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There's lots going on here at Dosa Love... We had a holiday, got engaged, and moved house. The upshot of this is that I have a nice tan, I will soon have a new name, and after 4 years of using other peoples kitchens I now have somewhere to cook full time. Some of you may know me from when I had my first business, Gluten Free Food Nottingham, and know that I have done lots of different things in the past, not just Dosa. I love making Dosa, and street food, but it's time to do something more. THYME & SEASON So, just as I will have a new name myself soon, I am setting up another arm of the business with a different name, Thyme & Season. I wanted to have another name as Dosa Love is very specific to the Indian street food business and the sort of food we do for that. www.facebook.com/thymeseason www.instagram.com/thymeseason NEW FLAVOURS Now I want to provide world flavours, delicious dishes, and more options including non-plant-based options. MID-WEEK MEALS I will soon be providing Mid-Week Meals, Take-Away that is healthier and tastier than the rest. With catering for dietary requirements a priority as ever. This will be up and running within the next few weeks. We will be based in Selston which is a little out of the way, so the intention is to have pick-up points for you to come and fetch your food. With the option to bring your own containers to save on waste. As well as making super lush take-away, there will be some sweet treats, and I am also looking in to providing nut milks and rice milks. Plus we have an abundance of quince so it's membrillo all round. REGISTER YOUR INTEREST It would be great to hear back from you if you are interested in our new service. Please message me with your name, email and location. And do let me know if you have any questions. sam@dosalove.co.uk

We are growing our business, and we need your help! Plans are afoot, and we want to do more than just Dosa, with more to be revealed soon. Please help us grow by leaving us an online review. Reviews help us to improve our online presence and increase trust in what we can do. I've cooked under various guises over the last 10 years, including Dosa Love, Deli Llama, Woodhouse Kitchen, Liberty Kitchen and Gluten Free Food Nottingham. If you have eaten the food I have made and have enjoyed it please help me to feed even more people. You can leave a review in the following places (just click on the word to open the link) Google Facebook or Email: sam@dosalove.co.uk Please include: What you ate Where you ate our food If you enjoyed the service Anything else you liked Lastly, We welcome critical feedback too, if there was something you thought could be improved upon, or something that we could do differently, please do tell us, we just ask that you do it nicely. All your help is really appreciated Thank you! Sam & James

Adjusting to a new diet can be difficult. There can be many reasons for changing your diet including: · Cutting out a food group because of an allergy, intolerance or auto-immune disease like coeliac disease. · Making changes towards a plant-based or vegetarian diet. · Including more fresh food, fruit and vegetables in your meals. · Reducing the amount of fat, sugar or salt your diet. We may be making changes because we want to, or because we have to (for medical reasons). It can be far too easy to put pressure on ourselves to achieve goals quickly, or berate our-selves for not staying on the wagon and being 100% on the ball, or for not doing everything "correctly". Here are some different ways of looking at what you eat and how you eat. If you have an allergy, coeliac disease, or a severe reaction to a food, please do not eat anything that would knowingly make you ill or cause a reaction. See full disclaimer at the end of the article. Break the meal-time rules Who cares what time of day it is. Have the food you want to eat at the time you want to eat. For example: Have salads and stir-fries for breakfast. If it means you can have a healthy meal over something devoid of nutrition, do it! Eat Breakfast for dinner. Have Garlic breath If you want to eat something that smells a bit pongy, do it. If it tastes good, and you enjoy eating it. Eat it. Invest in some chewing gum, mints or take your toothbrush with you if you need to. Don’t be afraid to cook from scratch Cooking really is easier than you think. Find simple recipes to start with. Be brave with herbs and spices. The worst that can happen is you end up with something that tastes too strongly of something, or too bland, or is burnt. But, hey, it’s still food. We learn from our mistakes (especially when we have to eat them). Learn how to eat Maybe you have spent your life eating quickly, on the go, with no time to enjoy your food, or perhaps you need to cut out dairy because of an intolerance. Changing your diet for any reason takes time. Learn how to make changes, read blog posts, join Facebook groups and forums. Ask for help and advice. Treat it like learning a new hobby or subject. If you were learning French you wouldn’t expect to go from Bonjour to fully fluent in a week – treat eating food, and changing your food lifestyle in the same way. One step at a time. Buy nice food Food should be pleasurable. If you can afford to eat nice food, please, eat nice food. Know that EVERYONE slips up and eats the wrong thing sometimes. You might be trying out a plant-based diet and eat a bacon sarnie because you’re craving it. Or a chocolate bar when you are trying to loose weight. Everyone does this!! EVERYONE craves things that they think they shouldn’t be having. Most people give in sometimes. It’s OK. Accept it has happened, move on. You aren’t BAD Know that you are still a good person even if you eat an animal-based product when you are trying to go vegan. You are still a good person if you binge eat. You are still a good person if you have cravings. Don’t let the moment, and the things you have eaten or drank define who you are. Learn to change your taste buds Your taste-buds and cravings can change. It takes time. Take it slowly. You might be coeliac and be gluten-free and stuck in a rut with the same foods – jacket potatoes and chips and so-on and wishing for something more. Try new things little by little, and gradually edge out the old stuff. Flavours come from Fruit Vegetables, Herbs and Spices You can get the most flavour for your buck by using herbs and spices with vegetables and fruits. This is where the real flavour lies, with maybe a touch of sugar or salt to bring it all out. Try everything three times The first time you try something you might think it’s horrible. Try it again another time. It might be that it was an under-ripe piece of fruit, or a badly made pasta sauce. Try it again in another time or place, you might be surprised. Try therapies If you are struggling with food anxiety in its many forms, try seeing a therapist. It might seem a bit expensive to go but it can make the world of difference to your relationship with food. Hypno-therapy and NLP can be great options. Look for therapists on-line, check out their credentials, speak to them before booking and make sure you feel comfortable with them. Make it a way of life - one step at a time Slowly adapt to your new way of eating and incorporate it in to your daily life. Maybe you will cook from scratch one day a week to start with, or look at a different food aisle in the supermarket and try some new ingredients or a new recipe every week or so. Perhaps you want to be more present when you eat. Start doing it one day a week, and make more time week on week. Make gradual changes. Think long-term Think about your long-term goals. Do you want to loose weight – think about the future you as well as the current you. Loosing the weight will make your life easier later in life. Even if you haven’t hit a target or goal this week, every step taken towards a healthier diet is a step towards a healthier you in the future. If you want to go vegan, think about the long-term goal of eating sustainably, or for the animals. Even if you can’t manage to go 100% vegan now, make the steps you can when you can. If you end up eating a Greggs pasty, don’t hate yourself, recognise your long-term goal. If you are coeliac and are struggling to eat gluten-free because you don’t have symptoms, think about the long-term damage that can be happening to your body – do you really want bowel cancer or osteoporosis later in life? Join a group There’s every group imaginable on-line these days, find other people with shared interests. Check that the group or forum prohibits bullying, hate speech and advertising etc. Find groups that are positive and support each other even though they make mistakes. Follow people online who admit to making mistakes, and being imperfect on their journey. In summary Be kind to yourself, it’s OK to slip up. Treat your new diet as a gradual learning process that you will adjust to at your own pace. Be brave and try new foods Eat the foods that you need to at the time that suits you. Think long-term. Learn to enjoy your food. Disclaimer All information presented and written within dosalove.com are intended for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with your GP or a registered Dietician. The writers and publishers of dosalove.com are not nutritionists or registered dietitians. You are ultimately responsible for all decisions pertaining to your health. Each individual’s dietary needs and restrictions are unique to the individual. The reader assumes full responsibility for consulting a qualified health professional regarding health conditions or concerns, and before starting a new diet or health program. The writers and publishers of this site are not responsible for adverse reactions, effects, or consequences resulting from the use of any recipes or suggestions herein or hereafter.

I wrote this post in January and I'm only posting it now in March, so much has happened, the pandemic almost seems like a distant memory as we watch the war in Ukraine. So many things are happening around the world, it almost seems silly writing about myself, but here it is all the same.... The story so far of Dosa Love, from the beginning, what we did during covid, and the positives that have come from it all. THE START It was November 2018 when I launched Dosa Love. The idea initially came to me the August of that year, I had previously run food businesses since 2012, but stopped when I moved to Manchester. I thought I wanted normality and a regular job rather than self-employment… sadly normality didn’t want me, and I couldn’t get permanent employment! I decided I had better take matters in to my own hands and set up a new food business. This time selling Dosa. I opted for Dosa after really enjoying them at a South Indian restaurant in Nottingham. There was no business plan, I just knew what I wanted to do. James came up with the name, I built a website, a friend designed the logo, and I worked on recipes. The aim was to provide fresh healthier street food options that pretty much anyone could eat regardless of their dietary requirements, for medical reasons (ie coeliac), ethical reasons (ie plant-based), religious reasons, and so on. I didn’t even know how to cook Dosa when I decided to do this, and, I must confess I only got the recipe right one week before our first event, but I knew I would nail it, I had no choice! This was my new business. How our Dosa used to look when we first started out. Our first event was at Treacle Market in Macclesfield. I went to Treacle Market in the months before I asked to trade there and fell in love with it. Over 160 stalls of art, food and beautiful things. All carefully selected. A real community event that supported small businesses and brought the town to life. It’s really important to me to be involved in community events and to support other small businesses, so this ticked every box. Not long after launching Dosa Love I moved back to Nottingham to live with James – my lovely man who is always by my side on the Dosa Love stall. I started trading on Station Street in Nottingham as part of the Wolf Down Pop Up. I spent the winter months freezing cold, the worst being -4 temperatures… There’s nothing to test your resilience like making no money whilst your freezing cold, day after day. The lunch time thing just wasn’t right for my business. At lunch time people want cheap food. Not what I was doing. I also had my tyres slashed multiple times on a street where I parked. No fun. I gradually picked up more events in Nottingham and in Manchester. Including our first big success, Light Night in Sneinton Market Place. It had been a tough cold start to running the business so it was nice to see that people really wanted our food and really enjoyed it too. It’s not quite so bad being freezing cold if you know you can pay your bills at the end of it. To start with I made my food in a local church hall but apparently one of the congregation didn’t like the smell of onions so I had to find another space. I contacted my friend, Jill Carter, at Pulp Friction whom I had worked with previously. Pulp Friction supports people with learning disabilities and autism through work-based training in a kitchen. They worked from the canteen at Nottingham Fire & Rescue HQ. I asked if I could go there as a one-off but Jill offered me the space anytime I needed it. It worked brilliantly, I would take my equipment and food to cook there, and the Pulp Friction members would help me make food, providing them with an opportunity to learn new skills from me. It was a lot of fun. Cooking in the Pulp Friction kitchen We booked on to more and more events and I filled the calendar as much as we could, taking on anything and everything. We attended amazing events with great community vibes and lovely people, events we felt at home in. We also attended quite a few dud events. Sadly, not everything event organisers tell you turns out to be the reality. You can attend an event where no-one turns up, or where they charge so much it’s not worth going. We had good days and bad days, ups and downs, events where we made money, events where lost money. We worked really hard, come rain or shine. James was working full time as well as helping me. I made the food in the week, booked us on events, did all the social media and all of the other things that need doing in a business. He worked his socks off and didn’t even take a wage the first year, just so I could build things up. Dishing up a Dosa Love at Belper Arts Trail. At the end of it all I took home a wage of £7000 for the year. Literally enough to scrape by on. Everything else went back in to the business, or was swallowed up in event fees from the events that hadn’t been what we had hoped for. At the end of 2019 we looked back at everything we had done. We were tired but really proud of what we had achieved in year one. We decided on select events to do in 2020. We were welcomed back with open arms to events we had really enjoyed. We had a stack of nice things ready in the pipeline. 2020 was going to be the year when I finally had a bit of cash in my pocket to show for all the hard work, and I could pay James too… …And then Covid hit and the lockdowns began. I know everyone has their story, and some had it more difficult than others, and some had it easier… Our covid story was sort of OK really, we made it through relatively unscathed. Here’s what happened next…. 2020 and COVID I started 2020 with an awful flu of some sort, I was in bed for the whole of January, and though still shaky and not right I managed a couple of events in February. March was a quiet month for us, it’s still quite cold, events can be a bit hit and miss so we didn’t have much on – luckily, because that was, as we all know, when the lockdowns began…. The first couple of weeks of the first lockdown we sat and watched a lot of news. We stayed inside a lot and did a nightmare of a jigsaw… I saw my Dosa Love business go down the pan, every event we had booked was cancelled. On top of this being self-employed meant I didn’t qualify for Furlough. I didn’t have any profit to show from the previous years’ work because I had ploughed it back in to the business so I wasn’t entitled to the other help. I was entitled to ZERO from the government… Thanks Rishi, Thanks Boris. James had to continue working throughout the lockdowns, on the plus side, at least he still had a job. I decided I had better set up another business instead of sitting around doing nothing. I built a website for a new business called Woodhouse Kitchen. I offered delivery of food locally and sold through a website called Neighbourfood. I also started making food for people in hardship. I did this with the help of Jill from Pulp Friction. I utilised their kitchen space at Nottingham Fire & Rescue HQ, and I also used their Fareshare food delivery alongside my own food to make food for folks that needed it. I filled my time with cooking for my new very small business, and helping others. Then, in May, Jill needed someone to run a new kitchen for her at the Police HQ. I realised I had better take the opportunity to have a regular income and jumped at it. I worked out of a small cabin making breakfasts and lunches every day, serving the staff on site. It was super interesting to meet people working in all the different departments and understanding how far their work reached and what the different departments do. It was an eye-opener for sure. Whilst I was there Jill told me she had been offered a new space on Pelham Road in Carrington, close to Nottingham city centre. It was owned by an organisation called Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA). They wanted Pulp Friction to use the space, so that people with learning disabilities could work on site, providing the breakfast and lunch menu to their office staff. Obviously, things were very up in the air in the summer of 2020, most people were working from home, but lockdowns ended and there was some hope that things were improving. Jill asked if I would like to come on board and work together on the project. I would run the business and she would bring in the Pulp Friction members. I said yes and instantly set about writing a business proposal and coming up with ideas. I dreamt of creating a community hub, selling local food and art. Making it a safe space for anyone to go to. Making it something really special. With Pulp Friction members at the heart of it, and ultimately running it as a co-operative. I called it Deli Llama. Deli-Llama from the outside SETTING UP DELI-LLAMA Jill submitted the proposal to NCHA in late July, for a food shop and café, selling local food and art, and making fresh food. They said yes to it and advised we would have the keys in early October. I saved all my money from the Police HQ job to go towards the new business. At the end of August I stopped working at the Police HQ so I could focus fully on getting ready for the new space on Pelham Road. I designed the logo and flyers, built a website, researched and ordered stock from local artists and food producers for the shop, designed and priced up menus and budgeted for the coming year. I also started writing the outline of a plan for it to be a co-operative for Pulp Friction members, staff and local people.… I got as much ready as I could. Excited about the launch. But sadly, we didn’t get the keys until late November, it felt like a long wait and I continued to work on the website and other areas in the background of the business. We eventually opened Deli Llama on 3 December 2020. We bought in local food for the shelves, and had a small amount of art and gifts. We had a limited menu in the café. From the very start of Deli Llama I had James there whenever I needed him, he has always supported my crazy ideas. He came and worked in the shop to begin with whilst I found my feet. I also had Tara by my side. Tara came to Deli Llama via Pulp Friction. She started as a volunteer, but was offered a Kickstarter job. She grew in skills and confidence and ended on a high by getting a proper permanent job at a restaurant in the city centre. Tara showing off her baking skills Unfortunately, when we opened, we had missed the pre-Christmas rush, and we also missed being able to take advantage of the gap in-between lockdowns to get people in. But far worse than any of this. Jill was diagnosed with breast cancer over Christmas. Luckily, she had the cancer removed and has been ok in that respect. But a barrage of Chemo has left her pretty knackered. Jill carried on working as much as she could, with a fantastic team running Pulp Friction, ensuring the members could still go to the Fire Brigade HQ for training. The priority for Pulp Friction is to always ensure that the members are safe, especially as so many of them were sheilding. Our joint project had to change a lot. All the plans we had were put on hold. More lockdowns ensued. The office staff weren’t there in numbers and it was hard to get people in to the shop. However, we did have the support of some amazing people who became regular customers or provided support in other ways. All the small businesses that sold their food and art through the shop. I can’t thank those people enough! We did street food take-aways on Friday evenings for a while which went down a treat. But having to stay open in the day time for office staff meant we were pretty tired when it came to the evenings. As much as there were some opportunities, other parts were difficult. There were lots of Swings and Roundabouts. In the Spring of 2021 we were allowed to open as a café. Wow! That was a shock to the system. After months of nothing we had some very busy days, it was weird having people milling in the garden after seeing so few people, the anxiety of being surrounded by people and having to make sure everyone stayed safe was pretty overwhelming. But we had to deal with it. Customers really enjoyed the food, they also appreciated having a space that was covid safe too. And, they liked the art and gifts, I was proud to be able to support lots of other local small businesses during a difficult time. There are so many talented people in Nottingham and a wealth of small businesses. Some of the Pulp Friction Team helping to get the garden ready for customers. As much as I loved creating a beautiful space, making good food and meeting such nice people, running the shop and café was pretty relentless. We cooked the food from scratch ourselves, so there was always cooking that needed to happen before doors opened. Pots to be washed, coffees to make, stock to order and buy, customers to serve…. The cleaning had to be done every day, tables and chairs, floors and handles, the kitchen, the toilet, the outdoor seating... The only way I can explain it is: if you imagine when you had a party and all the jobs you had to do, now imagine you have to have a party every-day at home – that’s pretty much it. Inside Deli-Llama -stocking local art and food Tara worked a couple of days with me and a couple of days at Pulp Friction HQ. And I had both Erica and George working with me for a brief period. All of whom saved my sanity and did their share of the jobs when they were working. However, even when there was help it was tiring. I became quite disillusioned. All the dreams of creating a community space fell by the way side. I didn’t have time to put in to making it a co-operative, to organise events once restrictions loosened, or all the other things I had hoped for. Once you’ve spent 8 to 10 hours on your feet, the idea of cracking on with other stuff isn’t very appealing. Worst of all, I felt miserable and I wasn’t present in my relationship with James. It wasn’t fair on him, and as I wasn’t taking a wage it wasn’t fair on the household finances either. Luckily in the Summer events started happening again and people could have gatherings in their gardens. Dosa Love started getting calls asking for us to cater at their events, so we were lucky to get work at parties, weddings and corporate events. Added to which, a couple of the larger public events we traded at were opening up again. We traded at The Garage in Chilwell, Keyworth, and Belper. There were weeks over the summer where it was pretty usual for me to work 60-70 hours. Running Deli Llama and then running the Dosa Stall at the weekend. CLOSING DELI-LLAMA In the end the time came to throw in the towel with Deli Llama. It clearly wasn’t going to work and I had reached the end of the money I was prepared to lose for it. So, I closed it down in August 2021. It wasn’t a decision I took lightly, but it was the right thing to do. I was fortunate that I was able to step away from it. The space is still being utilised by Pulp Friction and also by another organisation. It hasn’t gone to waste. But it isn’t open to the public anymore. It was only a very brief stint running Deli Llama. But I am glad I did it. I did meet some amazing people. But more than anything, it taught me to appreciate my own time, and to really appreciate my relationship with James. Since we closed it down I’ve started utilising ALL of my free time. I started swimming again after 20+ years, plus running, cycling and going to the gym. I am learning four languages and I have started making my own clothes again. I actually studied fashion at college and uni so it’s nice to go back to something I love, the cogs in my brain are slowly whirring back in to action. Another perk is I have time to make food for me and James again so we get to eat delicious food all the time. This didn't happen at the deli, I lived off cakes and snacks. And most importantly, I get to spend time with James, and relax. James and I went on an extended holiday in November. Our first in two years. We went to Malta and Sicily (both had super low covid rates) which was fun but tiring, and then spent a week in London - which was way more chilled than our holiday! December consisted of a lot of relaxing and sleeping, and obviously Christmas things. (on Mount Etna) It feels like so much good has come from a difficult situation and it has really put life in to perspective. I started Dosa Love because I wanted to share the love with the food I make. But from running the shop and café I have realised I also need to be more loving towards myself, put more focus on me and what I enjoy doing. So covid did some good for me in a round-about way… Now it’s 2022 and we are ready with our cylinders fired up for the year to come. It’s been a funny old time, and I have certainly learnt a lot in the process. We are both glad that we can go back to what we enjoy the most, making and serving up a Dosa Love. We can’t wait to see you at an event this year! ...And more good news, Jill is still OK but tired, and still running Pulp Friction. They recently launched their new kitchen at the Joint Police and Fire HQ in Nottingham. Pulp Friction members are now working in the new canteen, and there are lots of other positive events happening for the team too :) You can find out more about Pulp Friction here: https://pulpfrictioncic.org.uk

AKA Chickpea Wraps with Falafels and Hummus I decided it was time I started to share a few recipes with you. They won't all be of Indian food, but they will all be plant-based and gluten-free. I see a lot of people starting out on Gluten-Free diets or Plant-Based diets that aren't sure where to start. My first tip would be rip up the rule book! Don't feel you HAVE to have a particular type of food for any meal. For example. For breakfast today I had falafels with chickpea pancakes, hummus, courgettes and spinach. It was simple, affordable and delish. I don't do cereals anymore. If you are time poor and have a little more cash you can buy ready-made falafels and a tub of roasted veg. If you have a bit more time and want to save money you can make the falafels yourself and quickly cook courgettes and peppers etc. The other benefit to making Falafels, and even hummus yourself (recipe to come soon) is you can buy them from a zero waste shop and limit your plastic packaging. And you can buy the veg plastic free too. The chickpea flour comes in paper packaging which at least makes it easier to recycle. Cost per portion is approx £0.75 each. CHICKPEA FLOUR (BESAN) - This can be found in most supermarkets. Look in the regular baking aisle, the Free-From aisle or the World Food Aisle. (You can find very good value packs in the free-from aisle, but if you're coeliac or have an allergy you may want to ensure you use a certified Gluten-Free one). RECIPE FALAFEL RECIPE MAKES APPROX 24 FALAFELS INGREDIENTS 500g Chickpeas (2 tins or pre-cooked dried chickpeas) 2 medium Onions (white or red) 80g L (I used Doves farm gluten free, but you can use others) 50g fresh coriander 3 TSP Ground cumin 2 TSP Ground coriander 1 TBSP oil Salt to taste METHOD If you're using dried chickpeas soak and cook them until soft Once chickpeas are soft or if you're using tinned chickpeas finely chop the onions and fry in a little oil til translucent Chop the coriander finely Add the flour, coriander, spices and chickpeas together. Mush the chickpea mixture together in a processor/with a potato masher/ with your hands if they are soft. Make sure its not too smooth, it's nice if the mixture is a little chunky. In a frying pan cook a little bit of the falafel mix. Let it brown. Once cooled down taste it. Does it need more flavour? Add a little salt. Mix it in. Cook another little bit to taste. Maybe a splash of lemon juice, or a bit of pepper, or even chilli? What flavours do you like? Or keep it simple, don't flavour them, keep the flavours for the other parts of the dish. Leave the finished falafel mix in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Make small balls of falafel mix and flatten. Cook in a frying pan with or without oil. 3-4 mins on each side or until browned. You can also oven cook them for 15-20 mins at 180. You can also deep-fry til golden. CHICKPEA PANCAKE RECIPE INGREDIENTS 1 CUP Chickpea flour (besan) 1 CUP Water 1 TBSP Oil 0.5 TSP Cumin (optional) Pinch of salt METHOD Sieve Chickpea flour in to a mixing bowl Add other ingredients Mix with a balloon whisk Let sit for 30 mins Heat a frying pan. Add a touch of oil of you wish. Pour batter in to the pan and cook like a regular pancake. COURGETTE RECIPE INGREDIENTS 2 Courgettes Oil Salt to taste METHOD Cut courgette in to three pieces Stand on end and cut in to strips Heat a frying pan until hot Use a dash of oil Place courgette slices flat in pan with a little sprinkle of salt (omit salt if you want to) Cook for 3 minutes, check for browning on underside and flip over and cook on the other side. COMPILE YOUR DISH Extra Ingredients 1 Handful Spinach 30g hummus Cook falafels and courgette put to one side Cook a chickpea pancake Lay pancake on a plate, top with hummus and spinach Layer 4 Falafels and courgette in a row down the middle of the pancake Roll edges over Dinner is served! VARIATIONS Cook different vegetables, peppers are great sliced and then charred in a pan. Same for aubergine. Use raw vegetables and salad like lettuce, carrot, cucumber, onions, other salad greens or seasonal veg. Make in to a meal with steamed rice and more veg options Great for breakfasts and lunch. Especially if everything is pre made and ready to pull together. Add mayo, lemon juice, different flavour hummus, salad dressings, sweet chilli sauce OTHER TIPS Falafels can be made in batches and kept in the fridge for several days. They can also be frozen either as mix or cooked patties. The chickpea pancakes can be used with lots of different meals and make a great replacement for tortillas and are super cheap. Pan Frying vegetables like courgettes, peppers and aubergine can be done in bulk and then kept in the fridge, great as side dishes, in salads, with pasta, in stir-frys. Just re-heat slightly or serve cold. If you fry without oil or very little oil could let the kids have a go at cooking the falafels and vegetables in a frying pan. It's nice to put all the cooked ingredients on the table and let the family help themselves and make their own flavour combinations with rice and more veg/salad as recommended above in variations.

After a year in at the deep-end with running a street-food business I have had a little time to start working on little fun aspects of the stall, making it more decorative, but working on an eco-friendly vibe. We found lots of old bits of board that were being thrown out and use it for lots of our signs. Which we repaint and use over and over again. I’ve now found a local sign writer who makes everything stand out and easy to read. To begin with I did them all myself, so it’s nice to have someone on board who knows what they are doing. We even made an A-Board from repurposed shelves, my ideas and James’s engineering skills combined. I now have beautiful bunting made from recycled fabrics. With thanks to the ever-smiling Toni, from Tiger Textiles. She made meters and meters of bunting, even using lengths of old zips to sew the flags on to. Tiger Textiles is a Community Interest Company that provides workshops to local communities. They also run classes in making re-useable sanitary wear, along with other useful classes. In November I went on a workshop with the very talented Michelle Reader. Michelle is an artist who specialises in sculptures made from recycled things… Her work is really quite amazing. I had seen some flower wreaths that she had made from tin cans and plastic bottles and decided that this would be a great decorative addition to the stall. So I went with my mum, and Toni from Tiger Textiles on a private workshop where we learned how to create flowers from all sorts of things that would have ended up in the bin. With all these different elements on the stall we hope that it looks fun. It's great to be resourceful and not impact on the planet so much.

There’s an awful lot of work goes in to every dish that I make, but I do it for a reason. I believe that the food we eat can affect so much of who we are. It affects our own physical and mental health. Eating is communal, it connects us to one another. The food we eat affects the environment. It affects our local communities. It’s a political act in and of its self. Choosing what we eat and where we eat can change the world. Hopefully my little Dosa Stall can be a little part of that. I wanted to offer something that made people feel good. I strongly believe that eating bad food leads to bad moods and poor health. So much of what we consume is bad for us, it’s highly processed, full of sugars, fried, with low nutritional value. How can our minds and bodies work properly when we are filled with rubbish? How can we have more energy when the food we eat makes us feel sluggish and tired? Where we buy our food is so important. Supporting small businesses is key – I don’t always manage it but I am working towards using as many small producers and local businesses as I can. (I will keep you abreast of my progress). The thing is small businesses tend to support other small businesses and this helps to improve the local economy. The more money you spend locally the more you see it come back in to the local economy, rather than being syphoned off by some big corporation never to be seen again. So much emphasis is being placed on the packaging that street food traders sell their food in, but another important thing to think about is the packaging our raw ingredients come in. Generally speaking, the packaging our food comes in is generally excessive. I will be on the case this year looking to minimise the waste I create when I create my food. I will be doing this through shopping locally for fruits and veggies, and looking to suppliers with plastic free packaging. One thing I may struggle with right now is the food miles associated with some of my ingredients. Some of the vegetables aren’t available in the UK depending on seasonality. There’s also the issue of the rice and lentils. Again, I will be working on these things. The more I can account for where my food is from the happier I will be. It’s bloody difficult and it’s a veritable minefield out there. But it is so important to think about the environmental impact of the ingredients. I’m not perfect when it comes to saving the world, but hopefully the more steps I take in the right direction the more I can do my bit. I think it’s vital that businesses lead the way in fighting climate change, and quite frankly, if little ole me can do, those big massive companies should be able to do it too! You can see our Sustainability review for 2020 here: https://www.dosalove.co.uk/eco-ethics If you think that there’s something businesses, including ours should be doing to improve sustainability, we would love to hear from you. Please drop us a line sam@dosalove.co.uk Here's the Green Man checking up on us to see if we're doing our bit towards the environment....

So often on the stall I get asked why we make Dosa? What lead us to standing in the street serving up Indian Street Food? There’s lots of reasons why… so let me elaborate a little on my background. I have been working with food since 2012. It all came about after being diagnosed as Coeliac in 2011. Being Coeliac means I have an auto-immune disease, like arthritis or diabetes. Basically my body attacks it’s self when I eat gluten. I was ever so poorly at the time of diagnosis. Being so ill and realising that food was the cause completely changed my idea about what I eat. I have to follow a strict gluten free diet. I am also dairy intolerant. (Something that can often go hand in hand with being coeliac). Realising the impact that food can have on our physical and mental health led to a long and winding journey with food. In 2012 my health was still very poor and no-one really knew much about Gluten-Free. Most of the food in supermarkets was dire (and still is). So I wanted to do something about it. I initially started out selling Gluten Free cakes to shops and deli’s in 2012. This progressed to market stalls, pop-up kitchens, catering and cookery lessons. With my health gradually improving as time went on and my knowledge of food and cooking continually evolving; the years saw lots of changes. Customers would come to me with all sorts of dietary requirements, everything from fat free, sugar free, gluten free, through to citrus free, cocoa-free and vegan. There have been some tricky ones! But I managed to cater for them all. Skip along several years and I decided to close my business down, it was time for a change of scene. I moved cities, even decided to stop working in food. But, as it happened, I couldn’t get a permanent job, even though I was highly skilled I couldn’t even get an interview. So, what else could I do but take matters in to my own hands. I needed to set up a business, but what would I do? I remembered back to a conversation with James, we had been to an Indian restaurant in Nottingham, we had ordered Dosa, whilst eating it I had commented that it would be amazing to go somewhere and just be able to eat Dosa, nothing else! And this is what decided it for me! I like Dosa, so I would learn how to make them, and sell them. Dosa are naturally Gluten Free. I could make them plant-based and vegan friendly. I could make them without nuts. The dish would be suitable for most diets including halal and other religions. It would be inclusive, pretty much everyone could sit at the table and eat the same dish. I could also make something that was a healthy option. In a sea of deep-fat fryers I could offer something that wouldn’t be fried or loaded with sugar. I’m a fan of cooking from scratch and knowing exactly what’s in my food, so it stood to reason that I would make everything for my dosa stall. This includes fermenting dosa batter, developing my own spice blends and cooking curries with fresh ingredients. I pickle and ferment all the vegetables myself. Everything has been created with my own hands. For me there’s nothing more important than knowing that the food I am giving to people will make them feel good and will nourish them. It means going the extra mile and working that little bit harder, but I know it's worth it.

I make my food at the Pulp Friction Kitchen. Pulp Friction gives opportunities to young people with learning disabilities. Providing them with on the job training and skills in a working commercial kitchen. I first got involved with Pulp Friction around 2014. I don’t even remember how I met Jill and Jessie, who run Pulp Friction, but I just know I have loved being a part of what they do from first meeting them. Back then I was running a different food business, called Gluten Free Food Nottingham (catchy, I know!). Jill and Jessie were running their business, using pedal powered smoothie bikes. I used to run stalls selling gluten-free cakes and treats, and if I had left-overs I would stand outside a chip shop that had a gluten free night on a Monday and sell my cakes off. Jill asked if I would like to give some of her team members work experience so a couple of her group used to come and join me. Selling off cakes (and eating chips) for a few hours on a Monday evening. I have been involved with Pulp Friction on and off since then. Now, as well as running the Smoothie Bikes they operate the kitchen at the Nottingham Fire & Rescue Head Quarters. Running a commercial kitchen, cooking for firefighters and the organisational staff, plus catering for events. The members of Pulp Friction gain so much from the experience and their confidence grows and grows. The kitchen receives food from Fare Share - An organisation which takes food from supermarkets that would otherwise have been thrown away and distributes it to registered organisations - The thing is you never know quite what you’re going to get!! They also ran the kitchen at the Fire Service Training Centre, where newbie firefighters go to train and the old hats revive their own skills. For a period of time I covered the kitchen there for several days a week, meal planning and cooking fresh tasty food each day. I also stepped in time to time and helped at HQ, working with the team when they were short-staffed. Fast-forward a year and I had decided to set up Dosa Love, with nowhere to cook, I turned to Jill to ask if I could borrow a bit of kitchen space for a day or so whilst I found somewhere else. To which she instantly replied that I could use it as and when I needed it! Whilst I’m there I muck in and do my bit with the team, and they also help me. Many of the members come and give me a hand with the food prep and we have so much fun in the process. It genuinely is one of my very favourite places. It doesn’t matter how you feel at the start of the day. If you’re feeling a bit down, it will soon give way to belly laughs and lots of fun. It’s pretty darn hard to feel glum in that place. Jill Carter and her daughter Jessie are a constant inspiration with the work that they do, as are every member of the Pulp Friction team, and the staff! I am looking forward to the day when I have my own premises and can take on Pulp Friction members as my own paid staff! If you are interested in finding out more about what Pulp Friction do, please take a look here. https://pulpfrictionsmoothies.org.uk/ Thank-you, Jill and the team, for being such huge supporters of my work and making my life so much better in the process! x

In August 2018 I decided to set up a glutenfree and plantbased street food business. I wanted to provide something healthy and really tasty that pretty much everyone can enjoy. It took me four months to work on the website and develop the recipes. We traded at our first event at the very wonderful Treacle Market in Macclesfield in November 2018. One year on and so much has happened. Setting up a business doesn't happen in isolation. It's the result of a lot of people getting behind what you're doing. We have a lot of people to thank for their continuing support. Our friends and family who have gone out of their way to help us. A very BIG thank you to Karen who put up with me cooking up my conconctions in the very early days, and even now lets us treat her home like a hotel! Another HUGE thank you to Jill at Pulp Friction for giving me a kitchen space. But I will go in to that more with my next post... There are some very amazing people putting on very special events. We have found our niche and the people we like to work alongside. People who really care about their communities and about creating something special. We are very grateful to the event organisers who took us on in our earliest of days. Jane at Treacle Market was the first to welcome us, and we continue to trade there on a monthly basis. Neil at Wolf Down Pop-Ups gave me a weekly spot on Station Street in Nottingham, and Sharon from Beeston Farmers Market let me peddle my wares every month. Following on, Wendy from Sneinton Vegan Market let us trade with them, and the guys from Nottingham Street Food Club took us on at their gaff. Which led to trading at Sneinton Street Food Club. We've had the very best of times in Belper, which we adore. Their community spirit and good vibes are enviable. Manchester is one of my favourite places, and I was thrilled to start trading at Grub Food Fair, not least for the organisers positive ethics and community spirit. Levy Market was loads of fun both day and night, and in the rain. Mancunians always know how to have a laugh. We've traded at art fairs and food fairs, green events and book fairs. We have stood in the pouring rain and the blazing sun. There's been so many times that customers have come back to compliment us on the food, it makes me blush but I am super grateful for it. We changed the recipe for what we do and made it even better, it's a lot of work getting it all ready for the day, but it's worth it. It takes a day just to cook the curry. The Dosa batter takes several days to ferment. Everything is planned in advance to pull together the dish on the day of trading. I'm getting more organised to use more local produce and be more sustainable throughout the business. As many steps as we can take, we will. We are looking forward to year two and trading once more at so many great events. On top of this we will be offering catering options with Dosa Love. And I'm setting up a second food business too .. so watch this space for more information. Thanks to everyone who has had a Dosa Love from us and everyone who has supported us so far on our journey. Much love, Samantha.x . . . #adosalove #streetfooduk #friendsandfamily #dosa #thankyou