Healthy dosa batter with brown rice and quinoa

Dosa is a south Indian delicacy. It is a staple food in almost all the south Indian households and it is the first thing I usually order when I go to any south Indian restaurant back home. I love dunking crispy dosas in delicious sambar and the variety of chutneys that comes along with the dosa. Dosas are crispy thin crepes made traditionally with fermented rice and urad dal (black gram) and are usually served with sides like chuntey and sambar. Dosas have become so famous these days, that you can find them in most of the Indian restaurants internationally and in different avatars. 🙂 I have tried to make the traditional dosa batter healthier by including quinoa and brown rice in it. Quinoa is a good source of protein, combined with brown rice and urad dal makes this batter delicious and healthy. This batter can also be used to make idlis. I got super soft fluffy idlis with this batter 🙂

Ingredients:

For the batter:

• 1 cup urad dal
• 1 cup thick poha (flattened rice)
• 2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 tbsp methi/fenugreek seeds
• water and salt as required

Method:

quinoa-brown rice batter:

Soak all the ingredients  in water overnight or for a minimum of 6-7 hours. (We will add salt after the batter has been ground)

First grind the urad dal and fenugreek seeds until nice and fluffy. You need to add water little by little while grinding, until the batter is fluffy and airy. This is the key to getting soft idlis.

When done, transfer this batter to a large container.

Now grind the rest of the ingredients with water into a smooth batter. Rice amd quinoa gets ground faster than the urad dal. This batter doesn not ahve to be fluffy. You can add water as needed to get a smooth batter.

When done, add this batter to the urad dal abtter and mix both well.

Add about 2 tsp of salt and mix the batter well (preferably with your hands)

Let the batter ferment covered in a warm place overnight or for a minimum of 12 hours.

You will know that the batter has fermented  the batter bubbles and has increased in size. When the batter has fermented mix the batter well and refrigerate it.

Making idlis:

To make idlis, take a ladle of the fermented batter. Try not to over mix when you open the batter. The  air bubbles will be lost and you might not get soft idlis.

Add the batter to idli moulds and steam them in your pressure cooker or instant pot for 10 to 12 minutes.

When done, let it rest for few minutes, sprinkle some cold water on top of them and remove. Serve with hot sambar and chutney.

Making dosas:

Use a flat non stick or iron pan/tawa to make dosas. Heat the pan and sprinkle some water on it. It should steam immediately. Now grease the surface with little oil and wipe off the excess with a paper towel.

Now take some fermented batter in a bowl and add little water to it if the batter is too thick. The batter should not be too runny or thick. ( In the pic below I have added some water to dilute the batter which you can see the right side of the collage)

Take a ladle full of batter and pour it on the tawa.

Spread the batter to make a circle like you do for a crepe.

Add some oil to the corners of the dosa and let it get cooked in a medium flame. (To get crispy dosas cook them in a low flame for a long time)

When the dosa starts turning brown, flip it on to the other side and cook for a minute.

Fold the dosa and serve hot with sambar and chutney.

Note:

You can add 1/2 cup oats in the batter and reduce the poha by that amount.