Dosa Taquitos
Ground beef and cheese rolled into a taquito using a crispy South Indian crepe called dosa that is made with a fermented rice batter. Dosa is a PERFECT replacement for a tortilla in this taquito! I don’t know why I haven’t thought of this before? A light batter that cooks up super crispy is just what you need to hold that flavorful meat and cheese.
The inspiration for this recipe
I made dosa a long time ago and they came out OK but I have wanted to make them again ever since! I finally got around to it this week because I was thinking the dosa would be a great tortilla replacement for a taquito! The last time I made the dosa it wasn’t as crispy as I wanted it to be, so I had to really make sure it was going to be crispy to make these taquitos work!
Make the dosa batter
The first step to making dosa is to soak some rice and lentils overnight. I used this recipe as a guide.
After the soaking phase, strain and add to a blender. Then blend smooth! I added ice water, because the blender blades get hot at that speed, and you don’t want the batter to heat up and cook or it won’t ferment. The bubbles from fermentation are key to making the dosa crispy and perfect for the taquito shell.
Ferment the dosa batter
Let this sit on the counter for 24 hours and you will se it grow in size. That means it is fermenting! You could make it right away, or put it into the fridge to slow the fermentation until ready to use.
Cook the dosa taquitos
Add some of the batter to a hot pan and spread it out in a spiral from the center.
When you see the dosa lifting off the edges of the pan, it’s time to add the taquito ingredients and roll it up!
Cheese first, then beef, then roll!
Serving the dosa taquitos
Before serving, I put the dosa taquitos under the broiler for a minute to crisp up. Because of the filling they softened a bit while I finished cooking them all one by one.
I served these with a sour cream that was mixed with cilantro, garlic, and hot peppers. So good!
Twists on this recipe
You could make these dosa taquitos vegetarian with either impossible meat or mushrooms or your favorite other filling. They would also be great served with a chutney or raita instead of the mixed sour cream.
Definitely check out Swasthi’s page if you have never made dosa before for all the best tips and tricks! She soaks and blends the rice separate from the dal but mentions that you can do it all together, so that’s what I did.
This taco meat is a shortcut version of my white people taco recipe. You could also just use a taco seasoning packet if you prefer. If you have never checked out my white people taco recipe, I would suggest making it asap cause it is one of my all time favorites!
Dosa Taquitos
Equipment
Ingredients
Dosa Batter
- 1/2 cup urad dal
- 1 1/2 cups rice basmati is prefered
- 1/4 cup chana dal halved dried chickpeas
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 1/4 cup filtered ice water
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Taco meat
- 1 small onion
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespon mexican chili powder
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 6 ounces beer
- 1 tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Bring it together
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream
- 1 Thai chili pepper minced
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- pinch of salt
- high heat oil or spray
- 10 ounces cheddar grated
Instructions
Make the dosa batter
- Rinse the rice, urad dal, and chana dal. Add the rice, urad dal, and chana dal to a jar or bowl. Cover with cold water and allow to soak overnight.
- Strain the rice mixture and discard the water. Add to a high power blender and add the ice water. Blend on high until a smooth batter is formed. Add a little more water as needed to thin it out a bit. Add in the salt and pulse a few more times. Rub some of the mixture between your thumb and finger to make sure it isnt overly gritty.
- Transfer to a jar and cover with cheesecloth. Allow to sit on the counter to ferment until it has grown about 1.5 in volume. This took about 24 hours for me. Now you could either use the batter or store it in the fridge for a few days.
Make the taco meat
- Add the onions to a frying pan with some oil. Cook 8 minutes.
- Add in the beef and half the salt, and cook until fully cooked and browning on the edges, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Add in the garlic and cook 3 minutes. Stir in the cumin and chili powder and cook another 3 minutes.
- Stir in the vinegar and then add the beer. Add all the remaining ingredients including the rest of the salt. Stir to combine and simmer until the liquid is mostly evaporated and creates a sticky sauce on the meat, about 10 minutes.
Make the sour cream
- Stir the sour cream in a bowl with the garlic, Thai chili, cilantro, and salt. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use.
Make the dosa taquitos
- Bring a flat pan to high heat. A cast iron griddle is good for this, but there are other options and non-stick can be fine.
- Add the high heat oil to the pan and add about 1/4 cup of dosa batter to the pan. Quickly spread out the batter in a spiral from the center to make the thin crepe. Allow to cook until the sides start to curl up from the pan.
- Add in about 1 ounce of cheese and a few tablespoons of the beef mixture. Roll up the dosa around the fillings. Allow to cook an extra minute on the seam side to fully seal. Transfer to a sheet pan or wire rack with the seam side down.
- Repeat until you run out of ingredients. I made about 10 dosa taquitos. There will be a little extra batter but I made extra so I could practice and fail a few times. You can put the rest of the batter into the fridge if you want.
- Before serving, I broiled the dosa on high for about 3-5 minutes so they would all be warm and crispy when served.