Oats Dosa

Knowing the health benefits of oats in our diet, I frequently buy instant oatmeal boxes from Costco that serves up a quick breakfast on some busy mornings when I don’t have time to prepare hot breakfast. However, we always finish up the flavored packets but the original ones invariably get left behind ..like we have both made up our minds to not eat those. I used a packet of the original oats in these Healthy Laddoos recently but still have few more packets left that I wanted to use up before the "Best If Used By" date.

Since I never get bored from eating dosas at home or even in restaurants, I thought of putting these oat packets to good use by making oats dosa for dinner last week. The inspiration for this dosa comes from this Blog but I made a few changes to the original recipe. I believe there is something in the oats that aids in the fermentation process because the batter fermented really well and the dosas were very light and crispy. Besides, the addition of oats makes these dosas very healthy. I actually made a masala oats dosa by spreading some potato masala on the dosa. Served it with this delicious Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney and Doodhi Methi sambar for an extremely satisfying weeknight dinner.

Ingredients -
1/2 cup regular rice
1/2 cup boiled rice/ ukda tandool
1/2 cup urad dal
4 instant oatmeal packets (@ 11/2 cups)
1 tsp methi/ fenugreek seeds
1/4 cup cooked rice
salt to taste

Method -
1. Soak the rice and urad dal and methi seeds separately in water overnight or 5-6 hrs.
2. Soak oats in water @ 30 -40 mins  before grinding.

2. Grind everything to a smooth paste along with the cooked rice like regular dosa batter.

3. Mix the batter well and leave it in a warm place for fermentation. 

4. Add salt to the fermented batter.

5. Heat your dosa pan/ griddle and grease it with some oil when hot.
6. Pour the dosa batter on the pan with the help of your ladle and spread it in circular motion starting from the center to form a thin dosa.
7. Put some oil on and around the edges of the dosa and cook the dosa until golden brown.

This is another entry for Nupur's 'BB4- What's Lurking in the kitchen' event. I'm truly grateful to Nupur for hosting this great event. By participating in this event, I not only discovered some great blogs but also used up many ingredients lurking in my kitchen by trying out new recipes. Though I was only able to send in a few entries (that met all the requirements), I certainly used up quite a few ingredients from my pantry that were nearing the expiry date.

Kulith / Horsegram Dosa

These last few days I haven’t really done any grocery shopping except buying basic ingredients such as tomatoes, onions, peppers etc. Inspired by Nupur's BB4 event, I'm forcing myself to come up with tasty dishes with ingredients I have in my pantry. I have already made a list of ingredients that have been sitting in my pantry and refrigerator for months/ years and plan to cook as many dishes as I can using these ingredients.

I found some Kulith/ Horsegram in the refrigerator which is as old as my daughter 'Swara,' who is 18 months old now. My mom got these from India when she came here to help me out after Swara's birth. This is a kind of legume which is generally used as cattle feed. Since it is rich in iron and a good source of protein and calcium, it is considered to be good for new moms. My mom made Kulith usal for me a couple of times but I didn't like it very much. So they were neatly stored in a Ziploc bag in my refrigerator and have been undisturbed for more than a year or so. I don’t like to throw anything my mom has specially carried for me all the way from India. So I was really thrilled to find this Kulith/ Horsegram dosa on Shilpa's blog. I followed her recipe with the addition of few more ingredients like methi seeds and some cooked rice which I usually add for good fermentation. I didn’t have time to make a special chutney or sambar to go along with these. So I made these more like uttapams by sprinkling some finely chopped onions, cilantro, green chillies and spicy peanut chutney right after spreading the dosa batter on the skillet. The dosas were very crisp and delicious. They tasted slightly different than the regular dosas and are much healthier with the addition of kulith. I think the kulith gave the dosas a lovely golden brown color and also made them very crispy. I was really happy to see my little Swara enjoy these as much as we did. I might have to buy more kulith to make these dosas specially for her :-)

Ingredients -

1/2 cup regular rice

1/2 cup boiled rice / ukde tandul

1/2 cup urad dal

1/2 cup kulith/ horsegram

1/4 cup chana dal

1 tsp methi/ fenugreek seeds

1/4 cup cooked rice
salt to taste

Optional -

finely chopped onions

finely chopped green chillies

finely chopped cilantro

peanut chutney/ any chutney powder

Method -

1. Soak the rice, urad dal, horsegram, chana dal and methi seeds separately in water overnight or 5-6 hrs.

2. Grind everything to a smooth paste along with the cooked rice like regular dosa batter.

3. Leave the batter in a warm place for fermentation. 

4. Add salt to the fermented batter.

5. Heat your dosa pan/ griddle and grease it with some oil when hot.
6. In a bowl, mix together finely chopped onions, green chillies and cilantro
7. Pour the dosa batter on the pan with the help of your ladle and spread it in circular motion starting from the center to form a thin dosa.
8.Immediately sprinkle the onion, green chilli and cilantro mixture on the dosa. Also sprinkle some chutney powder on it.
9. Put some oil on and around the edges of the dosa and cook the dosa until golden brown. Serve hot with your favorite chutney.

This is a perfect entry for Nupur's BB4 event as it uses ingredients lurking in my kitchen and the recipe is inspired by another blogger.
I'm also sending these to Helen and Sarah's 'Breakfast Club # 1 - Asian' event.

BeNNe Dosa/ Butter Dosa

I first read about BeNNe Dosa on Shilpa's Blog. I have been a regular reader of her blog and especially love all of her mom's traditional Konkani recipes. When I read her interesting post of the crowded restaurant that served these dosas, I immediately wanted to try them out.

"BeNNe" means butter in Kannada. Apparently, this dosa is said to have originated in the Davanagere district of the state of Karnataka. It is prepared by adding liberal doses of butter (Benne) and hence the name. What makes it different than the traditional dosa is the addition of rice flour and maida in addition to rice and urad dal. The rice flour makes it very crispy on the outside and maida gives it some softness. The main ingredient "BeNNe" gives it a nice golden brown color and heavenly aroma. I made a few changes to the dosa batter by adding some methi/ fenugreek seeds and some cooked rice which I usually add for fermentation. I served these dosa's with palya or potato bhaji, coconut chutney and my mom's spicy peanut chutney. I made the potato bhaji following my usual recipe. I made some changes to the chutney. Since I didn’t have dalia on hand, I replaced it with some roasted channa dal, added some tamarind for sourness and also added some cilantro for color. This recipe is a keeper and I'm definitely going to make these dosas very often.



FOR DOSAS
Ingredients -
1 cup urad dal
2 cups dosa rice/ boiled rice (You can also use regular rice)
2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup maida
1 tbsp methi/ fenugreek seeds
1/4 cup cooked rice (optional)
1/8th tea spn baking soda
Butter
Oil
Salt

Method -
1. Soak urad dal and rice separately overnight. Also soak the methi seeds either with the urad dal/ rice.
2. Grind urad dal to a very smooth paste in your blender or wet grinder.
3. Then grind soaked rice to a smooth paste along with some cooked rice.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the rice and urad dal paste.
5. Now add rice flour, maida, water, salt to it and mix well. Do not make the batter too thin.
6. Let it ferment for few hours.
7. Add soda to it and mix well.
8. While making dosas: Heat your dosa pan/ griddle and grease it with some oil when hot.
9. Take some water in a bowl and add 1 tsp of salt to it. Sprinkle this water on the hot pan to get nice golden brown crisp dosa. Repeat the oil and salt water procedure every time you make a dosa.
10. After the water quickly dries out, pour the dosa batter on the pan with the help of your ladle and spread it in circular motion to form a dosa. Again apply some oil on and around the edges of the dosa and cook the dosa till golden brown.
11. Spread some potato bhaji/ palya and butter over the dosa and fold it.

NOTE - Depending on where you live, fermentation of the batter can take anywhere from 6 hrs to coupe of days. I usually leave the batter in my oven and it takes a day for the batter to ferment and rise well. Always let the batter ferment in a relatively large cooking pot or bowl to prevent it from overflowing the pot after fermentation (Has happened to me few times …it wasn’t really fun to clean the oven with the fermented mess :-))

POTATO BHAJI / PALYA
Ingredients -
3 medium sized boiled potatoes (chop/ lightly mash the potatoes while they are still warm)
2 medium sized onions sliced vertically
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds/ jeera
1 tsp split urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
2 dried red chillies broken into pieces
2 tbsp broken cashewnuts (optional)
3-4 green chilies slit in the middle and chopped into pieces
10-12 curry leaves
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp hing
2 -3 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter (optional)
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1 tbsp lime/ lemon juice
Chopped cilantro

Method -
1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds
2. When the mustard seeds splutter add chana dal and let it roast for sometime. Then add urad dal.
3. When urad dal is lightly fried, add cumin seeds, dried red chillies, hing and turmeric
4. Add cashewnuts and fry till golden brown
5. Add, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chillies, mix well and fry for sometime
6. Add chopped onions and fry for sometime. Don’t cook the onions too much.
7. Now add salt , sugar and boiled potatoes and mix well. Mash the potatoes some more if needed.
8. Add few tbsps of water and cook the bhaji covered for sometime.
9. Then add lemon/ lime juice and butter and cook for few seconds.
10. Garnish liberally with finely chopped cilantro

COCONUT CHUTNEY -
Ingredients -
1/2 cup dalia (Since I didn’t have Dalia, I used 2 tbsp of chana dal. I roasted the chana dal in 1 tsp of oil on slow flame)
1 cup fresh or frozen coconut
1 tbsp chopped ginger
4-5 green chilies
3-4 sprigs of cilantro
Tamarind to taste
½ tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Method -
Grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste. Add a little water to bring it to required consistency.

Mix Dalicha Uttapa/ Adai Uttapam

Eat Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince, and Dine like a Pauper
This is an ancient proverb that we all have probably heard many a times, but sadly our life is so busy and fast paced that we conveniently skip this most important meal of the day. I'm no different. I have gone without having breakfast for days and weeks and though I feel guilty later for doing so, there is always some excuse every morning to not have breakfast or just grab a pack of sugar loaded cookies or cereal bars which I'm sure do more harm than good. Breakfast is exactly what it says....breaking your fast since the previous day's last meal. Which is why starting your day with a healthy breakfast is so important.

So by participating in 'JIHVA for Breakfast' this month hosted by Suma of Veggie Platter, I'm making a resolution to start the day right – By not letting me and my family skip breakfast and also eating a healthy breakfast. 'JIHVA for Ingredients' is a popular blog event started by Indira of Mahanandi and I'm very excited to participate in this event.

Keeping this resolution in mind, I made this protein rich healthy 'Adai Uttapams' or 'MIX Dalicha Uttapa' as we would call it in Marathi for breakfast last Sunday. In addition to the rice and urad dal which are the main ingredients in the traditional sada dosa/ uttapam, it also has a combination of variety of dals like chana, toor/ tuvar and yellow/ green moong dal. The addition of dried red chillies, ginger, cumin seeds and curry leaves makes the batter very flavorful by itself. But I took a step further and threw in some chopped veggies like onions, tomatoes, peas, carrots and cilantro to transform these into an even more flavorful and healthy breakfast item. Though this batter does not require any fermentation, it does require some planning to allow for soaking the rice and dals. These can be served with any chutney of your choice and sambar. I served mine with some fresh Coconut Chutney and also some traditional Maharashtrian Dried Coconut and Garlic Peanut Chutney (Khobra Ani Danyachi Lasanichi Chutney).

Ingredients -
1/2 cup rice
1/4 urad dal
1/4 cup toor/ tuvar dal
1/4 cup chana dal
1/4 cup yellow/ green moong dal
1/2 tsp methi/ fenugreek seeds
3-4 dried red chillies
8-10 curry leaves
1 small onion
1 inch ginger
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch hing/ asafotida
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste

FOR UTTAPAM TOPPING-
grated carrots
finely chopped onions
finely chopped tomatoes
green peas
finely chopped cilantro

Method -
1. Soak the rice, dals and fenugreek seeds in water for 6 -7 hours or overnight.
2. Grind the soaked rice and dals into a coarse paste along with cumin seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves, ginger and onion.
3. Now add salt, sugar and hing to the batter.
4. Heat the dosa pan on medium heat and rub some oil on the pan.
5. Pour a ladleful of batter on the pan and spread into a 6-7 inch diameter circle.
6. Spread the grated/ chopped veggies on the uttapam. Sprinkle few drops of oil on and around the edges of the uttapam and cook it till its golden brown.
7. Then flip the uttapam over and cook on the other side for sometime.
8. Serve hot with chutney of your choice or sambar

COCONUT CHUTNEY -
Ingredients -
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
2 green chillies
1 inch ginger piece
3-4 sprigs cilantro
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tsp lime juice
salt to taste

Method -
Blend all the above ingredients with very little water into a coarse paste

DRIED COCONUT & GARLIC PEANUT CHUTNEY (KHOBRA ANI DANYACHI LASANICHI CHUTNEY)
Ingredients -
1/4 cup dried grated coconut
1/4 cup roasted shelled peanuts
2-3 cloves garlic
2 tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste
1 pinch sugar

Method -
1. In a pan lightly roast the dried coconut.
2. Combine all the ingredients in your blender/ spice grinder and grind into a fine powder.

Bread Dosa

I first read about "Bread Dosa" on Shilpa's blog few months back. Though she had good things to say about this dosa, I had my own doubts about how these would turn out. So I did not attempt to try these out at that time. Few days back I also saw these on Sanjeev Kapoor's website and finally decided to give it a shot. I made some changes to the recipe and came up with my own version that tasted really good. I actually bought fresh bread to specially make these dosas, but I think this is a creative way of using leftover bread. These dosas didn’t taste very different than the rava maida dosas that I make very often at home. However, the seasonings did give it a nice unique flavor. I served these with my mom's tomato chutney.



Ingredients -
8 slices of white bread
1/2 cup semolina/ rawa/ suji
2 tbsp rice flour
salt to taste
1/2 cup whisked yogurt
Oil - for frying the dosas + 2 tbsp
1 tsp Mustard seeds
2 tsp split black gram skinless/ dhuli urad dal
5-6 chopped curry leaves
1/2 inch finely chopped ginger
3-4 finely chopped green chillies
1 medium finely chopped onion
1 tbsp roughly crushed cashewnuts

Method -
1. Trim the edges of the bread slices and soak the slices in some warm sufficient water for few minutes. Squeeze out water from the soaked bread and lightly crumble with hand.
2. Take semolina, rice flour, salt in a bowl and add sufficient water to make a thin batter.
3. Add this crumbled bread to the batter along with whisked yogurt.
4. Put the mixture in blender/ food processor and grind it to a fine paste.
6. Transfer to a clean bowl and adjust the consistency.
7. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan.
8. Add mustard seeds, dhuli urad dal, curry leaves, chopped ginger, green chillies, onion, cashewnuts and sauté till onions are lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
9. Heat a dosa tawa. Put some oil on it and wipe with a clean wet cloth.
10. Add the tempering to the batter and mix well.
11. Pour a ladleful of the batter onto the hot tawa and spread. Pour a little oil on top and sides and cook for two to three minutes. Turn and cook the other side similarly.
12. Prepare the other dosas similarly. Serve hot with chutney of choice.

Sweet & Spicy Banana Dosa

Gone are the carefree weekends, when we woke up several hours after sunrise, ate lunch @ 3-4 pm in the afternoon, shopped till we dropped at the mall and watched back to back movies till wee hours in the morning. I always thought losing all this freedom after having a baby would bother me. But believe me motherhood changes life for the better and I feel like I could give up anything for my little angel. These days our weekend mornings are busier than ever and much more hectic than weekdays. A lot of time is spent cooking, feeding, diapering, bathing , playing with Swara and also dealing with stuffy noses, teething, tummy problems etc from time to time. This leaves me very little time to cook. So I love whoever invented the Saturday brunch concept…skip the breakfast and have an early lunch :-).

I had these bananas sitting in the fruit basket since last week and wanted to put them to good use before they went bad. Fruits have a very bad destiny when they end up in our house:-(. Both D and I are not very fond of fruits. So, last Saturday, I made these sweet and spicy banana dosas for brunch. It does require some prep work ahead of time like our regular fermented traditional dosas. I soaked the rice and urad dal on Thursday morning and got the batter ready for fermentation by Thursday evening. Its pretty cold in this part of the world and it takes at least a couple of days for fermentation. I served these with coconut chutney, but from my internet research it appears that most people have these with honey. They turned out pretty good.



Ingredients -
1 cup rice
1/4 cup urad dal
2 pinches fenugreek/ methi seeds
2 bananas
2 finely chopped green chillies
3-4 tbsps finely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste
ghee/ butter for frying

Method -
1. Soak the rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds overnight.
2. Drain and grind to a fine paste with some warm water.
3. The dosa mixture should be quite thick. Add salt to taste and set the batter aside for fermentation.
4. Mash the bananas. Add to the fermented dosa batter. Add the green chillies and sugar.
5. Grease a non-stick frying pan with a little butter or ghee and heat.
6. Spread the mixture in small rounds about 2" diameter. Put a little ghee around the sides of the rounds and cook for a few minutes.
7. Turn and cook again.
8. Serve hot with coconut chutney or honey