Masoor dal Dosa/ Red lentil crepes
This is a south beach friendly vegetarian recipe. It uses the red lentils/masoor dal which is more readily availble in the US.
Ingredients:
- Masoor Dal (red lentils) 1/2 cup
- Urad Dal 1/4 cup
- Chana Dal 3 tbsps
- Crushed black pepper 1/2 tsp
- Kasuri methi or herbs of choice 3 tbsps
- Asafoetida 1/8 tsp
Procedure:
- Soak the dals for 3 hours in 3 cups of water.
- Drain the liquid and grind with water enough to be marginally thinner than pancake batter.
- Let the batter fermet for 3 hours.
- Preheat non-stick griddle for 5 mins on medium high.
- Spoon 1/4 cup of the mixture on the pan and spread into circular motions into a 7 inch diameter crepe.
- Let it cook for 2 minutes (or sooner if it cooks).
- Separate it from pan.
- It should have a papery texture.
Sundal
This South Indian dish can be used with most dried beans. I have tried it with black eyed peas and garbanzo beans.
Ingredients
- Dried beans 1/2 cup
- Curry leaves 4
- Asafoetida a pinch
- Red chilli powder 1/4 tsp
- Turmeric 1/4 tsp
- Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
- Cumin seeds 1 tsp
- Oil 1.5 tsp
- Lime juice 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
Procedure
- Presoak the dried beans overnight or for 8 hours.
- Pressure cook with 1.5 cups of water for 3 whistles and drain off the water.
- Preheat the pan and add the oil.
- Add mustard seeds, one they stop spluttering, add the cumin.
- The cumin should be fried in a manner of seconds. Add the asafoetida
- Tear the curry leaves by hand to release the flavour and add to the oil.
- Once the curry leaves have fried, add the drained garbanzo beans.
- Add the remaining spices and let it cook on medium low for 5 mins.
- Add the salt and lime juice and mix.
Summer Squash chutney
This is a good accompaniment to the mung dal dosa. Any summer squash can be used. I tried it with opo squash and zucchini.
Ingredients:
- Summer squash (peeled, de-seeded and diced) 2 cups
- Yellow or red onion, chopped finely 1/2 cup
- Red chillies 2
- Urad dal 3 tbsps
- Chana dal 3 tbsps
- Oil 1 tbsp
- Asafoetida 1 pinch
- Salt to taste
- Tamarind/lemon juice 1 tsp
Procedure
- Preheat the oil in a pan on medium.
- Add the chana dal and stir it frequently for 1 min.
- Add urad dal.
- When the dals redden, add chillies.
- When the red chillies turn brown, add the onions and saute till the onions are transparent.
- Add the diced squash. Cover and cook for 20 minutes on medium low.
- Let the mixture cool, add the salt and tamarind and blend to paste.
Oil-less Mung Dal Dosa/Crepes
I found the lentil proportions for this recipe on an online forum.
Calorie counter (approximately 940 calories):
Ingredients:
- Split yellow Mung dal 1/2 cup
- Urad dal 1/4 cup
- Channa dal 3 tbsps
- Red chillies 2
- Ginger, grated 1 tbsp
- Asafoetida 1 pinch (optional)
- Salt to taste
Procedure:
- Soak the 2 dals overnight or 8 hours.
- Add 1.5 cups waster and the rest of the ingrediets and blend into a smooth paste.
- Preheat non-stick griddle for 5 mins on medium high.
- Spoon 1/4 cup of the mixture on the pan and spread into circular motions into a 7 inch diameter crepe.
- Let it cook for 2 minutes (or sooner if it cooks).
- Separate it from pan.
- It should have a papery texture.
Toppings:
Spring onions, jalapenos, chopped spinach make good toppings.
Accompaniments:
Chutneys, hummus, pickles, dosa/idli podi make good accompaniments.
South Beach Diet–Vegetarian version
I have been going through the south beach diet phase 1 over the past 2 weeks and have lost 3.5 lbs. Whether I can keep it off remains to be seen. This is series on SBD and how it can be interpreted into the Indian vegetarian (or with some modification any vegetarian) cuisine. I was consuming between 1500 to 2000 calories each day. Notes from phase 1.
Challenges:
- The diet is primarily geared for the western non-veg diet. Coming up with (essentially) vegan recipes for the diet was challenging. The dosa/crepe recipe was the deal maker.
- The list for not/allowed foods is not exhaustive. I made a couple of mistakes eating pinto beans and banana-squash.
- For individuals that also cook for the entire family it can get a bit more hectic. I would do my regular dal or sambhar and make rice for the rest and eat mine with dosas/crepes.
Advantages:
- I did not feel hungry or deprived at all during this diet.
- I noticed a positive change in energy and mental alertness.
- I did not do any extra physical activity. I lead an almost sedentry lifestyle.
Falling off the wagon:
I fell of the wagon thrice, caffeine and costco samples being the tempters. No worries, just continued and made a note of it.
Takeaways:
- Planning is key to making it through the phase. Ensure you know what you are going to eat and keep the raw materials ready.
- Eat the soup before dosas at dinner. Soup should fill you enough to reduce further intake.
Since phase 1 lasts only for 2 weeks I figured that I was fine with some amount of monotony in my daily menu.Here is listing of the dishes that featured daily on my plate.
- Mixed lentil crepes (~940 cals)
- Vegetable soup or lentil stew or sambhar (~200 clas)
- Hummus or some form of summer squash chutney (~200 cals)
- Stir fry veggies sauteed in spices (~200 cals)
- Almonds (~ 320 cals)
- 2 cups of caffeinated beverage with skim milk and artificial sweetner (~100 cals)
I will be posting recipes in subsequent posts.
For an overview of the diet, check the South Beach Diet website.
For the allowed/not-allowed food list for phase 1, check the following link.
