I grew up with the notion that pancakes needed to be sweet. You know, sweetened batters cooked on a grill, slathered with butter and drizzled with a generous glug of maple syrup. (Those were wonderful pancakes.)
As my palate has matured and much to my delight, I’ve been introduced to savory pancakes. You know…scallion pancakes, savory crepes and on and on.
Here is another savory pancake that soars: Yellow Bean and Spinach Dosas. The batter is made with soaked split mung beans. Mung beans are a member of the legume family and a nutritive powerhouse rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. Here in the United States, they are mostly used for sprouts, but, in India (and other parts of Asia) they are used in sweet and savory dishes like these wonderful dosas.
This recipe is from Joe Yonan’s cookbook Cool Beans. You can order the cookbook through your local bookstore or from Amazon here.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Yellow Beans With Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 C. dried split mung beans (soaked for two hours, drained and rinsed)
- 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger (grated)
- 1 dried red chile
- 1/2 t. kosher salt (or to taste)
- Water
- 1/2 C. chopped baby spinach
- 1 T. grapeseed or other neutral oil
- 1/4 yellow onion (finely chopped)
- 1/2 C. fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 jalapeno chile (finely chopped)
- Chutney (thinned with a bit of water)
Directions
- Step 1 Drain and rinse soaked mung beans. Combine the soaked mung beans with grated ginger, dried chile, kosher salt and blend in a strong blender like a Vitamix or in a food processor. Add water as necessary to thin your batter if it is too thick. You want a consistency like a thick pancake batter.
- Step 2 Put the batter into a bowl and stir in the chopped spinach. Add more salt at this point if needed.
- Step 3 Heat a griddle or large frying pan on high heat. Wipe down griddle or frying pan with oil. Pour 1/3 C. batter onto the hot griddle using a spatula or the bottom of the measuring cup to smooth the batter into a smooth thin circle–the larger the circle the better. (Distribute the batter on your hot griddle using circular motions to do this.)You want your dosa to be very thin and you want it to crisp a little. Sprinkle a little of the onion, cilantro and chopped jalapeno across the top of your dosa. Sprinkle a little oil on top of the dosa.Use a spatula to press the vegetables down into the dosa. Cook the dosa for 1-2 minutes. (You want the edges of the dosa to begin to brown if that is possible.) Flip the dosa and cook for another minute, again pressing down on the surface of the dosa with a spatula. Flip the dosa again and transfer to your serving plate. Fold the dosa into halves or thirds and sprinkle with a bit more of the chopped vegetables. Serve with a thinned chutney.
