Tomato Dosa/ Thakkali Dosa

I was intrigued by this reddish dosa that I have been seeing online for some time now.  But I didn't want to experiment till someone told me it was a hot favourite at Hotel Sangeetha in Chennai. I wouldn't call it instant, but definitely one that doesn't require too much of planning since there is no need for overnight fermentation. The dosa has a nice tangy taste . I couldn't make it as thin as the regular dosa,  but despite that they can be made crisp.  Thakkali Dosa is definitely going to be a regular item on the menu for sure. Recipe from Subbu's Kitchen.

Ingredients:

Rice (raw) - 1 cup
Tomatoes - ripe - 4 medium
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp - optional
Chili powder - 1/2 tsp  ( I used Kashmiri Mirch, so added a little more since it isn't spicy)
Salt - to taste
Corriander leaves - few - chopped

Oil for the dosa and for tempering.

Tempering -
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Black gram dal ( urad-split) - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few

Wash and Soak rice for three hours
Drain, and grind with cut tomatoes with a little water to a smooth paste
The batter is not as thick as the regular dosa and not as thin as a rava dosa
Add salt, chili and cumin powder ( I did not add cumin powder )

Take some hot oil, add the mustard, allow it to splutter, add the cumin and then the curry leaves.
This is to be added to the batter.
Add chopped coriander leaves
The batter is now ready

Heat a dosa pan.  Take a ladleful of the batter and spread it over the pan.  Add a little oil.  Wait till it browns and then turn over.

Serve with chutney and pickle. You can even have it plain. 

Surnali

I have not had my fill of Konkani cuisine.  And now that I have renewed contact with aunts and cousins who are wonderful cooks and ever willing to share recipes, I think I can fulfil a few of my cravings :-)

A akka whatsapped the recipe for Surnali.  There are two variations.  One is the god surnali, god in konkani is sweet.  And the other is the Chepi Surnali - Chepi meaning bland.  Only because it is not sweet.  By no means is it tasteless !

Most things in South Kanara will have some bit of coconut in it.  As does Surnali.  This is like an Indian pancake , something like an Uthapam, but with many more holes.  

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 2 cups

Coconut - 1/2 cup

Flattened rice ( Poha) - 1 cup

Methi seeds - 1 tsp

Buttermilk ( or milk with the addition of curd)  - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste.

Soak rice and methi seeds for at least 3-4 hours 

Just before grinding, wash the poha

Grind soaked rice and methi along with coconut, poha, salt to a fine paste.

Add the buttermilk to it.  

Mix and keep overnight for about 8 hours to ferment 

(If you are making the sweet variety, omit the salt, just a pinch is sufficient, add sufficient jaggery for the sweetness as per your taste, and grind. Also a pinch of turmeric.  The addition of jaggery may make the batter thinner. So keep that in mind.  The batter should not be thin or too flowy )

The next day heat a tawai.  Smear a little oil on the surface. 

Put a spoon of batter and let it spread on its own 1/2 cm thickness

Cover with a lid and allow the surface to cook . You will see these little holes that will appear on the surface The dosa is genernally not turned over.  

Have the sweet surnali with a blob of butter.  Th.e bland one can be had with chutney

Note - In case, the batter has not fermented enough, add a bit of cooking soda, whisk it well and use. 

Bellappa Dosa

I saw pictures of the Bellappa dosa online.  It looked spongy and airy. Seemed like a variation of appam - a dosa I have not attempted to make as yet.  I cannot figure out how the dosa got its name. And I suspect addition of toddy would have given the sponginess to the dosa.  However, the recipe that I followed from Nandini Kini's blog uses a little amount of yeast.  Bellappa ideally should be had with something spicy.  But even with any other accompaniment it would taste as good.

Ingredients 
Raw Rice / Dosa Rice -  1 1/2 cups
Urad dal - 1 tbsp
Methi (fenugreek ) seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cooked rice - 1 cup
Dry yeast - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste.

Soak rice, dal, methi for about four hours
Drain, transfer the contents to a blender and add the cooked rice
Grind to a fine paste with a little water.  This is a thickish batter.
Do not add the salt.

Now warm a little water and add the yeast.
You will see it begin to froth in a little while.

Add it to the prepared batter.
Ferment overnight.

The next morning, add salt to taste.
Heat a pan  Smear a little oil on the pan
Pour a ladle full of batter on the pan and lightly spread it out - not too thin like the ordinary dosa.

Cover the bellappa as it cooks on a slow fire.
Let the underside brown
The dosa does not need to be turned over.
When the top is cooked and the underside is browned well remove and serve.

Whole Moong Adai

In the state of Tamil Nadu, you can have a good hearty breakfast of Adai.  And in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh, you can one that is as filling in a Pesarattu - the whole moong or green gram dosa.  If you combine the two as in the recipe that follows, you still get a good hearty meal, which to me felt easy on the tummy as compared to both.  I have christened it the Pesaru-adai.   I found this recipe when I was browsing old posts in The Chef and her Kitchen.   It has been slightly modified.

Raw Rice - 1 measure
Whole moong ( Green gram) - 1/2 measure
Black gram dal (Urad dal) - 1/2 measure
Red chilies - few - to taste
Asafoetida - large pinch
Salt to taste
Onions - finely chopped (optional)
Oil - for making the dosa

Soak rice, moong, urad dal for a few hours
Grind to a fine paste with chilies, salt and hing ( Adai is generally ground to a coarse paste, but we like it this way)
Add onions to the batter.
Heat a pan.
Smear with oil
Spread the dosa batter to make a thin round dosa/crepe
Preferably cover the dosa so that the upper side also gets partially cooked.
Allow the underside to brown.
Flip and keep for a minute or two.
Remove from pan.

Serve hot with chutney, powdered jaggery and ginger pickle

I had some batter left and I put that into the kuzhiappam pan and had that as a snack.

Set Dosa

For years it has been dosa for breakfast on Sunday morning.  And I have been noticing fellow bloggers posting different kinds of dosas and thought it was time to experiment.  At Aayi's Recipes  I found the recipe for Set Dosa.  The usual 'urad dal' is missing from the ingredients and the dosas are nice soft and spongy.

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Fenugreek (Methi) seeds - 1 tsp

Poha - Rice flakes - 3/4 cup

Sour curd - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Soda - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Oil for dosa making

Soak rice and methi seeds for 5 hours or so.

Half hour before grinding the batter - wash the poha, and soak in soghurt

Grind the rice and methi to a smooth batter with salt.

Add the soaked poha and grind again.

Dosa batter should slightly thick

Ferment overnight.  This requires adequate fermentation.  There should be bubbles in the batter.

Add soda and sugar the next day - I think the soda can be avoided if batter is well fermented

Heat a pan. Smear lightly with oil and pour the batter - the batter should not be spread too thin

Cover - the dosa should not be turned over.  

Allow the steam to cook the top side.

Serve with usual accompaniments of chutney, sambar, pickle or podi.