Every few weekends, I haul out my biggest mixing bowls and drag the jumbo stone grinder to the center of the counter- it is time to do the ritualized measuring, soaking, grinding, washing up, fermenting, all in anticipation of the moment when the kitchen steams up with the aroma of idlis and the sizzle of dosas on the cast iron pan. I enjoy the process very much (and the product even more!) but it requires a certain amount of planning and blocking off time to do the grinding in between weekend chores and baby naps.
When the craving for dosa strikes in the middle of a week, I have been making something distinctly less authentic but just as tasty and satisfying- a quinoa dosa paired with all sorts of interesting non-traditional fillings.
I do soak the ingredients for a few hours and I do ferment the batter for a few hours as well, but the grinding (which seems to be the most time consuming and tiring part for me) is done in only a couple of minutes in a heavy-duty blender.
Quinoa dosa may sound like something with a health halo- a better-for-you but worse-tasting alternative to the original. And I'll admit that when I first made this, I thought I would be compromising on the taste of real proper dosa. With the first taste, I cheered aloud- quinoa dosa is full of flavor, crispy and wonderful. Both of my kids love it. We make a thicker dosa, smear it with ghee and tear it into bits for the baby to eat as a finger food. His big sister likes a crispy version of the dosa, rolled up with some filling inside, with plain yogurt as a dipping sauce.
SOAK: In a big bowl, soak together:
2 measures quinoa (I used tricolor quinoa because that's what I had on hand). By measure, I mean the rice cup measure, which is about 3/4 cup.
1 measure ural dal (I use skinned whole- gota- ural dal)
2 tbsp. chana dal
2 tbsp. raw rice
BLEND: After a few hours, use a heavy duty blender like the Vitamix to make a smooth batter, using water as necessary.
FERMENT: Ferment the batter in a warm spot for a few hours.
COOK: Make dosas on a cast iron skillet.
The traditional potato masala (filling) for dosa is marvelous, and I love riffing on the recipe to make all sorts of variations. One is the kale and butternut squash twist that I've posted before. Pictured above is a version made similarly, with a box of frozen chopped spinach (a pantry staple chez One Hot Stove) and a potato. Other vegetables that have worked spectacularly well as dosa filling: eggplant, cauliflower, and believe it or not, mushrooms.
I've seen off-beat dosas made with barley and oats and those would be nice to try.
What are your favorite variations of dosa?
Our Friday night family movie nights continue to be an enjoyable kick-off to the weekend. Last Friday we watched Hotel Transylvania 2 and it was pretty entertaining with Adam Sandler as the voice of Dracula. The week before that we watched The BFG, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's book- a heartwarming and enjoyable movie. We also watched Finding Dory, which was a bit depressing for me with the story line of animals in captivity- I absolutely cannot stand zoos and aquariums.
By far my favorite thing to watch lately with Lila is StoryBots Super Songs- they are so clever and funny and absolutely entertaining even for people of a certain age, shall we say, who are not particularly enamored of dinosaurs, vehicles and such. My favorite storybot songs: colors, dinosaurs, solar system and barn animals.
I'm always partial to British shows and with home remodeling/ decluttering/ design on my mind, I have been watching Grand Designs (about people's ambitious projects to build off-beat homes) and Escape to The Country (pretty self-explanatory: about people leaving behind city life to buy homes in the country). The latter is almost a travel show illuminating the geography, history and culture of the British countryside. Sticking with the British theme, I am enjoying the Father Brown mysteries featuring the intelligent and compassionate amateur detective Father Brown, although I haven't yet read the G. K. Chesterton books that the character is based on.
In a mood to watch something uplifting that celebrates the awe-inspiring side of humanity, I found two documentaries and highly recommend them. Cave of Forgotten Dreams has footage of some of humanity's earliest paintings, found in the Chauvet cave of France. It blew my mind that these 30,000 year old paintings looked so fluid, so modern, so skillful.
Man on Wire is the almost unbelievable story of a young Frenchman Philippe Petit, a tightrope walker who took the help of a few loyal friends to illegally rig a wire across the twin towers of the World Trade Center and walked/danced between the towers, a hundred stories above the ground, for over 30 minutes. Watching this documentary brought back a flood of memories. I was living in New York City on 9/11 and the weekend right before the towers were destroyed, I was sitting with my friends in their shadow eating bagels. The towers were office buildings, practically deserted on the weekend. We just stopped there for a snack before going on to other places around town, not knowing that something was about to happen there in 3 days that would change the world. Anyway, this tightrope walk happened in 1974, decades before that fateful day.
As for movies, I enjoyed these two very much: O Brother Where Art Thou has George Clooney AND an amazing soundtrack. Something's Gotta Give is a fun romantic comedy with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson.
What are you watching these days? Got any movies to recommend?
When the craving for dosa strikes in the middle of a week, I have been making something distinctly less authentic but just as tasty and satisfying- a quinoa dosa paired with all sorts of interesting non-traditional fillings.
I do soak the ingredients for a few hours and I do ferment the batter for a few hours as well, but the grinding (which seems to be the most time consuming and tiring part for me) is done in only a couple of minutes in a heavy-duty blender.
Quinoa dosa may sound like something with a health halo- a better-for-you but worse-tasting alternative to the original. And I'll admit that when I first made this, I thought I would be compromising on the taste of real proper dosa. With the first taste, I cheered aloud- quinoa dosa is full of flavor, crispy and wonderful. Both of my kids love it. We make a thicker dosa, smear it with ghee and tear it into bits for the baby to eat as a finger food. His big sister likes a crispy version of the dosa, rolled up with some filling inside, with plain yogurt as a dipping sauce.
Quinoa Dosa
SOAK: In a big bowl, soak together:
2 measures quinoa (I used tricolor quinoa because that's what I had on hand). By measure, I mean the rice cup measure, which is about 3/4 cup.
1 measure ural dal (I use skinned whole- gota- ural dal)
2 tbsp. chana dal
2 tbsp. raw rice
BLEND: After a few hours, use a heavy duty blender like the Vitamix to make a smooth batter, using water as necessary.
FERMENT: Ferment the batter in a warm spot for a few hours.
COOK: Make dosas on a cast iron skillet.
The traditional potato masala (filling) for dosa is marvelous, and I love riffing on the recipe to make all sorts of variations. One is the kale and butternut squash twist that I've posted before. Pictured above is a version made similarly, with a box of frozen chopped spinach (a pantry staple chez One Hot Stove) and a potato. Other vegetables that have worked spectacularly well as dosa filling: eggplant, cauliflower, and believe it or not, mushrooms.
I've seen off-beat dosas made with barley and oats and those would be nice to try.
What are your favorite variations of dosa?
* * * TV Land * * *
Our Friday night family movie nights continue to be an enjoyable kick-off to the weekend. Last Friday we watched Hotel Transylvania 2 and it was pretty entertaining with Adam Sandler as the voice of Dracula. The week before that we watched The BFG, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's book- a heartwarming and enjoyable movie. We also watched Finding Dory, which was a bit depressing for me with the story line of animals in captivity- I absolutely cannot stand zoos and aquariums.
By far my favorite thing to watch lately with Lila is StoryBots Super Songs- they are so clever and funny and absolutely entertaining even for people of a certain age, shall we say, who are not particularly enamored of dinosaurs, vehicles and such. My favorite storybot songs: colors, dinosaurs, solar system and barn animals.
I'm always partial to British shows and with home remodeling/ decluttering/ design on my mind, I have been watching Grand Designs (about people's ambitious projects to build off-beat homes) and Escape to The Country (pretty self-explanatory: about people leaving behind city life to buy homes in the country). The latter is almost a travel show illuminating the geography, history and culture of the British countryside. Sticking with the British theme, I am enjoying the Father Brown mysteries featuring the intelligent and compassionate amateur detective Father Brown, although I haven't yet read the G. K. Chesterton books that the character is based on.
In a mood to watch something uplifting that celebrates the awe-inspiring side of humanity, I found two documentaries and highly recommend them. Cave of Forgotten Dreams has footage of some of humanity's earliest paintings, found in the Chauvet cave of France. It blew my mind that these 30,000 year old paintings looked so fluid, so modern, so skillful.
Man on Wire is the almost unbelievable story of a young Frenchman Philippe Petit, a tightrope walker who took the help of a few loyal friends to illegally rig a wire across the twin towers of the World Trade Center and walked/danced between the towers, a hundred stories above the ground, for over 30 minutes. Watching this documentary brought back a flood of memories. I was living in New York City on 9/11 and the weekend right before the towers were destroyed, I was sitting with my friends in their shadow eating bagels. The towers were office buildings, practically deserted on the weekend. We just stopped there for a snack before going on to other places around town, not knowing that something was about to happen there in 3 days that would change the world. Anyway, this tightrope walk happened in 1974, decades before that fateful day.
As for movies, I enjoyed these two very much: O Brother Where Art Thou has George Clooney AND an amazing soundtrack. Something's Gotta Give is a fun romantic comedy with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson.
What are you watching these days? Got any movies to recommend?
The dosa looks extremely appetizing, Nupur! Definitely have to have a go at it soon :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I havent had time to plan and soak and grind, I just mix flours and salt together (urad dal, rice, besan, wheat, a little bit of fine rava) and make the dosas out of that batter. I try and mix it at night so that I can make the dosas in the morning. The kids seem to like it for breakfast :)
I am also currently watching the Father Brown series on Netflix. I enjoy the cozy mystery approach.
Chhaya- yes, the instant mixed-flour dosas are excellent! I love adding grated cucumber to those. Good idea to let the mix sit for a while before making dosas.
DeleteWatched a bunch of beautiful films this year - Moonlight, Milk, Woman in Gold, Cairo Time, Queen of Katwe, Begin Again.
ReplyDeleteBeen reading a lot too. Currently on "An Unrestored Woman" by Shobha Rao.
I'll have to see if I have streaming access to any of those movies, Lakshmi.
DeleteI saw all of them (except Moonlight) on Netflix, so I imagine you'd have access too. I guess you mean Netflix?
DeleteOoh good I have Netflix- will look for these movies.
DeleteIn case of dosa variations, Adai is favorite, followed by Pesarattu. I love Ragi dosa (with ragi flour, salt, water) but it is such a hit or miss... I stopped making them. :(
ReplyDeleteYes, we love adai too, I usually make it this way: http://onehotstove.blogspot.com/2016/05/golden-adai.html
DeleteI haven't had ragi flour in stock for a while but those are wonderful too! Why are they hit or miss?
Because the batter is very fine, the dosas don't hold together. They tend to break. They taste wonderful but they are flimsy. So it's a pain to make them.
Deleteaddition of 1/4 measure of rice flour will help the ragi dosas from breaking. add chopped cilantro , green chillies and onion and they enhance the taste
DeleteDosa looks too good. After moving to bangalore, my idly/dosa making has gone down (despite getting a stone grinder last year). There are so many good darshini type tiffin places near my office that my craving dont need much time to get fulfilled. ;)
ReplyDeleteOn our sunday afternoon family movie time, we recently watched ratatouille and my 3.5 year old absolutely loved it. He was laughing hysterically and enjoyed watching so many delicious things being cooked. Apart from the Sunday movie, I have not watched anything else, unfortunately. I have been crashing at 9 pm lately, not that I am complaining about getting extra shuteye :)
Ah I can only imagine the foodie paradise that Bangalore is, especially when it comes to Southern Indian delicacies. Meanwhile I have a 90 minute to the nearest idli/dosa place so there is ample motivation to make them myself :)
DeleteI will have to find ratatouille for Lila! She wants to be a chef and will love that movie.
I have recently made millet idlis twice and they turned out well. In the US, I found Bob's Red Mill brand's millet in my regular grocery store. Proportion of millet, idli rice and urad dal is 3:1:1.
ReplyDeleteFollow normal process, grind and ferment. I will try your quinoa dosas for sure.
I'm currently reading "Eating on the Wild Side" by Jo Robinson and totally digging it. See if your library has a copy. Each chapter deals with a family of fruits or vegetables and dives into its history, how to buy, store and cook to get the most nutrients/benefits out of them.
Hubby and I are watching The Americans and we quite like it although some of the scenes are too gory for my liking.
I watched a few episodes of Escape to the Country and love seeing the bucolic settings and cozy homes.
I finished watching Master of None season 2 and quite like the series. Season 2 I thought was quite well made.
Hope you guys have a great weekend!
-Anu
Anu- Thanks for the millet idli proportions! I'll have to try this. Also thanks for the book recommendation :) I will definitely look for it. Master of None is a good one for my next "binge"- I enjoyed the first season. I hope you have a great weekend too! It is warm and sunny here, pretty much perfect weather.
DeleteThanks for your quinoa dosa recipe, Nupur. Btw, I've been reading your blog for many years now, though I've rarely commented. I almost feel like I know you, which is so disorienting and strange, isn't it? :D
ReplyDeleteI've just perfected my barley or oats idli/dosa mix: it's 1 measure each of urad dal, idli rice, quinoa and barley (or oats). It ferments well, thanks to the quinoa, and the idlis are almost indistinguishable (except in colour) from the traditional rice ones. The dosa comes out like set dosas from Bangalore, which we love here. I'd love to see your version of the barley/oats dosa. I find that adding more barley or oats makes my idli too soft - almost squishy. The texture doesn't turn out right. But let me know if you find a way to increase the ratio of barley or oats.
- Chira
Chira- Thanks for the comment :) Yes, it is strange but I also feel quite connected to the bloggers that I regularly read, sometimes more connected than to real-life friends that I rarely see!
DeleteThank you SO much for your barley/oats recipe. I will be trying those!! I do love the spongy set dosas. They are so wonderful with a thick coconutty vegetable stew.
I have stopped making dosa, temporarily. For some reason, my dosas are white. I did everything as I should (urad : rice, 1:3+1 tsp methi), wet grinder, proper fermentation, but.... white dosa. SO disappointing. I think it is because of the urad, may be I got a batch that is new? Not sure.
ReplyDeleteLets see, I have a new batch I got this week. Fingers crossed.
I will but different grain and start now. I've made Quinoa, ragi and oats dosas. The Quinoa ones were great, the ragi ones were good but a bit dry, oats, I did not quite like, I dislike anything sticky ( bulbuleet) and not sure I will use them again.
Watching: Actually just finished watching VishnuPuran series.
Wanted to introduce the son to Hindu Mythology. HE really enjoyed it a lot, though he does not understand Hindi (he read the subtitles)and we explained a lot. All in all, it was a lot of fun!
Manasi- Dosa that don't brown- I must say that's very mysterious!!
Deletehope you are using a cast iron pan and not a nonstick one for making dosas, Manasi
ReplyDeleteOh yes! I am using a cast iron.
DeleteWhat made me mad was, even when I used non stick, I never had this problem!
With a nice big cast iron pan, I should be making gloriously golden dosa. All they look like are white papad.
Soaking 1to2 tsp of tuvar dal along with rice and grinding as usual will give golden dosas.
Deletetry half a measure of soaked parboiled rice and2and a half measures of the rest of the rice while grinding.
Deletesorry Nupur I am afraid only you are supposed to reply . but with my years of experience I thought a hint or two may help.
ReplyDeleteGoodness- there's no rule like that :) I love when the folks can help each other and chat among themselves in the comments!
DeleteI am loving the idea of quinoa dosas. What stood out to me was the baby enjoying the dosas! I have a 11-month old and she's fed mostly pureed foods and some finger foods when we eat our meals. Would you be able to share your experiences on starting solids and how to feed kids during our own mealtimes?
ReplyDelete-Joyce
Hi Joyce- my baby boy doesn't like to be spoon fed for some reason. When we try to feed him purees, soup, khichdi, yogurt, anything that requires spoon feeding, he swats away the spoon and turn his head away. Sigh. But he eats finger food quite well so that's what he gets. We basically give him components of our own meals spread out in his high chair tray.
DeleteSome examples: Fruit (banana, berries, steamed apples and pears), cooked vegetables (broccoli, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas), cooked grains (ghee rice, bits of bread and dosa), soft cooked beans, shreds of cheese.
We had taco night the other night and spread out bits of everything on his tray and he enjoyed it: corn, tomatoes, beans, rice, cheese.
Thank you, Nupur! Our baby seems to like veggies and meat but not fruit. We'll keep trying anyway. The poor thing has only 1 tooth but she makes an effort to bite into bits with her gums as much as possible.
Delete-J
J- The one thing about babies is that they are constantly changing! All we can do is offer nourishing food in different forms and let the babes do their thing. My little guy got 4 top teeth all at once this month and he's a little vampire, biting down on everything.
DeleteI typically do brown rice+white rice+urad (1.5:1.5:1) and also add some quinoa and green whole moong for that added protein. In winter months, looks like adding the green moong helps it ferment better. -Rashmi
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip, Rashmi!
DeleteHi Nupur,
ReplyDeleteI will try the lovely greens fillings. Dosa have become our staple dinner after the kids left for college. It is hubby's favorite and I have started getting used to it also, as it is easy to put together. I make a dosa topped with egg white for the protein component and then try to make a healthy side dish to make a wholesome meal. All the chutneys I make now include some vegetables, tomatoes, cilantro or mint and almonds or walnuts as the main components.
I am also watching the Father Brown series now. Try the Bahubali movies if you haven't. They are done very well.
As always I enjoyed your post and learn something creative every time :)
Best,
SS
SS- With dosa batter in the fridge, dinner does come together in minutes. Very convenient for busy evenings. I agree that chutneys can be wonderful with added nuts and greens. Dosa with egg is new to me!
DeletePlease don't let Finding Dory depress you. It isn't about the glorification of aquariums, I don't think. The mission of the fictitious Marine life institute of Morro Bay is supposed to be rescue, rehabilitation and release. Most of the sea life is supposed to be in there to heal. (I have internalized all this because it is my almost-3 year old's favourite movie). And the movie does have the glorious ending with all of the animals headed to another aquarium being released back into the ocean anyway. It's not as good as the first one but is still really fun. And precious few books appropriate for his age would teach a pre-schooler that an octopus has three hearts (which prompted questions about what a heart is) and how belugas can echo-locate (which raised all kinds of stumbling questions).
ReplyDeleteMy blender is on the fritz but I can't wait for my new one to try these dosas. They look delicious. I LOVE mushrooms in dosa. I don't make dosas and idlis often enough because they are fairly easy to find around here. But I've always dreamed of becoming a pro dosa maker. Lack of practice make mine more thalipeeth-like - not good at all in a dosa.
Sharmila- Agreed, it isn't about the glorification of aquariums and it does have a happy ending! I do think these movies are very well made and spark a child's interest in all kinds of fascinating things. But many movies seem to make me melancholic- my problem, not theirs :)
DeleteI couldn't believe how well the mushrooms worked with dosa- not a combination I had thought to try before! Practice is indeed everything. I have become a pro at dosa and idli (if I say so myself) but can't make rotis/ parathas to save my life- a lack of practice.
Can't believe N is big enough to eat dosas already :) Just started watching Father Brown too! Show season has started & its been busy here! Just wanted to say a quick Hi
ReplyDeletequinoa dosas look good so I 'll try .good innovation, Nupur.
ReplyDeleteI am watching the Father Brown mysteries too. :) Although I am not a Bollywood fan, I am a fan of classic Hindi songs, and I just found this series on Netflix hosted by Javed Akhtar where each episode focuses on a filmmaker, actor or musician from the golden era of Indian movies. It's quite wonderful. Also bingeing on the latest season of House of Cards.
ReplyDelete