Dosa Kitchen: Recipes for India’s Favorite Street Food

With great pleasure I’m announcing my collaborator’s newest book, Dosa Kitchen. Leda Scheintaub and her husband, Nash Patel, have introduced a food completely new to Western palates: the dosa. This popular South Indian street food is a gluten-free fermented crepe that can be stuffed with or dipped into a variety of flavorful fillings and chutneys. Dosas are endlessly adaptable to a wide range of tastes and dietary restrictions.

Years ago, I’d made several attempts to make dosas, but with inedible results. Before Dosa Kitchen, dosa recipes were, at best, sketchy. Now with the book in hand, I’ve made three gorgeous batches and, oh! are they tasty. The book includes 50 recipes for fillings and chutneys featuring traditional Indian favorites like Masala Dosa (made with spiced mashed potatoes) and Pork Vindaloo, as well as creative twists like the Dosa Dog and the Cream Cheese, Lox, and Caper Dosa Wrap. They serve these and more at their food truck, Dosa Kitchen, located in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Dosas couldn’t be a healthier food. They’re made of fermented rice and dal, which makes them easy to digest, and they’re a complete protein. It’s a joy to journey with Leda and Nash as they showcase their favorite dishes from their combined culinary worlds. The recipes are trustworthy and the writing is a delight.

I recently served their Coconut Chutney to a large gathering. There were no leftovers, and folks clamored for the recipe. It’s deceptively simple and, like the dishes in Dosa Kitchen, vibrantly flavored.

Dosa Kitchen is a must-have book and it makes a great gift for the other cooks in your life. The Dosa Kitchen: Recipes for India’s Favorite Street Food by Nash Patel and Leda Scheintaub. New York: Clarkson Potter. 2018, 144 pages. List price: $18.99.

Reprinted from Dosa Kitchen. Copyright © 2018 by Nash Patel and Leda Scheintaub. Photographs copyright © 2018 by Kristin Teig. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.