Varai- Urad Dal- Chana Dal Polo (Barnyard Millet- Black Gram Dal- Bengal Gram Dal Dosa.

"Varai- Urad Dal- Chana Dal Polo (Barnyard Millet- Black Gram Dal- Bengal Gram Dal Dosa" ... soft spongy dosa is a delight to enjoy for breakfast and this one is the best one when you want to avoid inclusion of rice for any reason ...  Millets are considered good for health, So go ahead and enjoy this spongy- soft dosa with any chutney, pickle, curry etc. of your choice ... Yummilicious ....

** Millets are now being recognized/ promoted more for their health benefits. I hear a lot about how introducing them into our daily diet improves our health and wards off various diseases. I have seen famous nutritionists recommend the same, though I cannot vouch for all millet as my knowledge is limited. However nachani (finger millet/ ragi) and varai/ barnyard millet are 2 millets that are extensively used in GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine in various types of dishes and I too have used them often for decades now.

** Bajra and Jowar are other two millets famous in Maharashtra state which I started using after settling in Mumbai though not so often. My Blog does include all these four millet and I intend to try out others as and when I am able to purchase them locally. So do follow me on my Blog/ Page or on Instagram for more recipes and also to not lose out on any shares. Special thanks to my friend Archana N. Prabhu who had shared this recipe and I must say its superb. Try it and enjoy with family and friends. 

** Here is my recipe for "Varai- Urad Dal- Chana Dal Polo (Barnyard Millet- Black Gram Dal- Bengal Gram Dal Dosa" ... 

** Wash and soak 2 cups Varai (Barnyard Millet) + ½ cup of Urad Dal (Black Gram Dal) + ¼ cup of Chana Dal (Bengal Gram Dal) in plenty of water for 6 hours. Soak 1 tsp methi (fenugreek) seeds separately in a bowl with 1/2 cup of water.

** Soaking of Methi : Soaking methi/ fenugreek seeds separately in water is just my method of doing so for dosas. I use it later along with the water in which it has been soaked while grinding the dosa batter as I believe that if methi is added to dal while soaking, the nutrients, and medicinal properties of methi seeds are lost when being washed again after the soaking period, you may follow any method.

** Drain of water from soaked varai and dal, wash well, drain and then grind all to a smooth paste with just about 1 to 1.5 cups of water and the methi seeds along with the water it is soaked in. Use water in limits so as to not make the batter too thin. When the batter turns fluffy and done remove in a large vessel, add salt (namak/ meeta) to taste and mix well. Cover with a tight lid and leave it aside untouched in a warm place overnight or for minimum 8 hours to ferment well. After the batter has fermented mix it well gently to a even flowing batter, added water only if needed and batter is ready.

** For Making of Dosa : Heat a Iron tava to smoking point and then reduce the heat to minimum. Apply a few drops of Oil+ Ghee mixture and rub the tava all over with a tissue to keep just a film of the same. Take a ladle full of the batter and pour it in the center of the tava it will form by itself into a round dosa. If not gently run the bottom of the rounded spatula over the batter and swirl it to a round shape with the help of a rounded spatula evenly into a thick round shaped dosa of say about 6-8 inches in dia.

** Sprinkle some drops of mixture of ghee+ oil on all round the rim of the dosa and on top. Cover with a lid and cook the dosa on medium heat till done. There will be plenty of holes formation on the dosa. The more the hole, the better the dosa batter has fermented. Do not raise the heat to high or the dosa will not be evenly cooked. When the top side of the dosa is cooked, gently lift the dosa by running a flat dosa removing spatula round the corners of the dosa and then gently lifting if off from the tava. 

** This dosa is not flipped over and cooked on the top side, so please avoid doing so. If you are new to such types dosas and worried, to check if the top portion of the dosa is cooked, just uncover the tava by removing the domed lid and gently touch with your finger tips, if the batter touches you finger tips, immediately cover it again and let cook for a few more minutes. If the batter does not touch your fingers and the dosa bounces back when touched, its done and you can safely remove from tava.

** Place the hot dosa on a serving plate and continue with the remaining batter for required number of dosas needed repeating the above procedure again. In case of excess batter, immediately put it in a airtight container and store in refrigerator till further needed. Always serve the dosa immediately upon removing from the tava, specially this one. Do not topple one on another coz. they not only loose on texture, looks, but the sponginess of dosa gets pressed down too. So remove the dosa and serve immediately as and when needed only.

** "Varai- Urad Dal- Chana Dal Polo (Barnyard Millet- Black Gram Dal- Bengal Gram Dal Dosa" is done and ready to be served. You can serve these dosas with any accompaniment of your choice, like chutney, sambar, pickle or any spicy curry. I served it simply with amla pickle which I had prepared at home sometime back. Always remember to serve dosas hot from tava for best of taste or else they lose out on taste. There are many more healthy breakfast dishes like dosa, idly, khotto etc. shared in the blog. Do browse through and try them in leisure, my amma (mom) always insisted on a good, healthy breakfast to begin the day with. It is the least you can do for good health of your children and family, thereby creating good eating habits for coming generations.

** Note : Sometimes during winter season the batter does not ferment well or if you are living in a cold country you may face this problem. In which case just leave it out in a warm place concealed for a few hours more. If the weather is too cold, you can leave it in the oven with just the light on overnight for warmth. The right outcome of the dosa is for it to have lots of holes, but in case they do not come out, do not worry, the taste of the dosa does not get affected. Its only the sponginess that may be a little lesser. With trial and error you will soon learn the technique of preparing such dosas. As it is winter season now in India, even my dosa batter did not rise well. So you can see that there are fewer holes. So just go ahead and make them and just don’t worry.