Cauliflower masala dosa

Calling all cauliflower lovers, all dosa lovers, all fusion food lovers and all who have not had enough of cauliflower from my last post – here is another fun masala dosa. I have created this filling with critical inputs from my kids, so I guess it will work for all of you too! I hope too, that this can join the exalted ranks of  amazing dosa fillings like palak paneer dosa or pav bhaji dosa.                 

You need
For the filling

1. Cauliflower( what else) – 1 medium head (I got 2 heaped cups of florets)
2. Paneer – 250gm (I used 200 gms in this recipe and found it inadequate, hence suggesting 250gms)
3. Onions – 3-4 medium, chopped fine
4. Capsicum – 1, chopped
5. Green chillies – 6-7, chopped
6. Salt – 1tbsp
7. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
8. Garam masala powder – 2 heaped tsp
9. Sugar – 1 tsp (optional)
10. Vegetable oil – 4 tsp
11. Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
12. Cumin – 1 tsp

For dosa

1. Idli rice – 4 cups
2. Whole skinned urad – 1 cup
3. Water for grinding – 2-3 cups
4. Salt – 2 heaped tsp
5. Sesame oil – 4-5 tsp, for making dosas

I soaked rice and dal separately overnight, ground each separately and then mixed the batter with salt and left to ferment for at least 6-7 hours. You can dilute if too thick for dosa batter. Making idli or dosa batter merits a separate post. I shall post that as soon as I am able to take good pictures of my dosa batter!
To assemble

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add seasonings (11 and12).
2. Add green chillies, chopped onions, chopped capsicum in this order.  
3. Add cauliflower florets, toss well.
4. Add turmeric powder, salt, garam masala, sugar (if using).
5. Cover and cook for a few minutes over low flame.
6. Crumble paneer coarsely.
7. Once the cauliflower is cooked through, add paneer, fold gently.
8. Filling for dosa is ready. (Aha, can’t wait to dig in)
9. Heat a skillet/ non-stick griddle/ iron dosa griddle.
10. Grease the griddle with a tsp of sesame oil.
11. Splatter a few drops of water on the hot griddle. When it sizzles, go ahead, attack!
12. Pour a heaped ladle of batter in the centre, spread the batter in concentric circles using the ladle.
13. Drizzle some sesame oil around the dosa. When it begins to brown, loosen the edges carefully and flip over.
14. Dosa should be done in just a minute. Turn over again, spread the filling over half of the dosa, fold over and serve. I served with some coconut  chutney and more filling on the side.

Variations

• Add boiled peas instead of paneer.
• Use cheese spread to spread on dosa. In case you use cheese spread, omit paneer. You can smear cheese spread on flipped dosa and then spread vegetable filling.
• The same filling can be used inside a sandwich or to make frankie rolls.

Nutri notes

• This dish is a complete meal in itself. It combines carbohydrates and proteins from the dosa, vegetable allowance from the cauliflower, dairy protein from paneer, fats from oil, paneer and coconut (if using for chutney), fibre from vegetables, coconut.
• Since dosa is made from fermented batter, the dish has all benefits of fermentation. These will be discussed later with my post on dosa/idli batter.