Wheat Flour Dosa

I make these instant dosas anytime, day or night, when nothing but dosas will do for a meal. While I love the traditional dosas, making them requires a little bit of planning and preparation. The batter for wheat dosas is ready in less then 5 minutes and does not require any soaking, grinding or fermenting.

Ingredients:

(For 12 -14 paper-thin dosas)

• 2 cups wheat flour
• ½ cup rice flour
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ½ -1 tsp cumin seeds
• A pinch of asafoetida
• 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
• A sprig of curry leaves, chopped
• Salt to taste
• Water, to make a thin and watery batter

Method:

Mix together the ingredients listed above and add enough water to form a thin and smooth batter.

Heat a cast-iron skillet until hot and pour a ladleful of batter onto it. Lift the skillet off the heat and tilt it around so that the batter is distributed evenly over it. Since this is a very thin batter, spreading it using a ladle like you normally would for other dosas  will not work. Add a couple of drops of oil around the edges of the dosa and cook till done. Then flip over and cook the other side.

Serve hot with chutney.

Cucumber Pancakes

I tend to gravitate towards simple recipes with minimal ingredients and minimal steps. So, when I saw these soft and melt-in-your-mouth pancakes on Nupur’s blog, I knew I would be making them soon.
I understand this is a common preparation in many Konkani homes but using cucumber in a dosa was a first for me.

Ingredients:
1 large cucumber, peeled and grated
1 cup rice flour
½ cup rava/semolina/sooji (cream of wheat)
1/2 - 3/4 cup buttermilk
4-5 green chillies, chopped finely
A handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
2-3 tsp sesame seeds
Oil

Method:
Peel and grate the cucumber into a large bowl. Throw in the rest of the ingredients (except the sesame seeds) listed above, and mix well to prepare a relatively thick batter. A little bit of water may be used to bring the batter together.

Grease a hot skillet with oil; pour a ladleful or two of the batter. Tilt and move the skillet around a bit so that the batter spreads out a little and then use the back of the ladle to do the rest. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the pancake.

Cook on medium heat until the bottom is cooked and turns brown. Flip over and cook the other side similarly. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Serve hot with your favorite chutney. I think this batter gave me around 7-8 pancakes.

Tomato Dosa

I first saw these dosas on Laavanya's blog over a year ago, and what I liked most about the recipe was the fact that the batter was really easy to prepare and did not involve fermentation. I have since been making it very frequently.
These dosas make for a perfect breakfast/brunch over the weekend when you don't feel like doing much, or for that matter, on a busy weeknight when you just can’t!

For Laavanya's recipe, head over to Cookery Corner.

Here's what I did.
Ingredients:
1 cup raw rice, soaked for at least an hour
3 large tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 red chillies
A few curry leaves
2 Tbsp grated coconut
1 Tbsp tomato paste
Salt to taste

Method:
Grind everything together, adding water as you go along, to get the right consistency for the batter.
Go ahead and make those dosas now! Everyone knows how to make dosas, right? I have a thing for thin and crispy dosas, so that's how I made mine.

Here are some other dosas I make very often-
Adai
Cornmeal dosa
Jaggery dosa
Plain dosa (instant)

Cornmeal Dosa

Here’s a recipe for a dosa that does not require any soaking, grinding or fermenting. This instant dosa makes an occasional appearance at my place during weekends. I also add different vegetables depending on what I have on hand, to make it more substantial.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups cornmeal
½ cup rice flour
¾ -1 tsp red chilli flakes
½ - 1 tsp cumin seeds
½ onion, finely chopped
5-6 baby carrots, finely chopped
A handful of cilantro/coriander leaves, chopped
¼ - ½ cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp desiccated coconut
Salt to taste
Oil for making the dosas


Method:
Mix the ingredients together in sufficient water to prepare a batter that is neither too thick nor too watery. (A consistency that is slightly thicker than that of buttermilk would be perfect.)
Set the batter aside for about 20 minutes.

Heat a cast-iron skillet/griddle until hot and smear it with a little bit of oil.
Pour a ladleful of batter onto the skillet. Lift the skillet off the heat and tilt it around so that the batter distributes evenly. (Spreading the batter into a circle using the back of the ladle doesn’t work well here.) Add a couple of drops of oil around the edges of the dosa, turn down the heat a bit and cover and cook till done. Then flip over and cook the other side.

Serve hot with your favorite chutney.

We had it with some onion chutney and chutney podwer.

Other dosas on this blog-
Plain dosa
Jaggery dosa