I have posted a recipe for Quinoa dosa before. However, that recipe included rice flour. Now I make a version which has only quinoa and I like this version better because it makes more crispy dosas! Since I cannot tolerate much rice, I find this version to be agreeable to me overall as I don’t end up getting any side-effects of eating rice. (Yes sadly, eating rice causes my knees to get inflamed.)
Since many folks tolerate quinoa better than rice, I think this recipe will fly well with most folks who cannot tolerate grains. Quinoa has been shown to heal the gut because it contains prebiotic fibers that help the probiotic or beneficial bacteria to grow. It has many other benefits the most important one being that it is a complete protein source having all the 10 essential amino acids that the body does not produce on its own. But we need to make sure to cook quinoa properly. Quinoa always should be cooked by first pre-soaking it for a few hours to breakdown the phytic acid coating which acts as an anti-nutrient. According to Weston A. Price foundation, quinoa should not only be rinsed, but also soaked, germinated and fermented prior to cooking to eliminate the majority of the phytic acid.
I have recently re-introduced quinoa back into my diet after being on AIP for more than a year. I am glad that i seem to be tolerating it well. In this recipe, I soak the quinoa for around 24 plus hours for this recipe and so it gets fermented too. This makes it even more healthy and nutritious. You can also add nutritional yeast to give it a sour/cheesy flavor. The traditional Indian dosa batter using rice and lentils is fermented to get a sour tasting batter so this one closely mimics that!
Dosas in our house are always enjoyed with a potato masala stuffing. This time I also made a side of cranberry coconut chutney, the recipe of which I just posted.
- Quinoa, 1 cup
- Water, 1 cup
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- ¼ tsp sea salt (less if using nutritional yeast since that is salty)
- Wash the quinoa thoroughly and rinse. Then Soak it for at least 12 hours (up to 24 hours is recommended)
- Blend the soaked quinoa with about ½ of the soaked water till creamy and you get a very fine consistency. Add the nutritional yeast if adding and the salt and blend again. The batter should be of the consistency of dosa batter (or pancake batter). Add more water if needed to get the desired consistency.
- For making the dosas, heat a griddle to high heat. Then lower it to medium high. Keep a wet paper towel or were dish cloth handy and wipe the surface of the griddle with that. Immediately pour one ladle full of batter on the middle of the griddle and by moving your hands in a circular fashion make a round dosa (crepe). With a teaspoon, drizzle olive oil on the sides of the dosa. Let it cook for 3-4 mins or until the bottom turns golden brown and crispy. Do not flip. Transfer the dosa onto a serving plate. Finish making all the dosas in this same way.
- Serve dosa with potato masala and / chutney.
You quote: “quinoa should not only be rinsed, but also soaked, germinated and fermented prior to cooking to eliminate the majority of the phytic acid.”
Once soaked, how can one cook it, with out it being too sticky, and not fluffy (or burining)? Do you have the ratio and instructions for cooking after soaking? Please share…
Hello, no it won’t be sticky. You can soak for either a couple hours or overnight. Then drain the water and add water (I add 2 cups for every 1 cup of quinoa) and salt. Place on stove. let the whole thing come to a boil. Then turn to low simmer and cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until all the water is evaporated. It will be still fluffy!
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