Recipe: India's Millet Dosa, a rainy season comfort food
MANILA, Philippines — Millet Dosa, also known as Kambu Dosal in South India, are delicious thin crepes made with Pear Millet.
These tiny millets are known as Bajra in Hindi, Kambu in Tamil and Sajjalu in Telugu.
Millet Dosas are made with whole grains and are healthy, good in taste and texture. This recipe uses whole bajra, urad dal and rice in equal quantities. You can replace rice with bajra but too much of millet consumption and avoiding rice totally is also not good. So these Dosas have a balanced nutrition of protein, carbs minerals and iron. These are good for all age groups including toddlers.
At the Ayurveda Home Cooking Workshop in Makati Garden Club last Saturday, here is the recipe shared on how to prepare India's Millet Dosa:
INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup pearl millets (bajra or substitute with 3/4 cup bajra flour)
- ½ cup urad dal
- ½ cup rice (idly rice)
- 3 to 4 tsp oil as needed
- ½ tsp salt (adjust to taste)
- water as needed
PROCEDURE:
1. Add rice and millets/ bajra to a large pot and wash them well at least thrice.
2. Add water and soak them for at least four hours.
3. Add urad dal to another pot. Wash it well and soak for 4 hours.
4. Drain the water from both the pots.
5. Add dal to a blender jar along with just enough water to blend.
6. Blend it till smooth and frothy. Transfer it to a large bowl.
7. Add rice and bajra to the same jar along with little water. Blend it well until smooth.
8. Mix together the batter. Cover the bowl.
9. Ferment it in a warm place for seven to eight hours or as needed. After fermentation the batter rises well and turns light.
10. Add salt and mix well.
11. Add little water and mix well to bring it to a consistency. The consistency must be neither too thick nor too thin (runny). It must be of spreading consistency.
12. Heat a Dosa Tawa/ griddle and grease it with oil.
13. When it is hot enough, pour 1 laddle of batter to the center of the Tawa. Begin to spread from the center and make a thick or thin Dosa as per your preference.
14. Drizzle some oil around the edges. Cook until the edges leave the pan.
15. Flip and cook on the other side. Flip back and cook until crisp.
16. Serve Millet Dosa hot with any chutney.
RELATED: How to cook Dosa: India Ambassador Hon. Shambhu S. Kumaran gives demonstration
