The students made their own masala dosa this week with a spiced potato filling. They worked with black mustard, dried chili peppers, cumin seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, fresh ginger, and asafetida (a resinous gum exuded by a root that’s commonly used in Indian cooking). While the potatoes were cooking, we threw in some freeze-dried peas we had leftover in the pantry from the second-grade Edible Social Studies class on food preservation earlier this year. It was thrilling to watch the kids work in teams to taste the filling and decisively add more salt and spices until the flavor was just right. (The filling is definitely delicious enough to eat just on its own!)
Making the dosas involved brushing a thin film of oil onto a cast-iron skillet, then pouring a small amount of the batter into the center of the pan and spreading it into a round shape. When the dosas were done, the bottoms were beautifully browned. The meal was so enjoyable we had some repeat chefs AND a repeat special guest, Ms. Butler, this week. Thanks also to Mr. Machado and Ms. Lizzie for taking time out of their busy schedules to join us for breakfast.
