Dal Dosa

Two questions haunt any vegetarian seeking to eat healthy. How do I increase the protein content of my diet? How do I lower the carb content? I do not have a solution to these questions, but this recipe has helped me a great deal in accomplishing both tasks. I found the basics here while trawling the internet on alternative ways to cook dal (lentils) the Indian way. But I improvised to make them more like Adai and Pesaret, while doing away with the rice part in both these south Indian delicacies. What works most for me with this recipe is not just its utter simplicity but the variety it lends itself to. It worked with almost every dal I tried it with, leading me to proclaim one day: ‘Give me the dal and I will dosa it’. Pardon the arrogance, but that’s when I knew I had to blog it.

I have listed the measures for 5-6 dosas. But it is an easy ratio to remember, 1 part of urad and 2 parts of the dal of your choice. I prefer using whole dals cos that packs the fibre in but they work as well with split skinless dal. Till date I have tried it with whole masoor, whole moong, skinless chana, skinless arhar, lobia, white pea and my personal favorite whole moth dal which is the dosa in the picture here. One can either make thin crisp dosas or go uttapam style, i.e thick with finely sliced raw onions/grated carrot. The batter keeps well in the fridge for 24 hours.

Ingredients:

Whole dal of your choice (except urad): 100 grams

Whole urad dal: 50 grams

Ginger: ½ inch cube

Green chilli: 2 (it also works well with dried red chilli instead)

Curry leaves: 6-8

Garlic (optional): 2 pods

Salt: 3/4^th teaspoon

Hing (asafoetida): a pinch

Method:

Soak the dals together for a minimum of 4 hours (I usually let it soak overnight as it is a quick grind in the morning). Grind the soaked mixture with ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, hing and garlic to make a mildly coarse batter. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Add salt and make the dosas.