Paper Plain Dosa

This post has been looooooong due!!! I have been postponing it for over a year now. A whole lot of people have been mailing and asking me for the traditional dosa recipe. Well, in the "traditional" method there wasn't much of a difference between dosa and idli batter. The only 2 ingredients used were urad Dal and rice. While dal and rice were added in the proportion 1:2 for idli, 1:3 was the proportion for dosas. Since they are so similar, I remember my grand mom making one common batter for both dosas and idlis.

Back then, dosas weren't made crisp and "paper" like... they were thick and soft. However, things have changed in the last few years. Everyone likes the crisp,thin, golden brown, "hotel-like" dosas these days. Ingredients have changed accordingly, as well!!! My mother used to make one of the best dosas in our neighborhood. One of my friends was over at our place for breakfast one day, and Amma had made dosas for us. The very next day, we get a call from my friend's mother asking for my mother's recipe!! :D That's how good her dosas were. Though my dosas haven't gotten to that level, mine come out pretty well too. Thanx to my mom's recipe.... I barely go wrong!!

Ingredients:

1 cup Urad Dal

3- 3 & 1/4 cups Rice

1/4 cup Chana Dal

2-3 tbsp Methi Seeds

2-3 tbsp Poha, thick

1 tsp Ghee/Butter/Oil for each dosa

Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Soak the dal, rice, methi seeds and poha with enough water for at least 4-6 hours or overnight.
2. Grind the soaked ingredients with enough water to a very smooth paste; But keep in mind not to add too much water and make the batter running.
3. Allow batter to ferment in a warm place for about 8-10 hours; Make sure the container has enough room for the batter to rise.
4. Add salt to the fermented batter and mix well.
5. Place a non stick griddle on medium heat; Once hot, pour a ladle full of batter at the center; With the back of the ladle, spread the batter thinly; Start from the center and work outwards, in a fast circular motion; Note: Spread the batter as soon as you pour it on the griddle; The batter will start getting cooked other wise and stick to the ladle, if you try spreading it after a while.
6. Pour few drops of ghee/oil all over the dosa and also at the edges; Let cook on medium heat until it turns golden brown in color.
7. Remove from griddle and serve immediately with coconut chutney, sambhar, kurma, saagu or any other side dish of your choice.

Prep Time: About 15-20 mins for grinding and 2-3 mins for cooking each dosa;

Makes: about 10-12 dosas;

Tips:

• Keeping the batter as thick as possible, would make your dosas very crisp; So, add water according to the crispness you require.
• Keep in mind not to add ay extra methi; If the quantity of methi is too much, the dosa becomes bitter and it even ends up sticking to the griddle while cooking.
• If you want the dosa to remain crisp, cook only on one side. Cooking on both sides would make it a little soft.
• Covering the dosa with a lid while it cooks makes it soft; So avoid doing so, if you want crisp dosas.
• For the batter to be well fermented, you might want to keep it in a warm place like - inside a MW oven or even the conventional oven, overnight.

Punarpuli Saaru/ Kokum Rasam

I was at the local Indian store couple of weeks back, doing my weekly groceries. I picked up a pack of SWAD toor dal from there; When I was emptying the dal into a container at home, I realized that it smelled bad.... like something bitter. "Old stock, maybe" I thought and ignored it.... noting in my mind to wash the dal one extra time before using it. I made  sambhar out of the same dal the next day- I washed it a couple of times extra, just like I had noted. I served myself some rice and sambhar for lunch, and I couldn't believe how it had turned out!!! It was bitter, and it smelled bad.... It tasted nothing like sambhar!!! I tried SWAD toor dal from a lot of places after that, but they all tasted bad. I was wondering if any of you have had similar experiences with toor dal from your local grocery stores?!?!?!!!!

Anyway.... ever since the "smelly dal" episode, I have been looking for dal-less recipes. Here is one such recipe- "Kokum Rasam". Kokum, known as punarpuli in Kannada, has many medicinal values. Read more about Kokum here. Punarpuli rasam is a traditional mangalorean recipe. Its fast, easy to make and healthy too!!! Here is the recipe....

 

Ingredients:

7-8 Kokum, Wet/Dry

1 tsp Jaggery

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera

3-4 Dry red chilies, low to medium spiced

4-5 Curry Leaves

1-2 Garlic flakes (optional)

1-2 tsp Ghee/Oil

A generous pinch of Hing

Salt as per taste

 

Method:

1. Add enough water to the kokum and boil well, for about 7-10 mins; If you are using dry kokum, soak it in water for about 30-40 mins before boiling.
2. Add salt, jaggery and boil further for a couple of more minutes; Adjust ingredients according to taste; Add extra water if the rasam turns out too strong and tangy.
3. Heat ghee in a pan and temper with mustard seeds, jeera, curry leaves, garlic, hing and red chilies; Serve hot with steamed rice and enjoy!

Tip: This rasam could also be had as is, like a soup!