A kind of dosa with spinach, fried eggs, crispy onions and chilli

A kind of dosa with spinach, fried eggs, crispy onions and chilli

Summer

Breakfast doesn’t have to be obvious or boring. It can be inventive, exciting and fiery. These easy-to-make pancakes are my speedy twist on a chana dosa. Instead of fermenting chickpeas and rice, I use gram flour. The pancakes are spiced with black onion seeds and packed with spinach, which keeps them beautifully moist. You can top them with anything you like, but this is definitely our favourite way of doing them.

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • a couple of handfuls of young spinach leaves
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 100g (3½oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 100g (3½oz) gram (chickpea) flour
  • a good pinch of chilli flakes
  • ½ teaspoon black onion seeds
  • a pinch of ground fenugreek
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • a good pinch of sea salt, plus extra to season
  • 2 eggs
  • freshly ground black pepper

Method

Set a large, heavy-based frying pan over a medium-hot fire. Add the spinach leaves and a dash of water and cook them, stirring regularly, until they have wilted right down. Lift the cooked spinach out of the pan and let it cool to one side. Pour away any spinach-y water in the pan and return the pan to the fire. Add the extra-virgin olive oil. When it’s hot, scatter in the onion and season with a little salt and pepper. Cook the onion, stirring regularly, until it’s soft and golden and beginning to crisp around the edges. Spoon the onion out of the pan and keep warm.

Combine the flours in a large bowl. Add the chilli flakes, black onion seeds, fenugreek, baking powder and salt. Whisk all the dry ingredients together, then add 400ml (14fl oz) of water in a gradual, steady stream. Whisk the batter until it’s smooth, then squeeze the liquid out of the spinach, roughly chop it and stir it through the batter.

Return the same frying pan to the heat. When it’s hot, add a small ladle of pancake batter and swirl it round the pan so that it covers the base, right up to the edges. Cook the pancake for 45–60 seconds. You’ll notice lots of little bubbles appearing on the surface. Use a spatula or knife to help you flip the pancake and cook for 30 seconds on the second side. Fry another pancake in the same way, then cover the remaining batter and refrigerate for another time.

Add a dash more oil to the pan and, when it’s hot, crack in the eggs. Fry them until they begin to crisp around the edges. If you want to flip the eggs, you can, or you can place a lid or bowl over them for 30–40 seconds as they’re cooking to seal their tops.

To serve, top each pancake with a fried egg. Scatter over the chilli, spring onions (scallions), crispy onions and coriander (cilantro).

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