Dosa, a popular dish in south indian cuisine is usually made from a fermented batter of rice and black lentils. Mostly considered as a breakfast dish, dosas can be consumed at any time. They are usually served with a side dish of sambar (lentil curry) or chutney.
Every now and then, I try to cook healthy alternatives for rice-based dishes. Normally, I make wheat oat idlis and decided to use the base ingredients to make dosas instead. After making these dosas, I don't think I'll miss the rice-based dosas anymore.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup instant oats
1/2 cup cracked wheat (fine)
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
Salt, to taste
1/4 cup water
Oil, for greasing the dosa
Method:
In a pan on medium heat, dry roast the instant oats until it turns light brown. In a bowl, add enough water to soak the oats for 20-30 minutes.
In the same pan, dry roast the fine cracked wheat for a minute until it gets heated. Soak the cracked wheat in a bowl with water (make sure you don't add too much water....just enough to immerse it) for 20-30 minutes.
In a blender, add the soaked cracked wheat and blend it to a paste but not too fine. Pour this into a bowl and keep aside. Now, blend the soaked oats to a fine paste and mix with the cracked wheat.
To the wheat-oat batter, add cumin seeds, green chillies, ginger, cilantro and salt. Mix all the ingredients and add little water, if the batter seems too thick. You can also add finely chopped onions to the batter, if you wish.
In a hot griddle or flat pan, pour the batter in small amounts and spread it out into a medium thin circle and fry on each side for few minutes with little oil (optional...you can use nonstick pan to avoid using oil) until it turns slightly brown. The dosa can be folded in half and served. Serve with sambar or chutney.
Makes 6-7 dosas.