There are numerous variations to the preparation of these Indian pancakes. This preparation keeps well in a sealed container, but you might wish to scale down the amount you make.
There is a much more authentic recipe in which the rice flour is fermented. It makes a superior dosa. If you want this recipe before this page is updated, email me at mari@lis.net.au

Mix all the above ingredients into an even batter and store in a sealable container a cool place.

To prepare a pancake you need a frypan, preferably a non-stick electric variety. If you are using an ordinary frypan adjust the heat between low and moderate. If it is electric you can turn it to nearly maximum. Place a spoonful of margarine or oil in it and allow it to melt and cover the base

Take 2 or 3 dessertspoons of batter in a bowl and add water slowly while whisking the mixture. When it is all suspended but flows easily, pour it into the frypan so that it covers the base evenly . You can achieve this by pouring the batter starting at the centre and spiralling outwards. The frypan should be hot enough that the batter sets almost immediately.

Allow the dosa to fry until it can be seen to be brown and lifting around the edges. It should become crisp by this stage. Do not try to move it until it is almost totally separated from the base. It should lift off the pan base easily and in one piece with a flat spatula. If it starts to break, leave it to fry a little longer. If you want you can fry it for a few minutes on its upper side. The thinness you were able to pour it and the amount of water will determine how crispy you can get the dosa.

While it is cooking heat some curry. When the dosa is cooked place it on a plate facing the way you first cooked it. Pour the curry onto half of the dosa and fold the remainder over it. Garnish with a chutney such as dania # 85 and a little salad and fresh coriander.

These dosa can be served like any pancake with a savoury curry or a sweet topping such as syrup and fruit.

60. PAKORA

There are many variations to this recipe which is a favourite Indian dish. Any vegetable can be used to make pakora but not all vegetable compliment the flavour of a particular batter. This batter is good with potato, spinach, onion, cauliflower, chilli , sliced tomato, pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini, mushrooms.

Pakora are cooked as single vegetable pieces or as croquettes which are a mixture of fresh vegetables covered with batter. They are best served soon after cooking but are still nice to eat the following day.

The following quantities will make more batter than you are likely to need for a single evening. Store remaining batter powder in a dry air-tight container. If you are just experimenting, proportion the following recipe about 1: 10.

Mix all the above ingredients together well. Store in an air-tight container in a cool spot

Remove the heavy stems from the spinach (silverbeet) and chop the leaves onto fairly large pieces. Peel a brown or white onion, cut into rings then halve the rings. Mix these with the spinach.

Into a mixing bowl place the amount of batter you estimate you will need and add a little water. Mix this in until you have a pasty batter - You may have to add more water or more batter powder. Mix in enough of the spinach and onion so that there is a fairly even coating of batter covering all the vegetable pieces.

Take walnut size portions of this mixture (but do not press into a tight ball) and drop them in the deep-frying oil. Do not over-load the oil, this will cause it to soak into the batter. The pakora should fry very briskly and should be brown within about 1 minute. Over turn the pakora in the oil to ensure even cooking. Remove from oil when crisp and allow to drain.

If you do not have the equipment for deep frying, press it into a pancake and shallow fry the pakora in an ordinary frypan. Alternatively sprinkle the vegetables with dry batter, mix so that there is a coating on all pieces and allow to stand for about 15 minutes. Juice from the vegetables will wet the batter. Form into small croquettes and deep fry.

Serve with a sweet chutney warm or cold with rice, dhal and/or any other dishes -especially curries - in these recipes.

Make a fairly thick pasty batter as above. Cut as much cauliflower as you require into small flowerets about the size your thumb. Mix these into the batter until they are evenly coated, then drop them into hot oil or into a shallow frypan one by one so that they cook separately. Fry for about 2 - 3 minutes until they begin to brown. Remove from oil, drain and serve. These may be re-heated in the oil or in a in a microwave oven. You can also freeze them and re-fry later

Cut spinach into 2 or 3 cm strips then mix into batter as with the cauliflower and fry in oil. Try to cook the spinach so that the pieces are thin and about the same size as the cauliflower. Spinach will cook very quickly. Remove from oil, drain and serve. This variety of pakora may be re-heated in a microwave oven.

If you like hot chilli, make a slit in them, dip them in batter and fry the same as cauliflower. The slit is to avoid them exploding during cooking. An excellent way to eat hot chilli.

Mushrooms, if they are succulent and un-open also make an excellent pakora. Cut them into thick slices, cover with batter and fry.

Try serving pakora with a sweet or a hot chutney such as an Indian mango chutney which is available from most imported food retailers. There are numerous sweet chutneys sold under regular supermarket labels.

61. SAMOSA

These triangular curry pies are very popular but require some effort to prepare so you will probably only make them for special occasions. It is a good idea to prepare the filling the day before you intend making them because it is much easier to work with when it has cooled and set than when it is hot. Alternatively, place the prepared mixture in the freezer after it has cooled a little and make samosa after it has set. The pastry is best made just before use. It goes elastic and hard to roll and seal after refrigeration. Once you set yourself up to produce samosa it is probably worth making more than you need and freezing the others. When you get to the frying stage, lightly fry the samosa you are going to save, cool and then freeze them. They can be defrosted with a microwave or allowed to thaw then re-fried in oil.

Instead of making the pastry you can also make samosa from spring roll sheets. This reduces the work load and the samosa can be frozen without pre-frying. They also do not need to be thawed nor microwaved before cooking. A diagram showing how to fold the samosa with spring roll sheets is given below.

Mix the flour, salt and margarine by rubbing it between your hands. Add the water, mix in with spoon and when cool enough knead for a few minutes until you have an even and firm dough. Store covered until needed for rolling.

Pour oil into a deep saucepan or wok and heat. When it is hot add the mustard seeds and stir until they begin to pop. Have the onion and ginger ready to cool the oil at this stage. Add the chopped onion and ginger, fry until soft and beginning to turn clear. Add the fresh chilli and garlic and fry gently for a few minutes. Add the spices and fry for about a minute longer.

Cube the potatoes into 2 cm pieces and add them to the frying mixture. Add water to just below the surface of the potato pieces. Bring the mixture to the boil then simmer until the potatoes are soft and are beginning to turn mushy. It should be a fairly dry mixture by this stage. Keep the water level low so that the final mixture is firm enough to pack into the pastry. Remove from heat and mash any remaining pieces of potato.

Add the frozen peas (add earlier if fresh peas are used) and mix into the potato. The mixture should thicken at this stage. Add the chopped coriander, mix well and transfer into a suitable jar for cooling and storing. When cool this preparation should set into a fairly thick paste which will be easy to use as a filling. It is probably best to make thew mixture the day before.

Take a golf ball portion of prepared dough and after forming an even ball in your palm, roll a thin flat circle on a floured board. The pastry should be about as thick as about 10 pages of this book. Cut this into two equal halves then fold each half over so that you can pinch a join along the cut edge and thus make a cone shaped pouch. Reinforce the join by pressing the teeth of a fork along it. Repeat this for as many samosa that you require but be aware that if you leave these pouches for too long they may begin to fuse together.

Take one of these pastry pouches at a time and let it hang neatly between your thumb and index finger. You should be able to open each pouch without it falling from your hand. Place enough filling mixture into it so that you can close the remaining curved edge of the pastry. You will find this easier if you don't let any filling touch the joining surface. Hold the pouch between your fingers in such a way that when it is finally sealed, the first join runs across the middle of one surface. See diagram below.

If you want to prepare the samosa for future use, drop them into a pot of hot oil and fry for a few minutes until they float. Remove from oil, drain, cool and freeze for future use. Defrost (in a microwave if you have one) before re-frying. If serving immediately fry the samosa a little longer so that all the pastry has cooked. Instead of pre-frying you can also freeze them by arranging them in the freezer so they do not touch. Unless you make them very small it will be difficult to fry them without firstly defrosting. Spring roll pastry on the other hand is thinner and the samosa made from these sheets are generally smaller and therefore they can be fried without defrosting. Once you have mastered the folding technique, spring roll samosa are easier and less time consuming.