"Urad Dal (Black Gram Dal)-Bajra (Pearl Millet) Dosa/Polo served with Spicy Rajavale Nonche/ Indian Star Gooseberry Pickle" ... tried my own mix and match dosa and surprisingly it turned out simply awesome … A delicious healthy dosa with added goodness of millet ... Yummilicious ......
** Dosa's are a delight to relish and for some time it was given a miss in my home for personal reason, though I have not yet begun preparing the same everyday, I have now made it a point to prepare it at least on a weekly basis, which means I get to relish it for 2 days as there is always some leftover batter which I either prepare as it is if more or add in rava if left less. As you know every South Indian especially Konkani Sarawat’s love to start their day with either dosa, idly or other breakfast dishes from Konkani Saraswat Cuisine as we are very particular and fond of good homemade food. I love trying my own combination of mix and match ingredients and I have posted quite a lot of them over a period of about almost five years.
** Today’s is yet again a simple dosa that turned out surprisingly great as I was a little bit hesitant to use only two ingredients without addition of rice or rava which I usually do to bring in crispness to the dosa. However, this particular dosa came out excellent in the first go itself and as I had some leftover batter decided to relish it again the next day with sweet khichidi/pongal which we prepare during the month of Margashiramasa/Dhanurmasa which happens to have started now. I have included Bajra/Sama Flour which is easily available in stores and extensively used during winter as it has heat inducing properties. Do try out this simple dosa, and enjoy with your family and friends, it is not only healthy but tastes superb too.
** Here is my simple recipe " Urad Dal (Black Gram Dal)- Bajra (Pearl Millet) Dosa/ Polo” …… My Style ……..
** Ingredients :
Urad Dal/Black Gram Dal : 1 cup
Bajra/Sama Flour : 3 cups
Methi / Fenugreek Seeds : 1 tsp
Ginger/Alle’/Adrak : 1 inch piece cut into pieces.
Green Chillies/Tarni Mirsanga/Hirvi Mirchi : 6-7 cut into pieces (less spicy ones)
Salt to taste.
** Oil + Ghee for frying of 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.
** Note : Almost everybody I know, even my Mom soaks the methi seeds along with the urad dal while soaking the same. So it is not necessary to follow my method of soaking separately. You may do so along with other ingredients too.
** For the Dosa Batter Preparation : Wash and soak Urad dal in plenty of water for 3-4 hours. Once again wash well and drain off all excess water. Add this into mixer grinder along with the soaked methi seeds and the water in which it is soaked. Add in another ½ to ¾ cup of water (more if necessary) and grind to a smooth fluffy batter. Lastly add in grated ginger and chopped green chilly and further grind till it’s well crushed and mixed properly.
** Remove the ground batter into a large stainless steel vessel. Now add in the Bajra/ Sama flour and mix well, there should be no lumps whatsoever and if you find the batter too thick, you can add in some water to mix well. In all the batter should be smooth, thick and without any flour lumps in them. Add in salt to taste, cover with a tight lid and leave it aside to ferment for 5-6 hours or overnight.
** Next morning or after 5-6 hours when the batter has fermented well once again mix/beat the bater well in clockwise direction to bring the batter to a smooth consistency. Check the consistency of the batter now, it should be thick like that of masala dosa consistency. If too thick you can add in some water now and mix well and the batter is now ready to be prepared into dosas.
** To Prepare Dosa : Heat an Iron/ Non Stick Dosa pan to smoking point, lower the heat to minimum, add a teaspoon of oil+ghee and spread well with the help of a tissue paper. Do not press too hard, as the tava is hot, your hands may get 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 by which you get a crisp bottomed dosa.
** Now, add in about a cupful (approx) 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 any dosa. Use light motion, do not press the spatula too much lest the dosa will tear. Sprinkle some ghee+oil on sides and top of the dosa. Let the dosa cook on medium heat until the bottom side of the dosa turns crispy and evenly browned.
** This dosa is cooked on both the sides, so when the bottom side is cooked gently loosen the dosa with the help of a flat dosa spatula from all round the rim of the dosa and then gently lift it with the spatula in one go and flip it over and let cook on top side too on medium heat for about 2 minutes and it is done. Remove the dosa from tava and place it on a serving plate and serve it hot immediately. Repeat the process and remove the required amount of dosa's.
** Crisp fried “Urad Dal (Black Gram Dal)- Bajra (Pearl Millet) Dosa/ Polo” is done and ready to be served. Always serve dosa’s hot from tava, as they taste best when served crisp and hot directly from tava. Serve the dosa with any chutney/pickle or side dish of your choice and enjoy with your family and friends. Children love to eat crisp dosa and this is sure to be a hit with them and their friends too. Include healthy dishes in your daily diet and make children aware of our traditional healthy dishes. Home cooked food is always better than store bought one's for growing children.
** Note : Always be careful with addition of water while grinding the dosa batter. Keep adding little by little water while mixing the batter well as you grind and avoid adding water in one go. Add in more water while grinding only if necessary, we need to retain the batter a little bit thicker always so be careful with addition of water, you can always add later on if need be.
** Note : Do not ferment this batter for more than maximum 8 hours at given time, depending upon the weather climate of your vicinity. If the temperature is too hot keep the batter in fridge to avoid it getting over fermented which is distasteful. Addition of Bajra/sama flour to Urad Dal batter always quicken the process of fermentation, so do be careful.
** Note : I have used “Table Top Wet-Grinder” for grinding the Urad dal which I always do for any dosa or Idly batter. Stone grinders while used for grinding always yield in fluffier and much more batter than mixer grinder, so the addition of other ingredients have to be at times adjusted accordingly. Mixer grinder ground urad dal absorbs less of other ingredients. So add in about 2.5 cups of Bajra flour and if necessary you can add in the remaining half cup.
** Note : You can remove the dosa with either just oil or ghee as per your desire or as you always do in your home. My Mother used to always prepare and keep ghee+oil in the ratio of 1:1 in a bowl for exclusive use of dosa only. I have no idea why she did it, but the dosa does turn out good and tasty and I have simply followed that method. You may choose any method you like.
** Note : It is wise and good idea to invest in a thick Iron Dosa Pan which is freely available in southern stores or you can even get them online. Iron tava is always better compared to other makes of tava and gives good result for dosas. The dosa prepared in Iron tava always differs in tastes compared to non stick pans. But finally, it is your choice, many people prefer non stick pans as they are easier to handle and require less oil.
** For the recipe of “Spicy Rajavale Nonche/ Indian Star Gooseberry Pickle", Please follow the link provided below …..
** There are many varieties of “Dosa” posted in my Blog and I am sharing a common link for the same below, you can browse through and try out that which appeals to you and serve with any chutney or sambar of your etc.
** There are many varieties of “Chutney” posted in my Blog and I am sharing a common link for the same below, you can browse through and try out that which appeals to you and serve with dosa, idly etc.
** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of different types 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 or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and Enjoy them with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible.
** I am happy to inform you that I have also started a food group for by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" which is over and year old, with about 23 K strong members. It is a pleasure to inform that you will find in the group many more recipes posted by our expert members and you too can share some of your own. The link to the group is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring" Thank You.
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