Millet Dosa

Dosas are a staple in any South Indian home.  One of the most frequent lunches my mom packed for us was either idli or dosa with molaga podi spread on it.  The idlis and dosas would have soaked up all the flavors by lunchtime and would taste delicious.

When I first moved to the U.S., we only had an Oster blender.  The batter for idlis and dosas, did not come out great.  But being the deprived souls we were, we couldn’t complain. 

I now have my trusted Ultra Pride grinder and make batter for idlis or dosas almost every week.  If it is just for my family, I just make one batter that I use for both idlis and dosas.   My traditional dosa batter has rice and urad dal.

My friend, Swati, gave me this recipe for a dosa batter that does not use any rice at all.  It also does not need to be fermented!  This one is a keeper. 

What you need:  

 

• ¾ cup millet (I get it at my natural foods store – bulk foods aisle)
• ½ cup amaranth seeds (it is called Rajgaro in the Indian store)
• ½ cup urad dal
• ½ cup split moong dal with husk
• salt to taste
• oil for making the dosas

 To make the batter:

 

1. Soak all the ingredients together for about 3 – 4 hours.
2. Grind to a fine paste either in your grinder or blender (similar to dosa batter consistency)
3. Add salt and mix well.

That’s it – batter is ready.

You can choose to ferment it or can use the batter right away.  I normally just make it right away, because most of the time I forget to soak the dals etc. the previous day.  The dosas come out really crispy.  

 

Millet Dosa

 

To make the dosas:

1. Pour a ladle full of batter onto the heated tawa and spread it as thin as possible (like dosas)
2. Drizzle oil around the dosa. 
3. Wait for a few minutes – maybe about 2 - 3 minutes and then carefully flip it over.
4. Cook on both sides till the dosa is crispy.
5. Serve hot with sambar, chutney, or molaga podi