“Nachani- Ukdo Tandul- Urad Dal Polo (Finger Millet/ Ragi- White Boiled Rice- Black Gram Dal Dosa” served with coconut chutney, homemade loni (butter) and ginger tea … here is another mix and match of ingredients dosa I tried on my own … slightly thicker textured dosa that turns out soft and delicious … try it, it's not only healthier but awesome too ... Yummilicious …
** I guess I truly having nothing more to write down on wonders of whosoever not only created dosa/ polo but also thought of making it that much more tastier to be relished dunked in coconut chutney. For those out there who are still reluctant to experiment on preparing different types of those, I would just like to say that you are missing out on all the good food and health benefits that the dosa can give you for a healthy lifestyle. There are so many recipes out there to be tried out that I must confess I find it difficult coping up with all the work in one go.
** With the hectic lifestyle all of us now face it becomes difficult to really cope up with so many things at one time especially when it comes to cooking food as they all definitely need prior preparations be it breakfast dishes or lunch and dinner ones. But, then that’s life, we don’t get anything on a platter and those who get it are really the luckiest ones for sure. A simple solution is to encourage all members of the house young and old to contribute in work and then, half the battle is won, after all they all too will benefit the joys of good food, isn’t it.
** Coming to dosas/ polo/ pancakes, these days I am very excited to try out new recipes of dosa by including a little bit of millet and other combinations and each time I am thankful when it turns out perfect. Again, I must mention I prefer to ferment dosa batter and not include soda/ eno salt though I do use them if need be, but rarely. Well, this dosa too is healthier in my opinion as here I have used white boiled rice along with whole nachani (ragi/ finger millet) and I must mention that this is slightly soft and thicker textured dosa and not crispier one.
** These days I am reliving my childhood by preferring enjoying dosas served with a dollop of loni (butter) and coconut chutney, trust me there is nothing more inviting options than this one served for breakfast. However, you can serve dosa/ polo with any type of chutney, sambar, curry etc as per your family preference. In all, do try including good healthy breakfast items into your daily menu and enjoy them with your family and friends. There are plenty of recipes already shared in the blog which you may browse through and try in leisure.
** Here is my recipe for “Nachani- Ukdo Tandul- Urad Dal Polo (Finger Millet/ Ragi- White Boiled Rice- Black Gram Dal Dosa” try it, tastes awesome served with any chutney of your choice, I served with coconut chutney ….
** Ingredients :
Whole Nachani/ Ragi/ Finger Millet : 1 heaped cup
White Ukdo Tandul/ White Boiled Rice : 1 cup
Urad Dal/ Black Gram Split Dal : ½ cup
Methi/ Fenugreek Seeds : 1 tblsp
Green Chilly/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 3-4
Ginger/ Adrak/ Alle’ : 1 inch piece
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 6-8 fresh ones
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
** Oil (Tel/ Tela)+ Toop (Ghee) mixture in 1:1 for removing the dosa's.
** Soaking of Methi Seeds : Soak methi seeds in 1 cup of water in a small cup for 1-2 hours, just before you start grinding batter, to be used while grinding. I do not add methi along with the dal’s coz. when we drain off the water, the medicinal properties of methi seeds are lost. You can use lukewarm water if you have only 10-15 mins time at hand which will give similar result. If you still feel this step not necessary for any reason whatsoever you may just add the methi seeds to the dal while soaking (personal choice).
** Cleaning of Whole Nachani/ Ragi/ Finger Millet (Important) : These are very tiny seeds nevertheless full of nutrients that are good for health. However, the whole seeds being very small often have dust/ inedible particles in them, so picking, cleaning and washing them well becomes very important, so plz. take care of the same.
** Pick, clean, wash whole nachani (finger millet) seeds taking care to see that it’s cleaned properly. Now add ukdo rice (boiled rice) along with urad dal and once again wash all three together with fresh water in 2-3 cycles. Now soak them together in plenty of water for minimum 8- 10 hours. When soaked and done, drain water, wash with fresh water 2-3 times and then drain off all excess water and it is ready for grinding.
** Note : Millet needs a minimum of 6-8 hours of soaking time for proper digestion of the food. The same goes for boiled rice too. So do not hurry or cut short the soaking period, for any reason you can’t follow day routine then you can soak them all overnight, grind in the morning, ferment for 8 hours and refrigerate as per convenience.
** Add all the soaked and drained ingredients for grinding into a wet grinder (or mixer grinder) along with the methi seeds and the water in which it is soaked and grind to a thick fluffy batter adding minimum water. The batter should be thick, so be careful with addition of water, when done remove the batter into a large vessel and keep it aside.
** In a mixer grinder add the green chillies, ginger and curry leaves all three cut to pieces and grind to a smooth paste adding very little water. Remove and add this to the ground batter in the vessel along with salt to taste and mix well with hand for a few minutes. Cover and keep it aside overnight or for 8-10 hours to be fermented. Do take care and see that you use a large vessel as this batter raises a lot on fermentation.
** Note : I use always use table top wet grinder for grinding of dosa batter which always gives best results, however if you do not have one you can always use mixer grinder too. In case your family loves dosa/ idly then it is always wise to invest in a small sized table top wet grinder as it runs smoothly for decades without issues.
** After fermenting the batter, gently mix well with a spatula taking care to see that the ground batter has been evenly mixed without any remnants settled at the bottom. If you find the batter too thick to spread on tava, then add little water and mix well. Do not beat the batter too much, just mix well and it is ready to be used.
** To remove Dosa/ Polo : Heat an iron dosa tava, sprinkle some oil+ ghee and gently wipe with a tissue, leaving a thin film of oil on tava. Lower the heat and pour a large ladle full of batter, say about ½- ¾ cup at the center of tava. Gently spread the dosa a little bit with spatula into a thick round dosa of 6-8 inches in diameter. Do not press the spatula to tava while spreading the dosa, or the texture of dosa will be lost.
** Sprinkle some oil+ ghee drops on outer rim of dosa and a few on top of the dosa, and let cook on medium heat for a few minutes, say about 3-4 mins. Once cooked on bottom side, loosen through edges and gently flip it over to cook on the top side too and when done flip it over back again to cook for a minute and then remove and place it on a serving plate. Dosa does take some time to be cooked properly, so be patient and do not rush, it’s worth it. You can check step by step dosa picture on collage attached.
** These dosas need to be served hot from tava immediately while you go about preparing the remaining dosas, as it tastes best relished hot as being soft textured within, it will somehow turn limp on resting, so avoid keeping them. Remove the required number of dosas in similar pattern as mentioned above by repeating the procedure and do not forget to add oil+ ghee after each dosa for perfectly and evenly cooked dosas.
** “Nachani- Ukdo Tandul- Urad Dal Polo (Finger Millet/ Ragi- White Boiled Rice- Black Gram Dal Dosa” is done and ready to be served. Always serve dosa hot from tava with any chutney, sambar, chutney podi (gun powder), pickle, curry or other side dishes of your choice for a healthy tummy filling breakfast. I served it with coconut chutney and loni (butter) on my own instinct and I was right, it tasted best that way. Either way, dosas, idlies, oondi etc. always taste great served hot and are good breakfast options to start the day with. Amma always insisted on healthy breakfast before we hit the road be it during childhood or later in life and I still follow the same, sometimes we need to have complete trust in our ancestors, they knew the best. Do try out this dosa and enjoy with your family and friends, these highly nutrient packed dosas are sure to be loved by all.
** In case of excess batter, store it immediately in airtight container in fridge without allowing it to excess ferment as it remains good for 2-3 days if handled properly. I always use dosa batter for 3 days in all together which gives me a break from having to prepare it daily and this one too has successfully been tried for 2 days. I often come across many who frown upon storing batter in fridge, to whom I would like to say that it is definitely million times better than reaching out to bread, toast, biscuits, or any other store purchased item with preservatives. With most of us being part of nuclear family of 2-3 or max. 4 members in all it is very difficult to cook in minimum and my motto has always been never to waste food, either we should recycle them or give away in time.
** Note : I always follow my Mom's method of using oil+ ghee in the ratio of 1:1 for removing of dosas as they turn out great. You can use either ghee or oil for the same too, it's a matter of individual choice. I use Iron tava for preparing dosa which requires a little bit of oil/ ghee to cook and remove the dosa, if non stick is used you may add sparingly too, however I always recommend Iron tava for health benefits.
** You can check out more “Dosa”, “Chutney” or any other “Breakfast” recipes shared in the blog, by browsing through the links shared below …
** For "Ginger Tea/ Adraki Chai" recipe, Please follow the link given below ...
Looks yummy
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, do try, it tastes awesome.
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