Neer Dosas

Dosa-Do
The world of bread in India is an unending rabbit hole of textures, flavors, and preparations. Seriously. You could fill an entire year just working your way through them all. It’s a journey I would be happy to take.

Some breads you no doubt have heard of like naan and chapati. But, there are plenty of lesser-known regional varieties like litti that are hard to find locally.

Unlike the bread baskets on the tables of restaurants in the US, Indian breads are an important part of the meal, not just a filling accompaniment. Forget forks, Indian breads are usually how you get those flavors to your mouth.

While I would never refuse a fresh and piping-hot piece of naan, I do like to seek out other options when I can. My favorite non-naan? That would be a tie between chapati and dosas. But, puri are great too.

Dosas are very thin South Indian pancakes that are similar to crepes and are most commonly served with chutneys and Indian pickles as a snack. They are a favorite of mine both for their flavor and because they are a fantastic vessel for tasty vegetable tidbits, sauces, and even soups. The issue with dosas is that there are plenty of ways to make them, adding another level to that rabbit hole.

I recommend starting with the most basic version when trying something new at home. While the most familiar dosa batter is made from rice and lentils that have been fermented, a Neer Dosa is made from only 3 ingredients and is not fermented at all. This makes it much lower maintenance and a great place to start—because making dosas can take a little time and practice to get them right.

Just like their better-known cousin, neer dosas should be served with a wide variety of chutneys and pickled veggies.

Neer Dosas Recipe
Yields about 8 dosas Read more…

Weeknight Focaccia

Stippling the dough for our Weeknight Focaccia recipe

A few weeks ago, I made focaccia for dinner on a Tuesday night. Normally, this would be impossible due to time constraints. But I found a Weeknight Focaccia recipe in my cookbook, Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between. This makes it not only possible but pretty easy. It does however require some planning.

Fresh focaccia is one of those things that I just can’t stop eating. And, when I found myself with way too many tomatoes, I figured this would be a good way to use them. I sliced them thin and, after brushing the focaccia with olive oil, I layered them on top with a sprinkle of fresh Italian herbs and some salt before baking. The results made for an amazing mid-week dinner that I paired with a giant salad.

I started the dough on Sunday evening and left it in my fridge until I was ready to use it Tuesday night. You could easily use the dough the next day but the longer stay in the fridge gives the dough a little more time to ferment which gives it more flavor. 48 hours is the max though.

For those who are not tomato fans, you could leave the focaccia plain and sprinkle it with flaky sea salt for crunch, or, my personal favorite, thinly slice some fresh leeks and toss them in a splash of olive oil and salt and pepper then layer them on top before baking. The smell of your kitchen alone would be worth it.

Weeknight Focaccia Recipe
Adapted from Savory Baking: Recipes for Breakfast, Dinner, and Everything in Between.
Yields one 13″ x 18″ sheet pan

This easy-to-prepare bread is chewy, a bit crispy, and wonderfully fluffy. It is great for splitting to make sandwiches and heavenly with a salad and a bowl of soup.

The Weeknight Focaccia dough mixes up fast. And, you can form it in a variety of shapes and sizes. Here we have chosen to use a sheet pan. And, note that the bread needs to rise in the fridge anywhere from overnight to 48 hours—you choose. The longer it rises the more flavorful the loaf. Read more…

Jollof Rice

The Lasso Way
Some of my biggest food obsessions can be directly attributed to something I saw in a movie or on TV. For example, had I not seen Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond eating Moroccan food with their hands in the 1995 movie Sabrina, I might never have understood the beauty of a perfect tagine, that harissa can go on everything, or how to make couscous the right way. (Yes, there is a wrong way). It happened again. But, this time on the small screen.

Like many others, I am a big fan of the Ted Lasso series. And, it was during the Season 2 Christmas episode that my latest obsession was born. In it, Sam is seen bringing some Jollof Rice to the potluck though he laments that it was made with chicken instead of goat. This struck a chord with me. And, the continuing storyline about Sam and his love of his native Nigerian food made me want to see what it was all about.

Though I am not totally unfamiliar with flavors from the African continent, my exposure has been limited to the northern regions and Ethiopia. I just never had the opportunity to taste Nigerian food or other regional flavors from the continent. So, I started researching cookbooks. It was harder than I thought. There are plenty of books about North African cuisine, but those are the flavors I knew the most about. I found a number of options that highlighted the influence African flavors had on traditional Southern cooking. Finding books that focused on other flavors was a bit of a challenge. I did manage to find a couple of good ones. Africana: More than 100 Recipes and Flavors Inspired by a Rich Continent is excellent.

My first mission was to try to make Sam’s Jollof Rice. There are a lot of versions. And, each West African country claims theirs is the best—which is fine. It just means you need to try all of them.

I have found Jollof recipes that I would refer to as “projects” because they take a long time. And, I have found versions that are a little less labor-intensive, though still probably too much work for a weeknight meal. Some recipes include plantains, some don’t. Some are smokey with paprika. Some aren’t. You could get lost in the possibilities. However, all of them will start with rice, tomatoes, and a preferred spice.

This recipe is from Food52 and it is excellent. Give it a shot if you are interested. You just might start your own obsession…

Jollof Rice Recipe
Adapted from Food52
Yields about 16 servings

Jollof Rice is a dish that is served across West Africa. This version is based on a Nigerian recipe. And, while each country has its own version, the consistent elements are rice, tomato stew, and seasonings. Jollof is often served as a main dish.

This recipe makes a large pot of rice, and it can easily be halved for smaller quantities. The dish can also be divided and frozen for later use. Read more…

Fast Focaccia Pizza

That Focaccia Pizza
I think we all remember the bread-baking phenomenon that happened during the height of the pandemic. Most of us were up to our elbows in sourdough just out of sheer boredom. While all of that was going on, you may have missed the rise (no pun intended) of focaccia production that happened simultaneously.

Fresh homemade focaccia is ridiculously good. There is an episode of Samin Nosrat’s Salt Fat Acid Heat on Netflix that shows her making focaccia while on location in Italy which is the epitome of performance art. And a sure-fire way to bring on hunger.

Focaccia on its own is wonderful but focaccia as a base for pizza can be on a whole other level. One of my boys is the lone fan of fluffy pizza in a family of New York style devotees so he rarely gets the high-carb pizza that he loves because he is always outnumbered. Focaccia pizza is a great compromise. It’s hard to not like focaccia. To be clear, focaccia pizza is not the same as a deep-dish pizza. Using pizza dough to make focaccia will not give you the same results.

What you decide to put on your focaccia pizza before you bake it is entirely up to you. Just remember that less is more so that you can taste the amazing flavor of the focaccia as well as the toppings. Pro tip: add a layer of mozzarella before you add your sauce. This will keep the focaccia from getting too soggy.

Fast Focaccia Pizza Recipe
Adapted from Anne Burrell and The Food Network
Yields 8 to 10 servings Read more…