In the year 2024, I have really upp-ed my Dosa game. I am making batter from scratch from practically anything, and the dosas are coming out great. Also, the same batter works for Idli and leftover is perfect for Appe! So what's not to love?
I use a cast iron pan and a stainless steel spatula to make my dosas - can absolutely not survive without them. I do not use any kind of soda/Eno etc - let fermentation happen naturally which makes the dosa crisp and light.Would like to mention a couple of points here, which I have learnt over time:
- Dosa batter preparation is easy, but it takes time and prior planning. So, usually, I make a lot of batter which can last for 1-2 rounds of Dosa, Idli and Appe. The batter stays good in fridge for 4-5 days.
- Must Read - Steps for preparing the batter:
- Soak the grains overnight - this could be rice and urad daal, or sabut moong daal, or ragi, or barnyard millet.
- 2 things always need to be mixed in the base grain - urad daal (1/4-1/2 cup), and methi seeds (1/2 - 1 tsp)
- In morning, I blend everything together. Just take care that the blender is not feeling hot to touch. I read a good tip recently - if you feel that the blender is getting heated up, add some ice cubes/a little chilled water.
- Once again, let the batter rest for 6-8 hours (depending on ambient temperature, fermentation can happen slow or fast). Once it has risen up, you can mix with a spoon, and let it stay in fridge until you need to use it.
- At the time of making Dosa/Idli/Appe, add water and salt as required to get the right consistency.
( I have read that the daal and rice are supposed to be soaked and ground separately, but I haven't reached that level of preciseness yet.)
The OG Dosa
(also referred to as regular dosa batter in other recipes)- 2 cups rice (I usually go for brown rice)
- 1/3-1/2 cup urad daal
- 1 tsp methi seeds
Moong Daal Dosa
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 cup sabut moong daal
- 1/3-1/2 cup urad daal
- 1 tsp methi seeds
At the time of cooking, add ginger, chillies and salt
Ragi Dosa
I have tried it two ways:
- Take regular dosa batter, and add ragi flour to it.
- Or - if you are up to it - soak and sprout whole ragi, so that you get nice ragi sprouts which are more digestible and gut-friendly. Then blend ragi sprouts into a smooth paste, and add to regular dosa batter - I use 50-50 ratio. This makes paper-crisp dosas which are really good to eat.
There is a III version I found online, which I am yet to try. This is a rava-dosa type instant Ragi dosa.
Instant Ragi dosa
- 1/2 cup ragi flour
- 3/2 cup water
- salt
Rest for 15 minutes. Also, peanut chutney recipe at the following link.
Ref: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4fSVn0L16a/and, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoeAAUuNXZE
Also, another recipe using Ragi - it also adds spinach
- Spinach, 1 Bunch 200g
- Ginger, 1-2 pcs
- Green Chillies, 2
Ragi Moong Dosa - to be tried
- Ragi - 1/2 cup (I think this uses whole Ragi, not flour).
- Saabut Moong - 1/2 cup
- Urad - 1/2 cup
Foxtail-Masoor Dosa
- 1 cup foxtail millets
- 1 cup masoor daal
Moong Daal Sprouts Dosa
- Green moong sprouts 2 cups
- Gram flour/besan 1 cup
- Water 2 cup
- Ginger 1-2 inch
- Green chilli 2
- pinch of Heeng
- Turmeric powder 1 tsp
- Roasted cumin powder 2 tsp
- Kasuri methi 1 tbsp
Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth to make the dosa batter. (the recipe doesn't require fermentation, so it is more like a cheela, will try it out and update on how it came out.)
Jowar dosa and red chutney
Millet Idli
- 2 cups Varagu/Kodo Millet
- 2 cups Samai/Little Millet
- ¾ cup Whole Urad Dal
- 1 cup Thick Aval/Poha/Flattened Rice
- Water, salt
I tried with 2 cups little millet, 1/4 cup urad daal and 1/2 cup Idli rice today. Will update on how it went.
Barnyard millet Dosa (Rawa Dosa style)
Came across this reel from Neha, who I follow in Instagram. Will try it this week for sure! There are some comments which say Dosa was too sticky on tawa - will try myself and update.
- 1 cup Sama (Barnyard Millet)
- 1/3 cup Sabudana/rice flour
Grind these together. (As I have learnt from Shalini, soak and dry sama first.)
Batter:
- 1 cup Mix
- 3/4 cup Water
- 2 tbsp Dahi
- green chilli paste & spices of your choice
Rest for 20 mins before using. It should be of buttermilk consistency.
Bonus recipes with this batter:
For making Panki & Khandvi - The batter should not be thick neither too watery
For Idli & Appam - Batter has to be thicker than Khandvi batter & will need to add eno / baking soda.
Little millet Appam
@8 Sep, 2024
Came across this on fb, and am planning to try it out asap. Will also give me a chance to air my appam pan!
Try it with kadala (chickpeas) or egg curry.
Also, so you can store this appam batter in an air tight container in the fridge for one week.
Little Millet Appams (makes enough batter for about 14 appams using 3/4 cup batter per appam)
- 1 cup little millet, soaked for 30 -60 mins
- 1/2 cup wholewheat atta - planning to skip this, will update
- 1/2 cup cooked rice (leftover cold rice works best)
- 1/2 cup grated coconut
- Salt to taste
- Water as required
- 1 tsp dry yeast
- 2 tsp sugar/jaggery/honey
- 3 tbsp warm water
1. First mix yeast, sugar and warm water and let it sit for 10 mins to bloom.
2. Blend all remaining ingredients together to get a smooth dosa batter consitency.
3. Mix in the bloomed yeast, cover and set in a warm, dark place for 45-60 minutes.
4. The batter is ready when it’s filled with air bubbles and completely risen.
5. Mix well.
6. Make sure the flame is low-medium.
7. Pour in 3/4 cup of the batter in the center and swirl it all round - you can do one continuous swirl for a round appam or go back and forth in different directions to get a flower shape. The sides of the appam will automatically be thin and the center will be thick.
8. Cover and cook for 3-4 mins on a low flame.
9. The appam is ready when the sides are crispy and light brown and the center is cooked through. Remove it gently by freeing the sides first and finally the center.
10. Serve it hot with some milk/coconut milk and sugar or my favorites - kadala curry or egg curry.
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