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Showing posts with label dosas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dosas. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Idlis, dosas & paniyarams.

I had been wanting since many years to buy the wet grinder. I had heard that dosas & especially idlis turn out to have melt in mouth consistency when batter is churned out in the wet grinder.

My sister in law ( my hubby's brother's wife )  gifted me the wet grinder. And I was elated ! I was given instructions on how to use it the first time .And I was hooked !


I have been grinding batter in the wet grinder & let me tell you, its simply amazing ! The dosas, idlis, & paniyarams turn out superbly. I do get tired to wash the wet grinder after all the grinding. And yet , the efforts are worth the softest idlis, dosas & gundpangalu ( Kannada for paniyrams )   !


I googled & followed the ingredients for wet grinding from Prema's blog.

I sometimes use 1-2 tsp methi seeds.I have used 1 tbsp methi seeds as well.More methi seeds has the effect of increasing fermentation. Hence, batter may turn out to be more sour. To avoid this, add just 1-2 tsp methi seeds.Different recipes use varying amounts of methi seeds.


For dosas, idlis & paniyarams, I use the same proportion of ingredients. For dosas, the batter can be more watery than idli batter. For idlis & paniyarams, the batter must have drop down consitency, not watery.

Ingredients : 1 cup urad dal, 1-2 tsp methi ( fenugreek )  seeds, 2 cups boiled rice, 2 cups normal rice ( any rice that you use to cook rice daily ) , 1/4-1/3 cup poha, salt to taste.


Method : Soak boiled rice first after washing it for 3 times .Boiled rice will grind finely only when it is soaked for more than 3-4 hours.Keep aside.

Urad dal & methi seeds are soaked together after washing. These are soaked for 3-4 hours. Keep aside. Normal rice is washed & soaked for 3-4  hours.Keep aside.

Poha can be washed & soaked just half an hour before grinding.

After 3-4 hours of soaking urad dal -methi mix, grind the mix in wet grinder for more than half an hour. Take breaks of 2-3 minutes after every 10 minutes. Add water, if it is very thick.Slowly, the batter will start fluffing up & get very light. That is the time to stop grinding.Pour the batter into a deep vessel.This can be done by titling the wet grinder vessel ( if the wet grinder vessel tilts by button push ) or by using a ladle to scoop out the batter.

Next, take both the varieties of soaked rice & put in the wet grinder vessel.The urad dal batter remaining in wet grinder vessel is hardly an issue as finally , both urad dal & rice batter must mix to get fermented.

Add water to vessel & start grinding. Wash poha & add washed poha to batter while a break is taken from grinding. Add more water if batter is too thick.Grind finely. The batter must not be grainy or particulate in consistency. This grinding will take 45 minutes to one hour.

Add this rice poha batter to urad dal methi batter. Mix nicely with ladle or with hands. The warmth of the hands will ferment the batter better.

Keep batter aside for night. Before retiring to bed, keep batter  in refrigerator.Next morning or whenever idlis or dosas or paniyrams are scheduled as breakfast, take out the batter & make them.Add salt to taste before making them.

Idlis : Grease the idli moulds in the idli stand & pour ladlefuls of batter into each mould. Put water in the idli cooker or the pressure cooker.Keep  the idli stand into the cooker with water around the idli stand.Close the lid. Let it steam for 8-10 minutes on high flame. Put off gas. Remove lid after 4-5 minutes. Remove idli stand.Let it cool for 4-5 minutes. Remove idlis from moulds. Serve hot with chutni and or sambar or chutni powder plus til oil.

   My mom sometimes uses  dhokla plates for making idlis. And they look like plump white dosasor even plate idlis. My mom gets very nostalgic about plate idlis as my mom's mom ( my nani or granny ) used to make idlis in plates !



Dosas : Start heating tawa on gas stove. Grease the tawa. Pour out a ladle full of batter & spread it on tawa in circular manner. Cover with lid. After 2-3  minutes, take out lid.If the dosa has started rising from the outer sides, it is ready to be flipped up.Spread alittle oil of the dosa & flip it over.Cook for 2-3 minutes .Remove the dosa from the tawa, Serve with chutni, sambar or chutni powder.


If masala dosa is needed, before flipping dosa, spread little  potato onion sabzi or bhaji in the middle of the dosa. Cover the sabzi with the two sides of dosa. And if possible flip it lightly. even if sabzi falls outside, please don't worry.It can be put inside. After 1-2 minutes of cooking, remove masala dosa on to a plate. Serve with chutni, sambar, chutni powder-til oil or just like that.


Paniyarams : Please go to the blog post on paniyarams or appams or gundpangalu.


I soak boiled rice in morning by 9. I soak urad dal & normal rice by 11.I start grinding by 2-3.By 10-11 in night before I retire to bed, I refrigerate the batter. This is for summers.

During winters, batter can be left outside over nite.

Some soak chana dal ( 1/4 cup )to urad dal ( for dosa batter )  if 1 cup urad dal has been used .This enhances golden yellow colour in dosas.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Onion chutni

I had seen a red coloured chutni many times in some restaurants as an accompaniment with idlis & dosa.I learnt that it was onion chutni.I goggled it & found this recipe of onion chutni

I made the same chutni with ordinary onions not Madras onions or vengayam as I do not buy vengayam regularly.

Ingredients : 4 medium onions cleaned & roughly chopped,6-8 byadgi red chillies broken up into pieces,, 2 tbsp oil,1/8 tsp methi seeds1/2 tsp urad dal,1 lemon sized ball of tamarind,1 tsp mustard seeds,a few curry leaves,a pinch of hing ,salt to taste

Method : Take 1 tbsp oil in a kadhai & put on the gas.Put the byadgi chillies & as soon as they turn dark red,remove the chillies from kadhai & keep aside.Add chopped onions. Saute the onions   till they become pink.Put off gas.Add the tamarind & mix it with the sauteed onions in the kadhai for 1 minute.Take the sauteed onions,tamarind mix & byadgi mirchis into the mixer & grind them into paste.Add salt & mix nicely.Keep aside.

For seasoning ,take 1 tbsp oil & heat it.Add mustard seeds.After they pop up,add urad dal.As soon as they turn golden ,add  methi seeds..After they pop up,add curry leaves.Put off gas.Add hing .After this ,add this seasoning to the onion chutni.



This chutni is especially useful when one runs out of fresh coconut .Moreover it is quite tasty & especially so for idlis & dosas.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Raagi dosa

Raagi or nachni or finger millet.

Raagi or nachni or finger millet is an excellent source of calcium....

Ingredients : 1 Cup leftover  idli or dosa batter , 1 cup ragi atta ( nachni atta ),1/2 cup dahi or chaas or buttermilk,,1/2 inch grated ginger,2 tbsp oil,salt to taste.



Method : Mix raagi atta with dosa batter .Add dahi or chaas to make it into a paste.The result should be like dosa batter consistency.Keep aside for half an hour to 1 hr.

Add salt to taste & grated ginger & mix.Take a ladle full of dosa batter mixture & spread it on the tawa.Cover with a lid.Turn on the gas to high & cook for a minute.Remove the lid & if the sides of the dosa have seperated from the tawa ,spread a tsp of oil on the dosa & turn it upside down.Now cook the dosa for a minute.Remove it from the tawa & serve with chutney or sambar or chutni powder with til oil.

Similarly make more dosas.

If the dosa batter is thinner in consistency ,just drop it on the tawa. Just rotate the tawa .And the batter will spread itself on tawa.Do not try to spread it.Follow same steps thereafter.


Monday, December 7, 2009

Raagi dosas

I had this leftover dosa atta ( it was more than 10 days old ).It was nearly one cup.I added 2 cups ragi atta ( nachni in Marathi) to this dosa Atta.By mistake I added more water.The consistency was watery -unlike dosa atta.
Then I added  grated ginger , jeera & also salt ( to taste).Then I poured two three ladles of the atta on the non-stick tawa.I did not spread it as the consistency was watery.I got the most fluffy dosas -full of calcium !

Ingredients-1 Cup leftover dosa atta,2 cups ragi atta,add water to get dosa consistency,add 1/2 inch ginger grated ,1 teaspoon jeera& salt to taste.Remember that there is already salt in the leftover dosa atta.
Method : Now heat a non-stick tawa & spread a ladle of the atta on the tawa.If it is watery,don't spread the atta.Just put blobs of atta near to each other so that they flow & join each other.After the side is cooked, apply a little oil on the uncooked side & turn it over.Then after a minute or less,take it off from the tawa.Your raagi dosa is ready to be eaten !

Tip You can also add grated carrots,onions,green chillies,curry leaves & coriander to the atta to make it more healthy.