The Dosa Trail

Five batters... saved dosas

Chickpeas and millets dosa

Crispy, protein + millet combo, fermented.

Ingredients: 2 cups little millets + 1 cup chana (kondakadalai), wash and soak 6-8 hours, salt.

Method: 1) Drain, grind to smooth batter. 2) Ferment overnight, add salt after fermentation. 3) Dilute if needed, make crispy dosas on hot tawa.

Ingredients: 1/2 cup idli rice, 1/2 cup raw rice (dosa akki), 1/2 cup udad dal, 3 tbsp sabudana, 3 tbsp chana dal, 1/2 tsp methi seeds, 1/4 cup poha, salt, ghee, red chutney + potato masala.

Method: 1) Wash & soak all together 6 hrs (thin poha soak 30 min separate). Grind to smooth thick batter, ferment overnight till risen, add salt. 2) Heat iron tava with curved rim, pour batter all over till outer rim, center should have good batter. 3) Cover & cook low, open, ghee liberally, cook one side only. Smear red chutney, add masala, fold.

Khaali Dosay (Davangere Special)

Porous, lacy, poured not spread — dry flour method

Ingredients: 6 cups rice flour, 3/4 cup maida, 1 cup udad dal flour, 1 tbsp methi flour, 1 cup avalakki, 1/2 cup rava, 1/4 cup curd, salt, water.

Note: dal-grinding method: 3 cups rice, 1 cup split udad dal, 2 cups kusubalakki, 3/4 cup maida, 1/2 cup rava, 1 cup rice flour, 1 cup avalakki, 1 tbsp menthe. Same result.

Method: 1) Blend all dry flours fine, mix with curd + water to thick lump-free batter, ferment overnight. 2) After ferment, add salt + little water — batter must be thicker than neer dosa but thinner than normal dosa. 3) Pour on hot tava without spreading much, it spreads itself with pores. Flip, ghee, serve with chutney & potato pallya.

Ingredients: 1 cup foxtail millets thinai, 1/4 cup udad dal, 2 tbsp poha, 1/2 tsp methi seeds, salt, oil/ghee.

Method: 1) Wash millets, soak 8-10 hrs. Udad + methi soak 2-3 hrs. Poha wash, soak 10 min. 2) Grind udad+methi to soft foamy, add millets+poha, grind to thick smooth batter, ferment. 3) Make dosas on hot greased tava.

Little Millet Methi Dosa

Ingredients: 2 cups little millets soaked 6-7 hrs / overnight, 2 tbsp udad dal, 1 tbsp methi seeds, salt.

Method: 1) Soak millets separate, dal+methi 2-3 hrs. 2) Grind all to smooth thick batter, ferment. 3) Add salt, dilute to dosa consistency. On hot iron tava (rub onion slice), pour — don't spread too thin. Cover till pores form. Flip if you like. Needs little or no oil.