Red Lentil Rice Crêpes (South Indian Andhra Pesarattu)

A simple, inspired take on classic Indian dosas and cheelas - a savoury dal and rice crêpe that's perfect for stuffing with sautéed vegetables, especially potatoes. Serve with green chutney for even more flavour. The perfect side, snack, or vehicle for scooping saucy dishes!

In experimenting with a quick and easy way to make dosas (savoury, fermented Indian crêpes), we were blown away by the flavour and texture of these savoury Indian-inspired crêpes. And it turned out what we actually ended up with is closer to an Indian crêpe called a cheela.

Cheelas are similar in flavour, texture (thin and crêpe-like), and presentation to dosas but don't require fermenting and are most commonly made with chickpea flour.

We experimented with fermenting our crêpe batter, but found it didn't noticeably impact flavour or digestibility. However, this is the more traditional approach and we include tips for fermenting if you have time.

So whether you want to call them a moong dal crêpe, cheela, or dosa, as long as you have moong dal (or other lentils) and brown rice on hand, you can make these simple, 6 ingredient crêpes.

Dosa/Cheela:
1 cup moong dal or red lentils (not green mung beans)
1 cup dry short grain brown rice
1½-2 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. peeled ginger
1½-2 Tbsp. curry powder
1-2 tsp. pure maple syrup (optional to balance flavours)
2 cups warm water, or just enough to cover the mixture
1½ Tbsp. ghee or avocado oil, for vegan

To Serve:
Mint Coriander Chutney
Aloo Sabzi (pan-fried potatoes)

Soak moong dal and rice separately by adding to separate mixing bowls and covering with cool water. Soak for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Once soaked, drain and rinse well, then transfer both rice and moong dal to a high-speed blender with salt, peeled ginger, curry powder, maple syrup, and only enough water to JUST cover the rice and lentils - you can add more as needed, but you can't take away.

Blend on high for 1 minute or until creamy and smooth, scraping down sides as needed. The batter should be thin and pourable like a crêpe batter - not watery, but not visibly thick or difficult to pour. Add more water as needed to achieve the right consistency.

Taste and adjust flavour as needed, adding more kosher or sea salt, ginger for punchy ginger flavour, curry powder for more prominent curry taste, or maple syrup for subtle sweetness or to balance the flavours.

Optional: For a fermented version, allow batter to sit at room temperature overnight (or at least 6 hours). Some bubbles should appear and the batter should become lighter/fluffier in texture, which indicates fermentation.

Heat one (or several) cast iron or non-stick skillets over medium heat (we used our 10- and 12" cast irons). Once hot, add a little oil (or ghee if not vegan) and swirl to coat (it's best not to have large pools of oil on the pan, so wipe with a paper towel if there's too much).

Pour roughly ¼ cup of the batter at a time into the hot pan(s) and use a spoon or the bottom of a ladle (our preferred utensil) to swirl the batter outward until the crêpe is roughly 10" wide. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the edges start to lift away from the pan and the underside is slightly golden brown. Then flip and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Remove from pan. Repeat until all of the batter is used up - about 12 crêpes as the recipe is written.

Serve immediately alongside other Indian-inspired dishes. We especially loved them folded over and filled with potato (aloo) sabzi and green chutney.

Store leftover batter covered in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days, or store cooked dosas/cheelas covered in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days, or in the freezer for 1 month (add parchment paper in between so they don't stick together). Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave until hot.

Makes 12 servings.

Cook's Notes:

• We didn't test with long grain brown rice or white rice, but we think it would work. We also suspect millet and quinoa would work well here.
• If grain-free, omit rice and double quantity of moong dal or red lentils. The flavour will be more pungent / less balanced, but texturally it's very similar.
• Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with the lesser amounts of curry powder and maple syrup.

Nutrition:
Serving: 1 crêpe Calories: 125 Carbohydrates: 22.6 g Protein: 5.1 g Fat: 2.6 g Saturated Fat: 0.2 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.24 g Monounsaturated Fat: 1.24 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 394 mg Potassium: 18 mg Fiber: 2.2 g Sugar: 1.1 g Vitamin A: 45 IU Vitamin C: 1.23 mg Calcium: 24.65 mg Iron: 1.62 mg