My Dosa Recipe

I am told that I make very crispy light dosas, so here is the secret :)  Probably this is the only thing I make really well! This is great for diabetics/is more nutritious if you use only one portion of rice, and the other two portions are jowar and ragi or any other millet. You can also add a bit of flaxseeds or soya dal in this, very high sources of protein, among other things.

Ingredients

1. Half cup red rice [the one with the husk is great, if not the usual red rice you get in stores]
2. Half cup ragi or any other millet
3. Half cup jowar, or boiled rice, if you don't have it [MK Ahmed has jowar, in the Millets section]
4. Half a cup urad dal
5. A big spoon of methi seeds
6. Some Paper Avalakki (Poha) or Cooked rice (Poha is to make the dosa crisper, rice makes it softer)
7. Soya seeds or Flax seeds (a teaspoonful) - make sure you soak this separately, in a different vessel. Before adding it to the grinder with the rest, wash in fresh water.  These are optional, but are highly nutritious, great protein sources. If you add too much, the dosa becomes very heavy.
8. Alfalfa seeds, half a teaspoon (optional)- this is high in proteins, calcium, and various vitamins.

Procedure

1. Soak rice-millets-jowar and the urad dal, and the methi seeds overnight, in the same vessel.
2. If you are using flax seeds or soya, soak separately.
3. The next day morning, grind in a good grinder, which makes it real smooth. The 2-kilo tabletop grinder is a great investment. It will keep grinding, you can continue with your other work, just occasionally check if it needs water.
4. While grinding, add a few handfuls of poha or cooked rice depending on whether you want it crisp of soft.
5. Now keep the dosa batter for fermenting in a wide-mouthed vessel, leaving some space at the top for the batter to rise - this will take a whole day (8 hours) in winter, and half a day in summer.
6. Cover this vessel with a thin cloth - not with a lid, it needs to breathe.
7. I always keep this batter vessel on top of the fridge stabilizer - so it is at a constant warm temperature and so ferments well :)
8. Once the batter has risen, keep in fridge if you are not making dosas immediately.
9. When making the dosa, add salt and extra water as required. Spread these real thin and add ghee for better taste. You can also add grated carrot or finely chopped palak or other leaves on the dosa while it is cooking, to add variety and nutrition.
10. Serve hot with chutney and/or sambar.

If you still have batter left the next day, you can make crispy soft Paddu with it - it's a hit always!