No Ferment Dosa

Even though Idli, Dosa, Uttappam are popular breakfast items, A and I can have them at any meal. I love these foods and make them at least three to four times a month. Of the meals that we eat on weekends, usually one comprises of idlis or dosas. I SO love these foods that even the thought of it makes me hungry sometimes. The only problem is that it takes a whole day just to get the batter ready. But thanks to cousin M, now I can at least make dosas in very little time.

The reasons I love this quick dosa recipe are - it is very simple, and the dosas are very close to regular dosas in taste (especially when dunked in sambar). The recipe calls for soaking the rice and lentils for a few hours and grinding them to a smooth paste, just like any other dosa recipe. But batter can be prepared with as little as 4 hours of soaking the ingredients and dosas can be made as soon as the batter is ready.

Rice and Mixed Lentils Dosa

Ingredients:

1/8 cup whole urad dal/split urad dal

1/8 cup toor dal

1/8 cup masoor dal

1/8 cup chana dal

1/8 cup moong dal

1/4 cup white rice

1/4 + 1/8 cup brown rice

1/2 tsp methi (fenugreek seeds)

Salt to taste

1. To make the batter, soak rice and lentils separately for 4 hours or more. You can use all types of dals (lentils) that you have on hand. The amount of rice used in this recipe is same as the total amount of all the lentils together. So if you have a cup of mixed lentils, use a cup of rice. I generally use whatever lentils I have on hand.

2. Once soaked, grind the rice and lentils (together or separately as you prefer) to a smooth paste. Add salt to taste. I have seen that many people add little bit of baking soda or ENO to the instant batters/mixes as it gives the batter some lightness. I normally don't add these to the batter, but you can use it if you want.

3. Now that the batter is ready, heat a griddle and pour a ladleful of batter in the center. Spread the batter from the center of the pan towards its edge in a circular motion.

4. Drizzle a few drops of oil along the side as dosa cooks. Once the batter on top starts looking dry, flip the dosa and let the other side cook. Add little more oil if required.

Serve hot with sambar and potato masala.

Chutney for Idlis, and B&W Wednesday

I love South Indian food since childhood. I grew up eating a lot of idli-dosa-uttappams as Mom would often make them for Sunday breakfasts. I am still big on these dishes and you will often find them on our weekend brunch menu.

Back in the late 90s, when I was still in college, I worked at a firm of Chartered Accountants. I had an awesome time working there as almost everyone who worked there was still in college (most of them pursuing their CA certification), and it was just like any other college group. There were a few south Indian ladies working there who would bring me and my friend G some delicious southern dishes for our love for the cuisine. Once they got us dosas with chutney that I had never eaten before. I loved it so much that I asked them for the recipe. I still make it sometimes to go with idlis.

Coconut Chutney with Peanuts & Onion

To make this chutney you would need -
3/4 C shredded coconut
1. 5 tbsp raw peanuts
1 small onion (roughly chopped)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp tamarind (soaked for 5-10 mins)
5-6 dried red chillies (soaked for 5-10 mins)
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

For tempering-
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafetida
1 tsp urad dal
3-4 curry leaves
2 dried red chillies

1. Grind together coconut, tamarind, peanuts, garlic, onion and red chillies. Add salt and sugar.

2. Heat a tablespoon of oil and add mustard seeds, asafetida, urad dal, curry leaves, and red chillies to it.

3. Pour this tempering over chutney and mix well.

Serve with idlis, dosas or uttappams.

***
Idlis in the Making!

A few days back, I came across a blog event by Susan of 'The Well Seasoned Cook'. She's hosting 'Black and White Wednesday'. It's a culinary photo event where people can send any food related photos that are clicked in B&W. I went through the first two roundups and was amazed to see how good those B&W pics looked. I was actually tempted to click a few B&W shots.

(Click on the image for larger view)

I clicked the photo above on Saturday when I was making Idlis for brunch. I was waiting for first batch to come out and quickly took a shot with my cellphone camera. It turned out pretty good.

Masala Dosa & Uttappa

It has been one crazy winter this time. Come every weekend and the weather ought to be bad. For the past few weekends there have been ridiculous amounts of snow. If at all snow showed any mercy, there has been this ruthless cold all through the weekend. Though cold can be manageable, there is nothing you can do when everything is snow packed. These are the times when food comes to comfort you. One of such comforting dishes is masala dosa served with hot sambar. I am a big fan of south indian food. I can literally have idlis and dosas everyday. Believe me it is heavenly to have dosa dunked in hot sambar.

Onion uttappa is another dish that I totally love. I use the same batter to make dosas and uttappas, so whenever I make dosas, uttappas come hand in hand. Masala dosa is made by putting some potato sabzi inside the dosa. I use the following to make dosa batter -

Ingredients:
3 cups rice
1 cup urad dal
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp toor dal
1 tsp methi (fenugreek) seeds
Handful of thick poha

To make the batter, soak all these ingredients separately (rice and lentils.. rest can be soaked in the same bowl)overnight or for 7-8 hours in warm water. I noticed that soaking in warm water speeds up the fermentation, so I generally use warm water. After they are soaked, grind them into a paste which should be slightly on a rough side. Now let the batter sit to ferment. It will take anywhere from 8-10 hours at the least for the batter to ferment. Add salt before you use the batter.

To make dosas, take a ladle full of batter and place it on the center of a pan. Spread it out in circular motion and let cook. Make sure that you spread a thin layer. Add some oil on it while it cooks. Dosa is ready to be served. Serve it with hot sambar and coconut chutney.


For Masala (potato sabzi) you need -
3 medium potatoes (boiled and diced)
1 large onion (cut into thick slices)
4/5 curry leaves
3/4 green chillies
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
Tempering of 2 tsp oil

In a pan make tempering and add to it green chillies, curry leaves and onion. Saute the onion until tender. Add potatoes, salt and sugar, and mix well. Let it cook for a minute or two. Masala is ready for your dosa. You can also add about a teaspoon of grated ginger root if you like. Add it to the tempering just before you add onions.

For Sambar you need the following :
1 cup cooked toor dal
1 medium onion
1 medium tomato
1 cup veggies of your choice
1.5 tbsp sambar powder
3 tbsp tamarind pulp (or as required)
3/4 dried red chillies
Few curry leaves
1/4 tsp ground clove
Salt to taste

1. Make tempering of 1 tsp oil and add curry leaves and red chillies to it.
2. Add onions and tomatoes and saute until tender. Add other veggies of your choice and let them cook.
3. Add cooked toor dal, tamarind pulp, sambar powder (I use MTR brand), salt and water, and let it boil for some time. Add some ground clove at the end (optional).

Uttappa:
Put some dosa batter in the center of a pan and spread it out just as you would do for a dosa but slightly thicker. Add some chopped onions and green chillies on top while the batter is still wet.


Once one side cooks, flip it and let the other side cook. When you flip it the onions will caramelize giving uttappa a really nice taste.
Serve hot with sambar or coconut chutney.