Gluten free, fatless, eggless, vegan, sweet rice crepes

Indian history is a highly engaging and dramatic subject replete with invasions from different empires at various points of time. Every invasion left behind a mark of its own culture and with time these became an inseparable part of Indian tradition.

Foreign flavours and methods of cooking blended with traditional Indian spices, producing delicacies that far surpassed the taste of the original dish and found their individual Indian identities. For instance the Greeks introduced us to the magic of fenugreek and fennel, the Mughals gave us the scent of saffron amongst other spices and opened up a world of dried fruits hitherto unknown to India, the Portuguese left behind the much loved vindaloo, and the British Raj introduced Indians into the charming world of 'high teas'. Unwittingly Indians cultivated a taste for the big evil of a largely Western diet - refining natural products viz., rice, sugar and flour. Before the advent of the British rice was unpolished (red/brown), sugar was raw (cane or jaggery) and flour was only wholewheat (mota atta). Thankfully three generations later we are trying to find our way back to our roots.

Post independence it is the enterprising migrant/immigrant population (largely responsible for the 80's 'brain drain' syndrome) that brought back cuisines and flavours from other parts of the world (Thai curries and Italian pastas). China not only invaded the local markets with cheap imitations of well known brands during the last decade - shoes, bags, torches and phones - but also successfully established itself as the Nation's most loved cuisine (amusingly it took an Indian Chinese, Nelson Wang to cook up the 'Manchurian' - as pointed out by Mr.Vir Sanghvi). Thanks to an open economy, aggressive trading and emergence of international food chains we are now ready to explore world cuisines right on our kitchen counters.

In such a scenario it is sad to see that most gourmet bread shops (Daily Breads, Hangout, Gaylords) still fool us by offering the same spineless, soft, spongy white breads in different shapes and equating them with focaccia, french loaves and ciabatta!! After much writing by numerous nutritionists it is only now that the "brown sugar bread" has made way for wholewheat bread/multigrain breads.

This being an interesting topic I really wish I could go on, examining and commenting on various aspects of "gastronomic influence" but the fact that this is supposed to be a platform where I must also share a recipe in relation to the theme I decided to stop myself! A deep breath and here goes.......

I told you I love the white flour a while ago but I am also aware of its abysmally low nutritional value and so try to switch it with wholewheat or gluten free flours in most recipes. Today I give you a very popular South Indian crepe that provides not only taste but also nutrition. I have never understood why it is not available in most Udipi restaurants (restaurants owned by people belonging to Udipi - a city in the State of Karnataka in India - which is famous for Manglorean cuisine and a place to which the average Indian hotelier belongs) considering that it is a staple Manglorean breakfast. Why did they have to contort the staple Tamilian sambar and come up with a 'Gujju sambar' instead of focusing on the tasty repertoire of dishes Mangalore is home to?

Thanks to Mahesh Lunch Home (Restaurant in Mumbai famous for its seafood esp. South Indian) having introduced these crepes in its menu, most Mumbaites are now aware of the rustic healthy charms of a 'neer dosa' (a savoury crepe made with rice). While the rest of my team will be 'Indianising' recipes from all over the world, I requested that may be permitted to 'Westernize' a rustic Indian dish and this is how a traditional 'neerdosa' transforms into a stuffed/plain gluten free sweet crepe in my kitchen. I hope you will try this and love it as much as we do.

This dish in its original form is known in Mangalore by different names according to the regional variations. In proper Mangalore it is known as 'neer dosa' and as you travel towards the Konkan coast it changes to 'pan polo' or 'soyi polo' with minor alterations. A traditional neerdosa does not contain coconut milk which is added to a traditional pan polo. Mine is a take on all these versions. While the above are all savoury with a hint of sweetness in the Konkan version, mine is an 'only sweet' version. I have added organic jaggery and sometimes use raw sugar to make it sweet and a tinge of salt to balance. Coconut milk, I find helps in the texture.

These are soft and taste great but the pictures will always be limp as rice crepes do not hold their shape.

I have added a 'crepe 101' at the end of this post that I hope will help out beginners who haven't got the texture of a crepe right (here I speak as one who has learnt through mistakes and experience rather than an expert on the topic - as you know experience is a better teacher!). If your doubts have not been addressed please leave a comment and I will try to answer to the best of my abilities.

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Recipe: Sweet crepes - Gluten free, eggless, vegan / Neerdosa variety / pan polo / soyi polo
Cooking: 2 minutes per crepe (actually!)
Yields: never enough but 12-15 approx.
Recipe Level: Intermediary
Recipe by: Sunshinemom

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Ingredients

Rice (polished/white rice) - 1 level cup
Coconut milk (Thick extract or canned) - 1 cup
Sugar or jaggery (I used jaggery) - As per taste, about 4 tbsps. of jaggery
Salt - 1/8tsp

Gluten free, fatless, eggless, vegan, sweet rice crepes

Procedure:

1. Wash and soak rice in clean water overnight or for 4-5hours
2. Drain and rinse once more. Grind with about a cup of water to a very smooth paste. I use an electric stone grinder which takes about 15-20 minutes. It can be easily done in a mixer as well.
3. Mix the other ingredients into the batter.
4. The consistency should be soup-ish. Thinner than pancake batter but thicker than coconut water. I guess that would be closest to the consistency of thick whole milk.
5. Heat a skillet or pan (with slightly raised rims) to moderate hot. If you sprinkle a little water they should split into droplets that dance off the pan - that indicates the right temperature.
6. Pour a few drops of oil (2 or 3 in case of a non-stick pan or 1/4 tsp. on a cast iron skillet) and brush it all over with a half cut potato, onion or tissue paper to remove excess oil.
7. With a ladle pour about 1/4 cup of batter in the pan and tilt it quickly so that a thin layer spreads all over. You will find that the rims will form a lacy pattern and the insides will be just a millimeter thicker than the rims.
8. Close with a lid and let cook on moderate heat for about a minute.
9. Take off the lid. Try lifting the corner of the crepe with a spoon and gently fold into half. Do the same again to form a quarter and invert the pan to collect the crepe in a plate.
10. If you would like a stuffed crepe, you could chop pears, apples or bananas and lay them in the center of the crepe lengthwise and fold the crepe over the stuffing while in the pan itself.
11. Crepes are delicate to handle but if you try it twice you will get comfortable handling it. (Please go through crepe 101 below)
12. I used organic ingredients and this is a really healthy replacement for regular crepes consisting of eggs, refined flour, butter and milk.
13. I kept the filling basic as I like it healthy and my family loves it as it is. Do feel free to caramalize the fruits before filling or adding cream.
14. I served with date syrup on the side as I am vegan but any other syrup or melted marmalade should work as well.
15. You could have this for a filling breakfast or with some imagination convert it into a dessert.
16. Serve a minute after cooling as the steam trapped inside will retain stickiness for a while.

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Special Notes/Tips if your crepe did not turn out well:

• My crepes are sticky and so thin that I cannot lift them with a spoon - Check consistency of batter - is it runny? If so let the batter rest for five minutes and drain some of the clear water that rises to the top. Mix well and try again.
• Crepes are clumping on the pan though batter is fine - The batter is too thick and if it is fine and still clumping occurs it means the pan is too hot. Reduce heat and try again.
• There are no holes in my crepe though batter is fine - Pan is too cold. Increase heat.
• The edges are not lacy - You have not tilted the pan in a circular motion. OR The batter is too thick and does not flow easily.
• They are caramalised - You added too much sugar.
• Crepes are hard - Did you use 'off the shelf' rice flour? That will not work.
• An ideal crepe should have lacy corners, thin even surface dotted with little holes and not stick to the roof of your mouth or get into your teeth!
• You may grind the coconut milk with the rice optionally.
  

Spaghetti is a form of pasta made of semolina or sooji what we call. There are different types of pastas and these thread ones are similar to our noodles. You get white ones and wheat ones. Wheat ones are brown in colour. This dish is filling and takes longer time to digest. So an apt diet before travelling. Normally it is being served with tomato sauce, vegetables or meat blended together. I like to prepare it in my own way to treat myself. Here is a healthy version of it.

 

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Recipe: Green Spaghetti with Acorn Squash
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes
Yields: 1 bowl which can serve two adults
Recipe Level: Easy
Recipe by: Viji

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Ingredients

A fistful of spaghetti
2 cups of grated acorn squash
1 bunch of coriander leaves
A fistful of mint leaves (optional)
1 small onion
2 green chills
1” wedge of ginger
Few cashews or almonds
1 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
2 tsp oil

Procedure:

1. Take a big vessel with a lid. Boil 1 litre water. Add the spaghetti, 1 tsp oil and little salt. Let it boil for 8-10 minutes. Reduce the heat and boil for few minutes more and check. If it easily breakable and doubled in size it is done. Drain the water and rinse the noodles in cold water. Leave it the colander.
2. Peel and grate the acorn squash and keep aside.
3. Rinse and chop the coriander. Grind coriander, chilli, onion, ginger, cashews including masala powder and salt to a paste.
4. Add a tsp of oil in a skillet and sauté this paste on a medium heat till the raw smell goes. Add the grated squash and cook for few more minutes with a lid. Make sure you don’t burn the bottom. Now add the cooked spaghetti and sauté till they blend well.

It is delicious with natural ingredients and less fat. 

If you still prefer rice add the cooked rice instead of cooked pasta and enjoy. Add grated carrot to make it colourful. The ideas are endless. Experiment with other veggies too. Serve hot. It doesn’t need any companion.

Another month, another exciting theme. This month we decided to do a different theme. Yes, we are going to showcase how each of us indianize the many dishes that we adapt from other cuisines. It can be a simple pasta and how we spice it up by adding garam masala or pizza which gets doused with Red Chili flakes and chili powder. Or atleast that is the way I mostly make my pizzas.

We are going to begin this month with some beautiful pizzas from Alka!

 

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Pizza, the name fascinates many, isn't it?

My first brush with Pizza was only after my marriage, a bite of melted cheese topping, some black oval shaped things (Yeah I didn't knew till then, how olives looked like), some baby corn, some assorted veggies and rubbery textured bread base, it was not a pleasant bite for sure. Later when I came to know that it costs something in 3 digits, I went mad. Are people nuts to go gaga over these exorbitantly priced cheesy, rubbery, bland pieces, was what my mind yelled.

Years later, when slowly my taste buds developed for these Italian Specialties, I still feel the pinch due to the price tag that comes along with Branded Pizza. But having a foodie Kid surely keeps me wondering about the way outs, to have my cake (pizza) and eat it too.

Making pizza at home may or may not be a rocket science. Since many feel afraid of working with Yeast, and those who do not own an Oven, have another reason for not making Pizza at home.

But then thanks to Pizza base available in markets now, it is no longer a thing of "Eating out exclusively". A bit of compromise with thickness of Branded pizzas, but not with quality, the taste, the choice of toppings, the control on amount of cheese added and of course easy on pocket.What else do you seek?

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Recipe: Veg.Pizza
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 3-5 minutes for each Pizza
Makes: 3
Serves: 2-3
Shelf Life: Serve Immediately
Recipe Level: Beginner

Spice Level: Low or Medium

Recipe/Post by: Alka

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Ingredients:

For Pizza Sauce (Sufficient for 3 pizza base)

4-5 Ripe Tomatoes
1 very small onion, peeled and chopped very finely
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp of Tomato Ketchup
1/4 tsp of sugar (just add a pinch, taste and adjust)
Salt
1/4 tsp Oregano
Some amount of Basil (Depends if you are using dried herb or Fresh leaves of Holy Basil, also known as Tulsi )
1 tsp of Olive oil
A generous pinch of Red chilly flakes or red chilly pepper powder (whatever available)

For Toppings :

A large Green Bell pepper, sliced into strips or rounds (whatever fancies you)
2 Small onions
2-3 Tomatoes
6-8 Fresh button mushrooms (or used canned ones)
1 tsp Olive oil
A dash of salt
Red chilly flakes (adjust according to your taste, I added just 2 pinches)
1/4 tsp of Oregano
A pinch of Black pepper powder
Any other Dried herbs if you have, eg: oregano, basil, thyme, sage, marjoram, savory, any of these or tiny pinches of what all you have amongst these.Experiment !
Mozzarella Cheese or use any of those Amul cubes, romano, Parmigiano etc etc.
2-3 tsp of cheese spread (optional, but I like the flavor it imparts)
And finally 3 Pizza bread base, easily available at bakeries, I even tried it with Brown Pizza bread, it still tastes awesome.

Procedure:

To Make pizza Sauce:

1. Blanch Tomatoes for few seconds in hot water(Just give a criss cross cut at base of tomato and dunk them into hot boiling water for few seconds).
2. Drain and immediately dump in cold or normal water.This removes the skin of tomatoes.
3. Peel and grind into a seed-y paste.Do not puree it completely.If needed you can sieve these to get rid of seeds, I didn't bothered for that.
4. In a pan, add 1 tsp of olive oil, add crushed garlic, saute over medium heat.Do whatever but do not let it get brown.Within seconds, add chopped onion, saute again till translucent.
5. Add Rest all other ingredients listed under Tomato Sauce. Mix well and cook for a while.Add about a glass of water and let it simmer for some time, till a thick consistency of sauce is obtained.Do not leave it watery, as it will make the pizza soggy.
6. Adjust the seasoning and keep it aside.

For Toppings :

1. In case you are using fresh button mushrooms, wipe them clean, chop into chunks, boil these with a little of salt until they change colour to brownish tinge.Drain and keep aside.
   
2. In a non stick fry pan, drizzle some olive oil. Add Mushrooms, saute it for a while, till a shade darker, add chunks of onion(Just cut the onions into 4-6 quarters), saute again, add Capsicum chunks/rings/slices, saute for few seconds and then finally add huge chunks of tomato.In all this take care not to over cook your veggies.The bell pepper should retain its colour and crispness, the onion should be just translucent , the tomatoes should be still juicy , bit soft but not cooked.Sprinkle some salt, pepper, oregano, chilly flakes and give it a good mix.

1. Take a ready made Pizza base , roast it on a flat Griddle, with the side that you are going to use for adding toppings, facing the heat(This means first roast the top side of pizza, then add toppings and then roast it from other side.This way the top side of pizza too will get a crunchy texture).

1. Now spread some pizza sauce, cheese spread, toppings, and shredded Cheese.
2. Drizzle some oil on griddle,be sure that the flame is on minimum level of heat, carefully place the pizza on griddle, cover it with a dome shaped vessel (any handi , kadai without handle or even a large steel bowl that fits. Just make sure that the inverted handi doesn't touch the top of pizza.
3. Add some weight over it , in form of a vessel or anything heavy, but take care to avoid mishaps.
4. Cook for a minute or so on lowest flame, check the base by carefully lifting the pizza with a flat spatula. Cook further in similar way if needed till the base is darker, crispy with some brown spots.The cheese should melt by now, if it was before cooking.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Remove from heat, cut it into 4-8 quarters and serve immediately after sprinkling some Dried oregano, red chilly flakes or black pepper.

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Special Notes/Tips:

• Roasting pizza base first on one side gives a nice crispy texture. Avoid it if you like it rubbery.
• Cheese should be thawed very well before using, since a stiff cheese wont melt at the temperature that we are using to cook pizza here.Since the bread and veggies are already cooked, so its important that cheese is almost cheesy when you are using it as topping.
• Using a mixture of different types of cheese gives the pizza a nice flavor.
• Do not make the sauce watery, you obviously won't like your pizza soggy !
• Toppings can vary as per your choice , so do not hesitate, go ahead with what all you wish to add.Just keep one in mind, precook those veggies that need time and saute vegetables in the sequence of their cooking time.Add those first that need more time and those which cooks fast should be added latter.Do not over cook them.

Another classic stuffed paratha. The pure taste of it goes well with a cup of curd and any pickle.

Paneer Peas Paratha

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Recipe: Paneer Peas Paratha
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Resting time: 3 hrs
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yields: 6 pieces (as shown in the picture)
Recipe Level: Medium
Recipe by: Viji

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Ingredients:

Outer layer

Pillsberry Atta 2 cups (for 6 parathas)
Lemon pepper ½ tsp (it gives a nice taste)
Thick laban/buttermilk ¼ cup
Salt to taste
Oil 1 tbsp

Mix everything with enough water to bind. Knead them for 2-3 minutes. Let it rest for 2-3 hours with lid closed. The batter must be pliable but at the same time not loose.  

For Stuffing
1 cup of green peas
½ cup grated paneer
2 green chili
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tbsp mint and coriander leaves
1 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste

Cook the peas in MW and mash it well. Add the grated panner to it. Grind the rest of the ingredients without adding water. In a skillet take 1 tsp ghee and saute the stuffing till the extra water evaporates and slightly dry. Let it cool.

Before rolling, knead the dough again. Make balls slightly bigger in size when compared to stuffing. To have uniform rolling, just before stuffing you need to roll the dough as shown. Just roll the edges alone. The center part is thick. So that when you close it it will be even after rolling. If the stuffing is dry and cool, it will never come out. Roll them all and fry it on tava with little butter on both sides. I used the pastry brush to coat the butter on both sides. Serve it hot. Very tasty with wheat flour.

The beauty of the stuffed parathas is two things.

Number one outer layer – shining dough – soft and slicky – makes the rolling job interesting.

Inner stuffing – dry stuffing  will listen and obey your order while rolling.

Enjoy preparing stuffed parathas. 

Mornings are hectic..is there anyone who feels otherwise? Lucky you !

Anyways, in the maddening rush of waking up cranky kids, going through the mammoth task of feeding them early morning before going to school so that they have the energy to go on till Recess, budging kids to get ready for school, fixing breakfast, lunch, packing tiffins etc.

You pause to breathe when finally they leave for the day, but just then you remember the unending chores of daily life, stuffing laundry in washing machine, making breakfast for rest of the family, packing their lunchboxes, and if you are a working woman, pack yours too, giving instructions to your help, wondering what to keep handy for kids to munch upon after they are back, sipping that three times heated Tea/coffee (coz, every time you thought to sip one, some or other important task made you leave that precious cuppa and go through the daily grind) you suddenly feel grumpy cause now after taking care of everyone else in family you simply forgot to make something to eat for yourself? Sounds like your story ? Well then welcome to the club of "Good mothers-bad- eaters ladies", who can take care of every one around, except herself.

It happens with me many times, not that I am too doting or too sacrificing homemaker, I am just lousy when it comes to make something for myself. But knowing that eating healthy and filling is just as important for me as it is, for the rest of family, keeps me away from binging on Maggie (ah the comfort but!) or crackers for breakfast. So some quick fix (that's the most important factor when it comes to cooking for myself) yet healthy stuff, is what I always look for.

Savory pancakes are one such thing that I love to fix for myself when I am into Oh-doesn't -feel-like-cooking mode, its easy, its healthy, its filling and I can play with the ingredients to make it
taste different every time, so it saves from monotony too.

Cheela ~Savory Pancakes

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Recipe: Cheela (chilra) Savory wholewheat flour Pancakes
Prep Time:5 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 minutes
Makes: 3
Serves: 1 adult and 1 kid
Shelf Life: Serve right away!
Recipe Level: Basic
Spice Level:Low
Recipe/Post by: Alka

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Ingredients:
2 cups Whole wheat flour (Atta)
1 tsp Semolina (sooji)
1-2 tsp Gram flour (besan)
1 Medium size Onion
1-2 Green chillies(Adjust as per need)
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
A pinch of Soda bi carbonate (Meethi soda) or baking soda
A handful of chopped, fresh coriander leaves
1/2 tsp Dried pomegranate seeds crushed (optional)
Salt as per taste
Water to make dough
Oil to shallow fry

Procedure:

1. Peel and finely chop onion.Chop chillies and coriander too.
2. Sift the flours , add rest of ingredients except water and oil.
3. Mix well, then slowly add water little by little, mixing properly so that no lumps remain and a batter of thick consistency is obtained.The consistency should be something in between of Dosa and Uttapa.
4. Heat a griddle (preferably Iron griddle), drizzle some oil, and carefully pour a ladle full of batter and gently spread it a little so as to make a pancake/uttapa/thick dosa. Lower the flame while pouring and raise it to medium level as soon as you finish spreading.
5. Drizzle some more oil and flip/toss it on other side after few seconds, when the surface starts appearing dry.
6. Cook on both sides, flipping at intervals, keeping the flame in between medium to low, drizzling a tad of oil if it appears to stick to the griddle.
7. Cook till crispy brown, and relish it piping hot with Ketchup/Mint coriander chutney with some freshly made tea/coffee.

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Special Notes/Tips:

• If you are finding it hard to break the lumps, CHURN it with manual churner (Mathni).
• You can add some grated vegetables like carrot/radish or can add spring onions/ Fenugreek leaves/ cheese etc to make it more healthy and filling and to taste different.
• Instead of whole wheat flour, you can use Gram flour which taste equally great

Ragi was not quite common in our house. I think the connection with ragi for me stopped when I started eating solid foods other than the traditional ragi kanji which is given for infants. Later I started or I should say that I tried to start using ragi after my marriage when I moved to US. That's definitely a very big gap. Some of my experiments with ragi were not that successful so I sort of avoided using ragi flour. One of my resolution (or the only one I guess) for this year is to try different healthy ingredients which I have not tried so far. So when I got a chance to host JFI this month I couldn't think of anything other than Ragi. I was inclined to use whole ragi instead of the ragi flour which is readily available in the stores because ragi flour is not whole grain. While searching of recipes I found this whole ragi dosa recipe in Tarla Dalal's website and decided to try it immediately.

I'm so happy that I tried it because everybody in our family liked this dosa very much. I usually prefer paper like crispy dosas so I was taken by surprise that I liked this thick and chewy dosa as much.

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Recipe: Whole Ragi Dosa (Finger Millet Savory Crepes)
Soaking Time: Overnight
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes grinding time
Cooking Time: 2-3 minutes per dosa
Makes: 10 small size dosas
Shelf Life: Best eaten hot as soon as it is prepared
Recipe Inspiration/Source: www.TarlaDalal.com
Recipe Level: Basic/Beginner/Easy
Spice Level: Low
Recipe/Post by: Madhuram

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Ingredients:

Whole Ragi - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Onion, medium size - finely chopped
Ginger, finely grated - 1 tablespoon
Green chilies, finely minced - 1
Oil

Special Utensils:
Dosa Tava and a thin spatula

Procedure:

1. Wash, rinse and soak whole ragi overnight with enough water.
2. The next day, drain the water and grind the ragi into a smooth batter adding water little by little as needed.
3. Meanwhile chop the onions, ginger and green chilies. Reserve the top and bottom of the onion; don't throw it away.
4. Once the batter is ready transfer it to a bowl and add the remaining chopped ingredients and salt; mix well.
5. Heat a dosa pan. Rub the pan with the top of the onion. This ensures that you will be able to lift the dosa from the pan without sticking to it.
6. Take a ladleful of ragi dosa batter and place it on the hot pan and spread it into a small circle. This dosa tastes better if it is thick like adai. Close the dosa with a lid. I use a glass lid so I know when the batter has been cooked completely. Once it is cooked remove the lid and drizzle little oil around the dosa within the edges and flip it the other side.
7. Let the dosa cook for another minute on the other side. Flip to a plate and ragi dosa is ready to eat. If you make it spicy you don't need any side dish at all.
   

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Special Notes/Tips:

• I used my wet grinder to grind the ragi and felt that an Indian mixie or a food processor would have been better because of the texture of the ragi. Add water little by little while grinding the ragi or else it becomes way too thin. That's what happened to me. So I stored the batter in the fridge overnight and by the next morning all the excess water started collecting on top leaving a thick ragi batter in the bottom. So I transferred the water to another small container and kept it just in case. The batter below was thick; exactly in the consistency of usual dosa batter.
• Instead of adding grated ginger and finely minced chilies you can also add this to the ragi while it is grinding so the spice will be spread throughout the batter evenly.

As a self professed hard core lover of Dosas of all types, I can't but get excited when I am trying a new Dosa variety. It was my aim to cover 101 types of Dosas, though I have only about 35 of them till date. This Onion dosa had always being on top of my mind ever since I read about it in a paper cutting that has been with me for years now, I have tweaked the recipe as per our taste.

When we choose Indian Breads, I looked up again to know what gets covered as part of Indian Breads and was pleasantly surprised to see that even crepes or Dosas are part of Indian Bread. So I was keen on expanding my knowledge by trying yet another type. This dosa is very similar to the regular Adai that is prepared, though its taste is elevated by adding onions and other ingredients.

I was particularly looking for one that doesn't require fermentation or long hours of soaking. Though in a typical environment you can't but let it soak for long. Imagine working and you have to worry about soaking the dals for hours and then again fermenting it, which sure ends up as a regular lengthy process. Whenever I make Dosas that are instant, of course not as instant as Goduma Dosa or Rava Dosa which only needs 15 mins of soaking time, these are instant in sense you don't have to worry whether they ferment well or not. Of course the down side of this, is that you don't always have a crispy crepes in process. But then for a Dosa lover, any dosa is fine by my standards.

You can still get these dosas by adding Rice flour and making the batter really thin. But that again takes practice in spreading the batter properly. So forgot the hassle and enjoy as such. This dosa is one good variety to try if you are bored of the usual ones.

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Recipe: Onion Dosa ~ Onion Crepes
Soaking Time : For the dals 4- 5 hours
Resting Time for the batter : 30 - 60 mins
Preparation Time for batter : 10 mins
Yields : 10 medium dosas or more
Recipe Level: Easy/ Beginner
Recipe/Post by: Srivalli

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Onion Dosa ~ Onion Crepes

Ingredients Needed:

Channa Dal - 50 gms
Toor Dal - 50 gms
Raw Rice - 50 gms
Fresh Coconut grated - 50 gms
Onions - 2 medium
Dry Red Chili - 4 nos (as per taste)
Salt to taste
Tamarind - small gooseberry
Fresh Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Oil for cooking the dosas

Procedure

1. Wash and soak the dals and rice for 4- 5 hours. Grind to fine paste and let to rest for 1 hour.
2. Soak Tamarind separately in a bowl till soft and extract pulp.
3. Grind Onions, Red chilis, coconut, coriander leaves to fine paste.
4. Then mix this onion paste, tamarind pulp, salt to the ground batter.
5. Heat a tawa or pan with oil, pour one ladleful of batter and spread as a dosa. Sprinkle oil on top.
6. Cook on one side and flip on the other side.
   

Coconut Chutney

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Special Notes/Tips:

• The batter should be thin and cooked on medium flame as that the dosa comes out crispy.
• The batter can be soaked for longer hours too but after grinding you can store it in the fridge.
• Red chilies can be increased as per taste.
• I have used only about 50 gms of all, yet after soaking and grinding I had more batter than I thought. So adjust accordingly to your requirement keeping in mind the proportions.

On Bogi – the first day of Pongal, we prepare many dishes and one important item is Poli. Here is the recipe for veggie poli. It is not only colorful but also healthy with all veggies.

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Recipe: Veggie Poli
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Resting time: 5 hrs
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Recipe Source: My own creation
Yields: 6 pieces (as shown in the picture)
Recipe Level: Medium
Recipe by: Viji

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Ingredients:

For the Dough

Maida/all purpose flour 1 ½ cup (plus for dusting)
Salt a pinch
Turmeric powder ¼ tsp
Oil 1 tsp

With enough water prepare pliable dough and leave it for 5-6 hours (covered).

Veggie Pooran

Grated carrot, beetroot, cabbage, sweet potato and peas - 3 tbsp each – it will come to 1 cup approximately
Grated khoya/unsweetened gova – 1 cup
Nuts powder (I used only pista powder this time) – 1 tbsp (or besan flour)
Sugar ¾ cup
Elaichi powder ¼ tsp

Ghee 2 tbsp for frying (I used one tbsp only)

Procedure:

For making the pooran

1. Steam cook the veggies for 3-4 minutes or in MW high for 3-4 minutes with 1 tbsp water.
2. Mash it little bit. Add rest of the ingredients and MW high for 5-6 minutes till it forms like pooran. Leave it to cool. This is important. The pooran will be able to hold but at the same time dry also.

For making the Poli

1. Knead the dough well and make small lemon sized balls.
2. Prepare the pooran in the same way.
3. Roll each ball into 3 inch diameter circles. Keep the pooran at the center. Cover and roll it into balls again. With the pin roll this ball into 5” dia thin circle. Use maida for dusting. Make sure you don’t have any break. Otherwise the pooran will be exposed. Fry in tava with little ghee on both sides.
   

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Special Notes/Tips:

• You get khoya/gova in the shop.
• If not, take 2 tbsp of carnation milk and mix it with 1 cup of full fat milk powder. Freeze for 1 hour. Grate and use it. Quite easy but taste the same.

A colourful nutritious poli for your kids. Will anyone say “No” to this? I can’t say.

Hope you enjoyed this post as usual. We can make our authentic recipes healthier by giving some twists. Let me know your ideas too.