Heena's Kitchen Diaries: Multigrain Brown-rice Quinoa Dosa

DOSA is traditionally made of rice and urad dal OR any lentil, a combination of protein and carbohydrates. The variety of Dosa you get nowadays is to awe of... so much variety. We can write an entire blog just on the variety of Dosa we get.

Dosa is a Savory style Indian form of pancake. Though similar yet not so similar. It serves as a morning breakfast too, can be eaten for lunch meal too and anytime you crave for it.

Traditionally the proportion of Dosa batter is 3 parts rice to 1 part urad dal. I make it too more often, but I put on my experimenting gears and tried out this variation. This recipe is an exception by increasing the protein content through introduction of a variety of lentils / dals from the recipe I had posted earlier Panchratna dal mix and reducing the carb content by using Brown rice thus making it more Healthy, diabetic friendly and Optimal Low GI diet.

This recipe is Diabetic Friendly, Gluten Free, A One Pot Recipe, Kids love it too and it makes a great Tiffin recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Panchratna dal mix - 1 cup

quinoa - 1 cup

brown rice - 1 cup

urad dal skinless - 1 cup

water as required

methi / fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp

salt

ginger garlic green chilli paste - 1 tbsp ( optional )

ghee OR oil

mixer / grinder

Nonstick pan OR Seasoned Iron griddle

PROCEDURE

For making Dosa you need some pre-preparation like soaking, grinding, fermenting and cooking.

Step 1 : SOAKING PROCESS

Assemble all the dry ingredients together in the said proportion. Wash them thoroughly under running water few times and soak them together in sufficient water in a deep bowl / container. More water does no harm. You can discard the excess later OR use the same if needed during grinding.

I usually soak this mix in the morning. SAY MONDAY MORNING.

Step 2 : GRINDING PROCESS

I usually grind the batter in the evening. SAY MONDAY EVENING.

Drain out excess water in a container and keep aside. With a ladle take the soaked dosa mix into a mixer grinder jar with very little water as possible. Add as required in small proportions. Grind into a fine paste. It should feel grainy and smooth. Add methi / fenugreek seeds to the batter container and let it ferment overnight in a warm dry place OR on your kitchen counter.

Step 3 : FERMENTATION PROCESS

KEEP IT OVERNIGHT AND THE NEXT DAY.

SAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT TILL TUESDAY EVENING with the oven light ON.

THE BATTER WILL BE PERFECTLY FERMENTED AND READY TO USE ON TUESDAY EVENING.

WHY TO FERMENT THE BATTER ?

Here we are using lentils/pulses where protein content is high, according to Ayurveda the lentils needs to be cooked properly or fermented according to the need of the recipe. This also makes the protein in the lentils break up easily and eases digestion. Fermented foods feels light to cook and light to the stomach too, thus this process of fermentation is essential.

- We soak, boil and then cook lentils right so for dosa' s and idli's fermentation is required as it has urad dal which is heavy to digest usually.

- Also fermentation adds to the probiotic nature in any recipe which is also aids in digestion.

HOW TO FERMENT BATTER ? THE FAIL PROOF METHOD.

I stay in a cold climate so I place the batter inside the oven with the oven light ON to ferment the batter. The oven light itself is sufficient to provide the required warmth for fermentation. It's a fail proof trick for colder climate fermentation process OR even if you want to ferment the batter quickly then you can use this trick.

HOW TO PREVENT OVERFLOWING OF THE BATTER ?

Use a container deep enough so that the batter does not overflow during rise to avoid spillage and cleanup. I prefer twice deep container's than the batter itself after being finely ground.

Also do keep a check at intervals to see the rise. If you feel the batter has risen then prefer shifting the batter to the refrigerator to avoid over fermentation. A little rise in the batter too makes prefect Dosa, no need of over fermenting it. The fermentation process will slow down in the refrigerator.

Sometimes over fermentation leads to a pungent smell, so keep a close check.

If you stick to the above HOW TO's you get a fail proof perfectly fermented batter every time.

STORING AND FREEZING OPTION
You can very well refrigerate the dosa batter for 3-4 days and use accordingly after the fermentation process of STEP 3.

If you are making excess batter like me, you can easily freeze the remaining batter in the freezer safe container. It stays for months if stored properly.

You can take out the container overnight and refrigerate it OR defrost it OR leave it on the counter to come to room temperature as per the time of use.

Step 4 : COOKING PROCESS
On Tuesday evening the batter is perfectly fermented and ready to make thin and crispy Dosa's.

Heat a Non stick griddle. It should feel hot over the hands when it is heated properly. Do the hand test.

Now Temper the Nonstick griddle, drizzle of some oil and wipe the oil with a tissue all over the pan. Splatter some water over the griddle. It will sizzle and disappear. Your griddle is ready to make thin crispy Paper-Like Dosa.

Fill a ladle with the batter and pour it over the griddle. Flatten it into thin rounds to make Dosa.

Let all the batter dry on the surface side, you will know when you see holes all over the top.

Drizzle some Ghee OR oil. I prefer Ghee as it makes the Dosa crispier than oil.

Flip on the other side. Let it cook for some time.

Your Dosa is ready. Now you are ready to serve warm and crisp Dosa.

FINAL PLATING

Dosa's are usually accompanied with Coconut chutney , Podi / Dry spiced lentil mix with oil, Sambhar, Rasam, Dry potato onion Sabji called the Masala OR any other vegetable of your choice.