Have you missed me? I have almost missed me. Life has been so busy since the end of summer. And then…we had the wildfires here in Santa Rosa. We are fine but had to evacuate at 3 a.m. which meant that our entire routine has been upset. But I could not be more grateful that we are safe and still have a home. Many that I know were not so fortunate regarding the home but all are safe somewhere.
Now back to the fermentillas which I promised in September sometime…
Don’t know what a fermentilla is? It is my name for a food that is like a tortilla but made with fermented beans and grains. It is similar to the Indian dosa but different as it is heartier and mine do not contain any processed grains such as white rice. So these are “good for you”.
They require time and patience but I find it worth it to make them. Making one batch takes me about 1 hour after the initial 1 to 2 day fermentation. When doing this for the Sonoma County Fermentation Festival, I usually end up with a couple dozen of my experiments hanging around in my freezer and those will last me a few months. I freeze them with waxed paper between each fermentilla.
They aren’t very photogenic but they make up for that with their slightly sour flavor and firm texture. Even my somewhat particular husband likes them occasionally. I have even used them instead of injera (although they are a poor stand in) for my Ethiopian food and instead of naan for my Indian food. They make good wraps and also taste great on their own. I hope that you will consider making them. (If you already have, please feel free to post a comment – or just post a comment if you have anything to say…)
Finished Fermentillas
The Veggie Queen’s Not Yet World Famous Fermentillas: Fermented Tortillas
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils of any kind mung beans, split peas or other legume, soaked overnight
- 1 cup gluten-free grain soaked overnight
- Filtered water
- ½ to 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Soak the legume in a jar or bowl on the countertop for at least 8 hours or overnight. Soak the grain for the same amount of time.
- Drain each of them and add them to a high powered blender with ½ to 1 cup filtered water. Blend until smooth and liquidy. If you need more liquid, add it. Pour into a bowl and cover with a cloth. Leave for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.
- At the end of that time, stir well. Add salt and more filtered water until the batter is like pancake batter consistency.
- Use about ½ to 2/3 cup batter and pour in a circle in a medium hot nonstick pan that has been lightly sprayed with oil. Let batter sit, covered, for 1 to 2 minutes until it is easy to lift it off and turn it over. Let sit, covered, for 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove and put on a plate.
- Continue, adding a bit of oil to the pan as you go along, if necessary.
Notes
I also discovered that if you leave the batter on the counter top too long that it can get quite funky looking but if you can peel off the gross top layer, you can still use the batter underneath. However, my rule of thumb for this ferment and others is "if it smells funky, looks funky and tastes funky" throw it out.
Is there a reason to soak the lentils and grains separately? I would think they could soak together and save a jar. This looks really great and I’ll be making them soon. I’m excited to find an easy and fermented substitute for tortillas.
I have also wondered about soaking them together, although I just don’t. In my mind, the grain releases starch and maybe the legume releases lectins. It does make sense to do them together and I might have tried it once. I will likely continue to soak them separately but you can soak them together and see how it turns out. TBH, I haven’t made these for a while but I do think that I will start again soon.
Enjoy.
I am wondering if you rinse the legumes and grain after the initial soaking? Also I bought raw legumes are not very digestible? (Although they get slightly cooked, us it enough to convert the starch?)
You can rinse after soaking. These beans and grains are fermented which breaks down their hard to digest molecules. You are also cooking them so that there aren’t any issues. They are very tasty, too.
I am not a tortilla maker but I decided to try making some with brown rice and red lentils. I followed the recipe and just fermented them 10ish hours. They tasted great but I had a hard time getting the batter wet enough to spread out into a thin tortilla and they were breaking when I ate them. Do you have tips to make them thin yet durable?
I never have had a problem with them breaking. Maybe fermenting them longer and adding some liquid when blending them helps. The batter ought to be like pancake better but smell sour.
It does take a little practice to get them just right in the pan.
I hope that this helps.