

Re: Bean experiment

Hi,

My husband and I had given up eating beans

due to digestion problems. We also had

trouble digesting wheat products.

Then I began to make Dosas.

I use fermented brown lentils and basmati rice.

I soak my rice ( I found the basmati to be best, but

I have tried the brown also) and lentils each in 1 gallon jars

for 48 hours. I pour out the water and add clean water

the first day and the second day.

I then grind them in my blender until they are

fine like cream of wheat. I blend them together.

I then use fenugreek to ferment them for 3 days.

I have also used yogurt to ferment the batter also.

Both did great.

I pour the blend in a 10 in deep plastic round pan,

then I sprinkle the fenugreek over the top, cover with

a cloth or dish towel and let ferment for 2 to 3 days.

I then blend the fenugreek back into the fermented

grains in my blender. I pack quart jars full and put into

the fridge. The longer they are in the jars the more tart

they get.

I then use 1 quart jar full and mix a small amount

of water to make a thin batter and fry them in just

a little oil. They are great hot with real butter or you

can reheat them. They are great with many foods.

( I have used different herbs to give each batch

different flavors) great fun to experiment.

They are easier to digest and a very cheap way to

make great tortillas.

They are a cheap way to feed the family a

different kind of bread.

Aniya

[Guest guest]

> This is really very simple and has a wonderful, sourdough flavor. These

> are

> used in Ethiopia and Kenya as plates and utensils to pick up the food.

> They

> soak up thick sauces wonderfully.

>

> I served these as the carb with Doro Wat - spicy chicken stew and sautéed

> kale with seaweed.

>

> Connie

Connie, I'm drooling!!!!!!!! That sounds amazing. I've really

enjoyed the handful of Ethiopian restaurant meals I've had (in Wash DC

and West Philly), but I believe most restaurants sadly use wheat

instead of teff these days for their injera. If you buy your teff

online, do you have a source to recommend? Do you find it at local

shops? I've read that teff is the smallest known grain and is a

relative of amaranth. I bet amaranth would make some mighty fine

injera too. Anybody try this?

I don't eat grains myself normally, but I think I'm gonna try making

some dosas, idlis, and injera to serve to guests sometime soon! These

posts are so inspiring.

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

[Guest guest]

[Aniya] I use fermented brown lentils and basmati rice.

I soak my rice ( I found the basmati to be best, but

I have tried the brown also) and lentils each in 1 gallon jars

for 48 hours. I pour out the water and add clean water

the first day and the second day.

[Mike] Just a tiny point, but basmati and brown are not disjoint

categories of rice. Basmati is a breed and brown is a degree of

processing. You can buy brown basmati rice, for example, though it's

certainly not as common as white basmati rice. It would be

interesting to try sweet/glutinous/sticky rice. When I serve rice to

guests, I always use brown glutinous rice because it's so delicious!

[Aniya] I then grind them in my blender until they are

fine like cream of wheat. I blend them together.

I then use fenugreek to ferment them for 3 days.

I have also used yogurt to ferment the batter also.

Both did great.

I pour the blend in a 10 in deep plastic round pan,

then I sprinkle the fenugreek over the top, cover with

a cloth or dish towel and let ferment for 2 to 3 days.

[Mike] How does the fenugreek help the fermentation? While yogurt

provides a starter culture, I can't imagine fenugreek having live

bacteria unless you mean the fresh leaves. Perhaps it has an

antibacterial effect like salt? I'm fascinating by this because I use

fenugreek seed all the time as a spice, a tea, and a salad sprout, so

I'd be very inclined to use it in any dosa attempts. I love the

flavor.

Thanks for this great input on dosas!!

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

[Guest guest]

I get the teff flour at the Berkeley Bowl, but I do think you can get it

online. Teff is a relative of millet, not amaranth, but I've looked at a

number of cuisines and most have some sort of flour, water and yeast flat

bread, so trying with amaranth flour makes sense - I have some but just have

not used it yet because I so like the flavor of the teff. We only eat

grains a couple of times a week and never do the gluten grains. So this

fermented product which just takes more planning than rice doesn't get

served that often.

Connie

Re: Bean experiment

> This is really very simple and has a wonderful, sourdough flavor. These

> are

> used in Ethiopia and Kenya as plates and utensils to pick up the food.

> They

> soak up thick sauces wonderfully.

>

> I served these as the carb with Doro Wat - spicy chicken stew and sautéed

> kale with seaweed.

>

> Connie

Connie, I'm drooling!!!!!!!! That sounds amazing. I've really

enjoyed the handful of Ethiopian restaurant meals I've had (in Wash DC

and West Philly), but I believe most restaurants sadly use wheat

instead of teff these days for their injera. If you buy your teff

online, do you have a source to recommend? Do you find it at local

shops? I've read that teff is the smallest known grain and is a

relative of amaranth. I bet amaranth would make some mighty fine

injera too. Anybody try this?

I don't eat grains myself normally, but I think I'm gonna try making

some dosas, idlis, and injera to serve to guests sometime soon! These

posts are so inspiring.

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 5/2/2006 12:41:51 PM Central Daylight Time,

mcguinne5@... writes:

> Forgot to mention:

>

> Always after fermenting, blend

> the fenugreek in the blender one last time

> to break up the seeds in the batter.

> then store in quart jars in the fridge.

> They give the batter a good flavor also.

>

> Aniya

Yikes, I would think that picking all the fenugreek out to blend would be a

btch of a job. -----C R