Dosa Kebab Roll (When South meets North)

'Jaldi Aana' (In English, 'Come back soon') is that phrase which has made my life extra beautiful these days. Don't think that I'm the one who says this to my hubby when he's leaving for office in the morning (he he....IT guys can never follow that I know! :P) That's my pocket-sized rocket, I mean my little chirpy, perky doll who keeps talking the day long these days, firing all sort of questions, and then replying back to them with her silly wisdom. 'Jaldi aana' is her favorite phrase these days which she would say to anyone and everyone she meets. And just not that, she suffixes it so well with 'Theek Hai/ Okay'...ha ha...she's a complete dadi amma! :)

Well, I had been a little busy in the last months due to some reasons that just didn't let me sit on my blog for long. I know I will not be as regular on it as I was in Kenya, but cooking is still going on, and so will be blogging for sure. :) Today's post was an innovation in disguise. I had made daal kebabs and lacchha paranthas one evening and didn't know what to do with the leftover kebabs. Next morning, I was preparing breakfast for hubby and wooosh, this fab idea clicked! I had some green chutney with me, so made delicious Dosa Kebab Rolls with them, a variation to the usual Lucknowi Kebab Roll. They turned out fantastic, far better than what I had imagined. They were masaledaar/ spicy, they were flavorful, yet they weren't unhealthy. My hubby adored them and then I decided not to miss on the clicks and copyright my new creation.

DOSA KEBAB ROLL:

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 5 minutes (With previously cooked kebabs)

Info Meter: 

The protein-carb rich dosa with the spicy lentil/daal kebab is perhaps one of the quickest fusion breakfast you can have, commingling the flavors from the South and the North India. All you need is the ready to use dosa batter and some leftover kebabs that you might have after a gala dinner, or you might even think of making some fresh ones, especially for these hot rolls.

Ingredients:

For Kebabs:

1. Black Masoor Daal: 1 cup

2. Green Chilly:1

3. Garlic Pods: 3 or 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

4. Garam Masala: 1 tbs

5. Salt: 1 tbs or as per taste

6. Oil: 1 tbs for cooking and some for shallow frying the kebabs

7. Amchoor/ Dry Mango Powder: 1/2 tsp (optional)

8. Green Chutney

9. Sliced Onion Rings dipped in lime juice

For Dosa Batter: 

1. Split Urad Daal: 1 cup

2. Dosa Rice: 2 cups

3. Tuar/ Arhar Daal: a handful

4. Poha: 1/4 cup

5. Fenugreek Seeds/ Methi Dana: 1/4 tsp

Method:

Preparing Kebabs:

1. Soak the masoor daal for 2 hours. Then boil it with the green chilly till the daal gets fairly cooked and soft. It took me 20 minutes to do that.
2. Pound it with the back of a spoon and make into a fine paste. Take the green chilly out.
3. Mash the garlic pods and keep them ready.
4. Take 1 tbs oil in a pan and heat it. Add the daal paste to it followed by garam masala and salt. 
5. Cook for 3-5 minutes till it becomes thick, like dough. 
6. Let it cool.
7. Form balls with it and flatten them in between your palms. 
8. Take 2 tbs oil/ghee in a non stick skillet/pan. Shallow fry the kebabs on it, flipping on the side when they turn brown (Like for Aloo Tikki).
9. The kebabs are ready to use. You can either have them with Lacckka Paranthas or with the Dosa Rolls.

Preparing Dosa Batter:

1. Soak the daals and the rice separately for 4-6 hours.
2. Add methi seeds to the daal before soaking.
3. Now grind the daal to a smooth batter.
4. Add poha to the soaked rice and grind it well. See that it is not granular, but fine and smooth.
5. Now mix the two together and let them ferment overnight.
6. The batter should almost rise to double by the morning.
7. Now store it in the refrigerator and take small portions out for use whenever required.
8. Add a little salt to the batter before making dosas. If you find the consistency thick, add a little water, but the batter should not be runny.

Preparing Dosa:

1. Take a non stick tawa/skillet and heat it.
2. It should be really hot, else the dosa will not go crisp.
3. Pour a spoonful of the batter on the hot skillet and spread it in a circular fashion either with the back of the spoon or with the back of a flat bowl. The circular spreading should be in a single direction and without lifting the spoon or the bowl up till you finish.
4. Slide droplets of oil on the sides of the dosa and keep the flame on high. 
5. When you see it going brown in the centre and sides, insert a nonstick flat spoon/ khurpi from the sides and lift it up. 
6. Transfer this to a plate.

 

Assembling The Roll:

1. Take the dosa and spread a layer of green chutney on it. 
2. Crush one kebab and layer it vertically in the middle line of the dosa.
3. Jewel the crushed kebab with some lemon dipped onion rings and roll it over to get that perfect 'Roll'.
4. Serve hot with your loving heart.

 

Suggestions:

1. I used ready made batter available in the market, which was as good as the home-made one. 
2. Instead of daal kebabs, you can use any other variety of kebab as well.
3. After spreading chutney, keep your hands moving fast and serve immediately, else the dosa wrap will go soft and start breaking.
4. NEVER use oil on a non stick tawa/skillet before pouring the batter. It will not let the batter stick to the base properly. Always add droplets of oil after you have already spread the batter. 
5. If you want the dosa to go crispier, add a little rice flour to the batter, add more oil, and cook it even on the other side, which is not a general way of making dosa. 
6. You can also cut the roll in small portions and serve.
7. Make sure that your chutney is not watery, but thick, otherwise the dosa base will go soggy.
8. You can also make a multigrain dosa and add kebab to it for that healthy kick.

Leftover Roti Pulao/ Kawe

'Kawe', as we call it in Udaipur, is a leftover dish prepared with the last night's or old dried chapatis/rotis, flavored and seasoned with spices, potatoes, veggies, and a lot of respect for the food which we believe should not be thrown or wasted. Though this is not very often, but sometimes the hands direct in a slightly lavish way and the food turns out to be in excess. I know and surely never recommend  over-eating because you don't want to throw away the leftovers, but yes, I strongly recommend using them in every possible way, making sure that they are not spoiled/deteriorated by some bacterial/fungal growth. Here, I mean that the leftover food should not be one which goes rotten/bad on storing. I only use either refrigerated leftovers or dried leftovers which have no risk for micro-organic growth. 

One of such leftover recipes include 'Kawe' aka ' Namkeen Roti Pulao', which is very common at my mom's place. Though we also have a sweet variation to it called ' Meethe Kawe', but here I'll be writing only about the namkeen/ spicy one.

Usually we use dried rotis in this but sometimes even leftover fresh rotis can be converted to this form if you are a die-hard lover of this dish ( Like me and my mom!) On a general basis, we prepare a special seasoning for it with cumin(jeera), mustard seeds (rai), onion, potato, spices, water and salt and finally cook the dried rotis in that till they go soft and slightly mushy, but I had prepared it with leftover Aloo Gobhi ki sabji, and wow, my hubby liked a leftover dish for the first time!. :)

NAMKEEN ROTI PULAO/ KAWE:

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 7-10 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1. Dried/leftover chapatis/rotis: 4

2. Potato: 1 (thinly sliced)

3. Onion: 1 (chopped)

4. Cumin seeds/ jeera: 1/4 tsp

5. Mustard seeds/ rai: 1/4 tsp

6. Coriander Powder: 1 tbs

7. Red Chilli Powder: 1tsp or less 

8. Turmeric Powder: 1/4 tsp

9. Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp

10. Salt: 1 and a half tsp or as per taste

11. Green chilly: 1 (chopped) - optional

12. Water: 2 cups 

13. Coriander leaves (chopped): for garnishing

14. Oil: 2 tbs

Method: 

1. It's important to use the leftover stuff in a right way. The rotis/chapatis should not be very old ( not older than 2 days), and see that they look dry and clean, with no fungal growth or black webs. While drying the leftover chapatis/rotis, please make sure that you keep them scattered in a big plate/dish in open. Do not keep the rotis in a closed box else they will go spoiled.
2. Take a pan and heat oil in it. Add cumin seeds and mustard seeds and wait till they splutter. 
3. Now add the chopped onion and fry till it turns golden brown. Add in chopped chilly followed by the sliced potato. 
4. Throw in all the spices and salt and cook for 2 minutes. 
5. Sprinkle some water and cover it for cooking the potato. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Now add water to it and take a boil.
7. Break the dried rotis/ fresh rotis into small pieces and add these pieces to the boiling vegetable. 
8. Cook for 7-8 minutes till the pieces go soft and the water is almost all absorbed.
9. Switch off the flame, and serve hot with some aromatic coriander leaves. 

Suggestions:

1. If you are using fresh/ not very dry rotis, add less water.
2. Instead of making the seasoning, you can also use some leftover refrigerated vegetable, like how I used Aloo Gobhi ki sabji. Then, you just need to add some water to this vegetable and take a boil, and add the roti pieces to it; no seasoning required.

Submitting this recipe to:
Any One Can Cook  by Ayeesha
Lets Cook with Leftovers  by Nayna
Walk Through Memory Lane by Gayatri