Sunday, December 10, 2017

Urad Dal ~ Brown Basmati Rice Dosa.


“Urad Dal ~ Brown Basmati Rice Dosa” Served with Spicy Molaga Podi / Gun Powder (Idly) Podi topped with coconut oil … A delicious dosa with added goodness of brown rice … I am still not happy with cooking rice with brown rice as it is not very much liked in my home … In my enthusiasm of cooking with brown rice I had purchased 1 kg of the same and it was lying in the back shelf quietly … So today I tried this dosa and I must say it turned out crisp and yummy ….... 


** Everybody knows that Dosa's are a favourite bf dish with South Indians specially Konkani Sarawat. I grew up eating either dosa or idly for bd while poori was prepared on Sundays or twice a month only. Children always what is denied to them and same was with me, I always wanted sandwich coz. all my friends said they have sandwich or bread butter for bf. But my Mom never relented and insisted, I either eat what was prepared or go hungry. Well those days parents were strict about what family ate unlike now. But after marriage and settling in Mumbai I began to understand the importance of that bf. and today I myself insist on the same, though I must say, I still love sandwiches and do have them once in a way.  I have written a lot about importance of a good bf. before, so will not repeat again.

** Brown rice had gained a lot of popularity last year. In my enthusiasm to go healthy I purchased a 1 kg pack of this rice and to my dismay it was not liked much in my home. Somehow, we could not adapt to its taste. After preparing a few dishes about half a kg still remained on the back shelf of my cupboard untouched while I prepared my dishes with the lovely white basmati rice. Frequently checking my stock would always bring it to my notice and I would wonder what to do with it for a day or two and then again forget about the same. A week back I wanted to finish off all old stock of groceries before I purchased new one’s and thought, I must finish this off. I prepared sweet khichidi with it and it did turn out good. There was still about 2 cups remaining and I decided to prepare dosa by adding it place of normal rice. And I must say the dosa was a super duper hit in my home. 

** For this particular dosa, I have added in Urad along with this rice and some poha while grinding. That’s it, You can see for yourself the texture and colour of the dosa. I was highly impressed, but also sorry that the rice now got over and that I could not give more new trials in dishes. Maybe, I will buy it again in a few months as this dosa is something that is going to stay in my home. It really turned out really crisp and resembled our very own masala dosa and we enjoyed eating them. This dosa will be tastier if served with potato bhaji and chutney. However, being my first try out of the same, I just used my knowledge and prepared my own version of this particular dosa. I had absolutely no knowledge how it would turn out, so I just thought of having it with chutney podi. But as I started preparing the dosa, I found out that they could be really spread like masala dosa and cooked crisp, and I really wished I had prepared potato bhaji and chutney to relish the same with. So you may add on bhaji while I will do the same next time and will try to post the picture of the same at later on date whenever I prepare the same again.

** Ingredients :
Urad Dal : 1 cup
Brown Basmati Rice : 2 cups
Thin Poha / Beaten Rice : 1 cup
Methi / Fenugreek Seeds : 1 tsp
Salt to taste 
Oil for frying the dosa.


** Soaking of Methi : Soak methi seeds in ¼ cup of water in a small cup for an hour or so, just before you start grinding the batter. This is to be used while grinding the dosa batter. I do not add the methi along with the dal’s coz. When we drain off the water, the health and medicinal properties of methi seeds are also lost through it. You can use lukewarm water if you have only 10-15 mins time at hand only. It will give similar result.

** Roast the poha in a kadai, or microwave it for 2 mins. Put it in mixer grinder and grind to a fine powder. Keep this ready aside. You can prepare this powder in larger quantity and put it in an air tight container and use whenever necessary. Addition of little bit of poha make the dosa crispy and also gives good texture. 

** Wash and soak urad dal and brown basmati rice together in a vessel with plenty of water for 4-5 hrs. Brown basmati rice needs more soaking time so I soaked it together for 5 hrs. Drain off the water and put it in a mixer grinder. Add in the soaked methi seeds along with the water in which it is soaked and grind to a smooth paste adding only that much water which is necessary for grinding. 

** The batter should be thick. Add in a cup of the poha powder and further grind to a smooth consistency. Remove into a vessel, top it with salt to taste (do not mix the salt) and leave it to ferment overnight or for 6-8 hours. Next morning mix the batter well in a circular motion, until it is mixed properly. The batter should be thick enough but should be able to be spread on tava, so be careful with water. The batter is now ready to remove dosas.

** Heat a Dosa pan to smoking point, lower the heat to minimum, add a teaspoon of oil and spread well with spatula or spread it evenly with tissue paper with a light press. Do not press too hard, as the tava is hot, your hands may be burnt, and you may remove all the applied oil in the pan. I use this method of spreading with tissue to ensure there is no excess oil, as well as there is a thin layer / film of oil on the Tava.

** Now, add a cupful of batter with a rounded spatula in the center of the tava and spread evenly into a round circle of about 10-12 inch diameter, just like how you prepare the masala dosa. Use light motion, do not press the spatula too much lest the dosa will tear. Also, see to it that the dosa is spread as thin as possible. This batter gives a very thin textured crisp dosa similar to paper masala dosa.

** Increase the heat to medium, add a tsp of oil all round the edges of the dosa and let cook uncovered till crispy and evenly browned on the bottom side. The top side will have been already cooked, so do not flip over the dosa, as the dosa is thin in texture, and cooked one side only. Now with the help of the flat dosa spatula, gently loosen the dosa all round the rim of the dosa and then remove it from the tava and serve it hot immediately. Repeat the process and remove the required amount of dosa's.


**“ Urad Dal ~ Brown Basmati Rice Dosa” is done and ready to be served. I Served the dosa with Spicy Molaga Podi / Gun Powder topped with coconut oil. However, you may serve with whatever accompaniment you prefer and like. I had no idea how the dosa would turn out, so I did not prepare potato bhaji or chutney and had decided to relish it with the new chutney podi I had prepared. But try it with similar potato bhaji and chutney that we do for masala dosa. It will be a great combination as this dosa really turned out crisp like masala dosa. Enjoy this one with your family and friends. 

** For the Spicy Molaga Podi / Gun Powder Recipe, Please follow the link given below ….

** An earnest Request : There are many more recipes of similar type in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. You can also go to my page (add on the left side of blog) and leave a message and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible … Thank you. I have also started a food group by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" the link of which is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey.

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