"Chibbada Godi Surnoli/ Surnali (Muskmelon Sweet Dosa)" served with Homemade Cow's Milk Loni/ Butter ... soft- spongy- sweet dosa's are always a delight to relish hot dunked in loni and when the loni melts that is exactly how it tastes the best and how I grew up relishing it ... so till date it continues ... loads of chibbada has flooded the market so today it is surnoli ... I have not added haldi pitti, hence the color is lighter shade ... Yummilicious ...
** Surnali/ Surnoli are soft spongy sweet or slightly spiced dosas served for breakfast in southern parts of India. It is more so famous in Konkani Saraswat Community and is at times prepared in both versions as while the children like the sweeter version the older people prefer the other. The traditional recipe does not include any veggie or fruit included but later on people started adding them to reap in the nutritional benefits and also it helps in reducing the amount of fresh coconut gratings to be added.
** I have been preparing with various veggies like ash gourd, ripe jackfruit, south Indian cucumber, cashew fruit, khajur, ganahoma panchkadayi etc. for over 2 decades now, some of them have been included while some could not be as the pictures were either bad or I had not clicked them before I started blogging. I will try including them as and when I prepare. As it is the season of muskmelon/ chibbada/ kharbooja now I have prepared and included the same. Do try it out and relish the same with family and friends.
** Here is my simple recipe for "Chibbada Godi Surnoli/ Surnali (Muskmelon Sweet Dosa)" … it is the same as the others and not much changes are made as I have found that this measurement gives me perfect results …..
** Wash and soak 4 cups of ordinary rice/ tadul/ akki in plenty of water for about 5-6 hrs.
**Soaking of Methi : Soak 1 tsp methi/ fenugreek 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 dal while soaking the same. Therefore, it is not necessary to follow my method of soaking separately. You may do so along with other ingredients too.
** Cut into two vertically Chibbada/ Muskmelon/ Karbooja and then slice off the outer skin as thinly as possible and then remove the inner seeds and the jelly like flesh attached to it. Now cut the fleshy portion into small pieces and keep it aside ready. We will need about 3-4 cups of the same, the rest can be used in preparing other dishes.
** Note : Do not discard the inner seeds and the fleshy portion attached to it, you can prepare a few recipes using the same, you will find them in the blog if you use the search option.
** After soaking period of the rice, wash it well once again and drain well, then mix in the one cup of poha/ pova/ beaten rice and mix well. Sprinkle some water if necessary, if you find it too dry. Let it rest for 10 minutes, the poha will have softened and now it is ready to be ground into batter, this step is necessary.
** Note : You can soak the poha along with the rice too while soaking but I follow this method as I find it much more convenient and less messier.
** In a mixer grinder add the muskmelon pieces and grind to a smooth paste WITHOUT adding water. Remove this into a bowl, this will be added to grind the batter as and how much is necessary till you get the right batter consistency.
** Now in the same mixer add in the rice, about 1 cup of fresh coconut gratings (soyi/ nariyal), the methi seeds along with the water in which it is soaked, 1 cup of thick curds (dahi or thick buttermilk). Grind for a few minutes till everything gets mixed into a mixture WITHOUT adding any water.
** Now add in ½ to 1 cup of jaggery/ goda powder or grated jaggery (depending upon how much sweet you want the dosa to be and the sweetness of the muskmelon) and further grind the mixture to a smooth consistency. Now keep adding the muskmelon ground paste, say about 2 cups and continue grinding.
** Now check consistency and keep adding little by little as required the muskmelon paste and continue to grind until the mixture is ground well and you get a thick dosa textured batter. The batter should not be too thin or too thick. I have added the full amount of prepared paste for this batter, however please check and add in the same.
** Note : The inclusion of muskmelon paste depends on the quality of muskmelon, some are very juicy and will give you more paste while some may not, so is the case of the sweetness. So you really need to keep these things in mind while preparing the batter. I have included a link at the bottom of this recipe, which includes a few step pictures both of batter and dosa removing method for ref. you can check out the same.
** Remove the ground batter in a large stainless steel vessel. The vessel should be larger by at least 4 times in ratio to the batter, as the batter rises on fermentation. Lastly add Salt (Namak/ Meeta) to taste to the batter and mix well. Cover and let the batter ferment overnight or 8-10 hours before you start using it to make dosa's. Please note that for the dosas to turn out soft, spongy with a million holes the batter has to be well fermented.
** Note : Usually a pinch of haldi pitti/ turmeric powder is added to the surnoli/ surnali dosa batter. I have not added this time as I though since I had got a light pink colored batter the tinge of muskmelon, it would reflect the same way on dosa, but somehow it did not. You may add the haldi powder if desired. Just add while grinding the batter.
** Once the batter has fermented well, it rises up a lot. So, before you begin to start preparing the dosas mix the batter well as the rice settles at the bottom making the batter thick at the bottom and thinner on top. So mixing well is absolutely necessary and once done check out the consistency and add in water only if necessary, usually it does not need. Finally add ½ tsp of cooking soda powder or eno salt and mix well, let rest for 10 minutes and it is ready.
** For Dosa : Heat a dosa tava/ pan, I use non stick tava for preparing this dosa, as it is easier to lift the dosa being soft, also as the batter includes jaggery it will not stick on non stick tavas, you may use any of your choice. When tava is very hot, lower heat, spread a tsp of oil lightly greasing the pan spreading it to a thin layer with the help of tissue paper.
** Now pour about 2 ladles full of batter (about ½ cup) on the center of tava/ pan from just about 1 inch above pan. Do not attempt to spread the dosa as the batter spreads on its own into a nice round circle. Add a few drops of oil all round the outer edges of the dosa, cover and cook on low-medium heat until the top side is cooked and translucent.
** To check if done, you can just touch the top of the dosa when you find it done with the tip of your fingers, if it sticks, cover and cook for a few more minutes. You will also see a lot of holes on the surface of the dosa, which is the way this dosa usually turns out. Do not attempt to lift the cover of the pan often to check or the dosa will not be done well, when hot air escapes out, the upper portion of the dosa cooks in the steam created within the pan.
** Do not raise the heat to high level at any given time as the batter contains jaggery and if done so it may get burnt at the bottom side of the dosa and on the outer edges too. This dosa is cooked only on one side, so do not flip it over to cook on the top side. As I mentioned above, the top side gets cooked when done in its own steam.
** Note : Some people in different regions of southern parts, do flip over and cook the top side for a few seconds too, I do not do as we do not like it. Also, it is not necessary, the dosa will have cooked and also that is not the traditional way a sunali/ surnoli is cooked, but then the choice is yours, you can try out both options and stick to that which you like.
** Once the dosa is cooked, gently loosen through the side edges and lift the dosa in one go and put it gently on a plate as it is the top side on top. Repeat the process for the remaining batter following the same procedure as mentioned for the first dosa. You can keep the remaining batter in the fridge and remove dosa the next day too, but see to it again that you keep it in a larger vessel or else it will rise and make a mess in the fridge.
** "Chibbada Godi Surnoli/ Surnali (Muskmelon Sweet Dosa)" is done and ready to be served. Surnoli/ Surnali tastes best served hot from tava, though you can eat it later too. But for a lovely taste serve it hot with homemade loni/ butter as traditionally it is always served with butter and does not go well with anything else. Being sweet and spongy this dosa is loved immensely by all children and preparing it with addition of veggie or fruit puree makes it that much more healthier which otherwise the children are reluctant to eat.
** There are many more “Surnali/ Surnoli” recipes in the blog to which I have included a common link and a link where in you will find some pictures to help understand the procedure better too, please browse through the same and if still in confusion, you can always write in a query in comment section or send in a mail ….
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Thanks.