Murungakeerai Adai / Lentil Moringa Pancakes | Idli Dosa Recipes

Back home in India we had a drumstick tree in our backyard. Well, pretty much every tree in there, Mango, lime, coconut, jamun yielding a bounty of organic produce. We also had curry leaves, tulsi, hibiscus plants. The memory of eating drumstick leaves was almost forgotten, until I spotted this little pack of drumstick leaves in my Indian produce shopping last time. I picked up one thinking of making these adais which DH hearts and is a part of MIL's recipe book to him. I tweaked the recipe a little and arrived at this tasty dosa variety.

Ingredients:
Measurements in rice cooker cup - 160 ml; Makes 16 adais
Idli Rice - 3 cups
Toor dhal - 1 cup
Chana dhal - 1/4 cup
Murunga keerai / Drumstick leaves / Moringa - 1 cup - loosely packed
Dry Red chillies - 10 (see notes below)
Black Peppercorns - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1-1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup - loosely packed
Salt - to taste

Method:
Wash and soak the rice and dhals together in plenty of water for 4 hours. Soak the dry red chillies in a separate bowl filled with water. Clean the murunga keerai, reserve only the leaves and discard the stems and twigs. Wash to remove any dirt. In the wet grinder, add one cup of the soaked rice-dhal mixture with chillies, peppercorns, cumin, asafoetida and coconut. Grind well, and add the rest of rice after 2 minutes. Grind coarsely into a rava like texture. Remove from the grinder and mix the salt and drumstick leaves. Heat a dosa tawa and pour about 1/2 cup of the batter and make dosas. Spray some oil and flip when the edges turn red. Cook for another minute and half and remove. Serve hot.
Linking this to Taste of the Tropics - Chilis.

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Soraikai Dosai / Bottlegourd Dosa | Idly Dosa Recipes

I could not decide what to make for our Serve It - Griddled event until now. Adai, Romali Roti and paratha were under consideration but it was this Suraikai dosa which made it at the end. This is a simple to make easy breakfast/dinner dish. The batter can be prepared and reserved in the fridge and used for upto one week. Just a boon for those time-crunched-whats-for-dinner days.

Ingredients:
Raw rice - 1 cup
Parboiled rice - 1 cup
Bottle gourd - 1 medium sized
Red chillies - 5
Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
Onion - chopped fine - 1/2 cup
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste

Method:
Soak the rice together for 4-6 hours. In a wet grinder grind all the ingredients (except onion and mint) to a smooth consistency adding water. This batter can be reserved in the fridge until ready to use. Take required amount of this batter and mix water to make a pouring consistency. Add chopped onion and mint leaves with salt. Heat a griddle/dosa pan and pour ladleful of this batter from outside to inside. If using a flat griddle, swirl the griddle to have the batter fill the spaces. Spray some oil and cook well. When the edges start to crisp, flip over and allow it to cook for few more minutes. Remove and serve hot with any type of chutney or just Idli podi. I served with Raw onion chilli chutney (recipe follows soon).

Sending this healthy dosa to Serve It - Griddled event hosted by me and Denny and to Anu's South Indian Cooking #1.

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Adai / Lentil Rice Pancakes | Idli Dosa Recipes

Adai is a favorite dosa item both at my and my hubby's place. Dad really loves adais and he gets all excited when he hears "Adai for dinner". Adai with moringa leaves is a classic way of preparing it. Here in most parts of the US we do not get moringa leaves (murunga keerai). But that does not stop me from making these tasty and protein packed dish.

Ingredients:
Soaking time - 4 hrs
Preparation time - 20 mins
Idli Rice / Parboiled Rice- 1 1/2 cups
Toor dhal - 1/2 cup
Chana dhal - 1/2 cup
Moong dhal - 1/2 cup
Quinoa - 1/2 cup (optional)
Dry Red Chillies - 8
Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - about 10
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp or to taste

Method:
Wash and soak the rice, dhals and quinoa together for 4 to 6 hrs. Soak the dry red chillies in little water for 30 mins, this ensures smooth grinding of the chillies. In a wet grinder or mixer grinder (blender), grind the rice-dhal-quinoa mixture with red chillies and pepper corns until not so fine. This batter should be slightly coarser than the idli batter. When it is almost done add the cumin seeds, torn curry leaves and salt and give a pulse. The consistency of the batter should be slightly thinner than idli batter. Heat a dosa tawa/flat griddle and pour about 1/2 cup of batter and use the back of the spoon to spread the batter into thin pancakes in a circular motion. Spray some oil and allow to cook until you see light brown shade at the bottom. Flip and cook for another 2 mins. Flip again and fold in half. Serve hot topped with a pat of butter and coconut chutney.
Note: Adding quinoa is purely optional. Traditional adai does not have quinoa. I am trying to sneak in quinoa in soups, salads and dosas as much as possible because of its protein content. The fat in quinoa makes this adai soft and requires less/no oil to cook and also makes it extra crispy. Next time I would substitute half of the rice with quinoa.

Sending these Scrumptious Adais to Nayna's Flavors of South India and Radhika - Let's Cook - Scrumptious Breakfasts.

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Masala Dosa / Masal Dosai / Fermented Rice crepes with Potato filling | Idli Dosa Recipes

Masala Dosa. The name itself would make many of our salivary glands work more. This is one famous and common dish in South India. Dosas filled with savory potato misture, which is favorite among any dosa and potato lover. Still remember the holidays when grandma prepares the masal dosas with lots of love and care and we cousins sit in a circle and wait for our turns for dosa.

Ingredients:
Dosa batter - 4 cups
For the Masala:
Potatoes - 3 medium
Onions - Thinly sliced - 1 cup - Can add more if desired
Green chillies - 3 or 4 - Slit lengthwise and cut into half
Curry leaves - a few
Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
Garlic paste - 3/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Besan/Gram flour/Chickpea flour - 1 heaped tbsp
Water - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dhal - 1/4 tsp

 

Method:
Cut the potatoes in half and boil them with 1 tsp of salt. I pressure cooked these for 3 whistles. When done, peel and cube them. Heat oil in a pan and let the mustard seeds splutter. Add urad dhal, curry leaves and green chillies. Mix well, add the chopped onions and saute until soft and translucent. Add the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder and the cubed potatoes. Mix well. Add the besan to water and mix until there are no lumps. Add this mixture to the potatoes and add 1/2 cup of water and salt to taste. Mix well and allow it to boil until the raw smell of the besan disappears and the mixture thickens. When the masala is in semi solid state, remove from heat. Allow it to sit for about 5 minutes.
Heat a dosa griddle. Take a ladle full of dosa batter (approx 1/3 cup) and drop in the griddle. Using the ladle, spread the batter in circular motion to make thin dosas. Spray some oil if desired. Allow it to cook. When all the batter on the top is steamed (you should not see any raw batter), use a spatula and flip. After 20 secs, flip back. Take about 2 to 3 tbsp of the masal mixture and spread as a line in the center of the dosa. Now fold the dosa in a 3 fold pattern or a roll. Remove carefully using a spatula to the plate. Serve hot with any favorite chutney. Coconut chutney is a great combo in general.

Sending this to Show me your Dosa event by Divya and LGSS-Potato event by Vatsala.

Also sending this to Signature recipes event by Saras.

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Carrot Wheat Dosa | Idli Dosa Recipes

We love wheat in any form in our family. I often make this version of carrot wheat dosa for dinner. This goes well with coconut chutney.

Ingredients:
Serves - 2-3
Wheat flour - 2 cups
Water - 5-6 cups
Salt - to taste

Saute and add:
Onion - chopped - 1 cup
Carrot - Grated - 1 cup
Dried Red chillies - 6 - broken
Curry leaves - a few
Cliantro / Coriander leaves - 5 twigs, chopped
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt -  to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Mix the wheat flour and the salt and add water to make a thin batter without lumps.
Heat oil in a kadai, add cumin seeds. When it crackles (Take care not to burn it) add the red chillies, curry leaves and saute for 10 secs. Now add onion and a big pinch of salt and saute until they turn translucent. Mix in the grated carrot and saute for 2 mins. Turn the heat off and add the cilantro. Transfer the carrot-onion mixture to the wheat batter and mix well. Check for salt and add if required.
Heat a tawa/pan. Pour a ladle-full of batter to the tawa and swirl the ladle to make flat and round dosas. Drizzle/spray some oil to the dosa and allow it to cook in medium-high flame for 2 to 3 minutes. When it becomes slightly crispy, flip over and cook for another minute. The thinner the dosa batter, the thinner and crispier the dosa. If you are not a big fan of crisp dosa, pour the slightly thicker batter to the tawa like pancake. Cook in medium flame for 4 to 5 minutes and then flip over to cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Server hot with spicy coconut chutney.

I am sending this to 'Wholewheat in Breakfast' event by Sanjeeta of Litebite. 

 

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Ragi dosa | Idli Dosa Recipes

Ragi or Finger millet is a healthy whole grain. This dosa can be prepared when you want to try something new but also quick and easy. If you have very little dosa batter and wouldn't be able to make a meal for a family this is a good option to use it up.

Ingredients:

Yields - 10-12 dosas
Soaking time - 15 mins.
Preparation time - 15 mins
Ragi flour - 2 cups
Rice flour - 1 cup
Idli/dosa batter - 1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Onion - 1/2 of a big onion chopped and sauted in 1 tsp of oil for 5 mins
Oil for dosas
To grind:
Fennel seeds/Saunf/Sombu - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 2-3 cloves
Green chilli (small) - 3 nos
Method:
Mix the ragi flour and rice flour with 2 and 1/2 cups of water and set aside for 15 - 30 mins. Make a fine paste of the ingredients under to grind.
Now add the onions, salt, ground paste and the dosa batter to the ragi batter.
Heat a tawa and make ragi dosas as we would for regular dosas. Can be thin as a dosa or bit thick like oothappams. Drizzle oil and flip the dosa after a minute. Try to flip the dosa before the top starts to dry out. Goes well with coconut chutney.

Sending my Ragi Dosa to CWF - Ragi and Healing Foods - Whole grains event.

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