Chilka Roti

Chilka roti is a simple, rustic crepe from Jharkhand state that I discovered while cooking my Thaalis. These have become a regular on my weekend breakfast menu in the recent months because of the ease in preparation. They are made with rice and chana dal / split chickpeas. It is a simple, straight forward recipe if one is familiar with the south Indian dosa making. The rice and lentil need to be soaked overnight or at least a couple of hours in the morning. It can be then ground with salt and enough water. I usually add a tsp. of cumin seeds to the ground batter though it is not used in the recipe. The crepes can be made immediately using the ground batter as there is no need to ferment this batter.

 

Rice and split chickpeas / chana dal are used in 2:1 ratio but sometimes I use them in equal proportions. The batter can even be ground and refrigerated in advance to save the time in the morning rush hour. Just make sure to use up the batter in about 2 or 3 days after grinding though I remember the batter lasting a little longer in my refrigerator. They can be made for breakfast, brunch or they can even be a fuss-free dinner idea. Serve these easy, healthy and filling crepes with chutney of your choice. Mine were served with roasted gram chutney and tomato chutney.

Ingredients: 

1 cup rice
1/2 split chickpeas / Bengal gram / chana dal

Salt to taste

Water to grind

Oil to make chilka roti

Directions:

1. Add rice and split chickpeas to a bowl and rinse twice with water and drain. Soak them in water for 3 hours or overnight. 

2. Drain the water used to soak before grinding. 

3. Add the soaked ingredients and salt to a blender / grinder and grind finely adding water as required to form a thick, pourable consistency batter. (This batter gets runny very easily and so start adding a small amount of water to grind initially and go on adding as needed). Transfer the batter to a container.

4. Heat a griddle and pour a ladleful batter at the center and spread it thinly with the back of the ladle. Drizzle oil around the edges and cook until the surface appears dry. 

* Flip the roti and cook on the other side as well for few seconds.

* Remove it with a spatula and repeat the roti making process.

* Serve them warm with chutney of your choice.

This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon and check the link to find out what other marathoners are cooking.

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Moonglet

Pesarattu is a traditional breakfast of the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, especially in the northern parts of the state where it commonly prepared at homes and eateries across the region. It is basically a pancake prepared with soaked and ground whole mung beans and sometimes with the skinned yellow variety. It is ground  with the addition of ginger, green chillies, cumin and salt to add flavor and usually served with ginger chutney.  

Moong dal chilla or pudla or polis, are again pancakes prepared with mung beans and are mostly popular in northern and western parts of India. They can be made of desired consistency - thick or thin and is a popular street food as well in the region. You can add finely chopped vegetables to make them nutritious or can stuff them with a spicy paneer, potato or any vegetable filling of your choice. Or they can be served plain with some ketchup or green chutney. 

I came across another version called moonglet sometime last year which has become a new favorite at home. To be honest, I eat pesarattu because they are healthy where as my husband eats it because I am the one who decides the menu and cooks, and he has no other option. You get the drift, right? 😀 Basically no one gets enthusiastic at our home when I prepare pesarattu. This changed when we tasted these moonglet for the first time. 

Moonglet (or the lentil omelet) are also made with the yellow mung which are basically the whole mung beans that are hulled and split. These beans are quick to cook and easily digestible. If planning to make breakfast, soak yellow moong beans overnight or soak them around noon, if planning for evening snack / dinner. They can be soaked just for an hour too, in a time crunch. 

These thicker version pancakes are gluten-free and can be turned vegan by skipping butter in the recipe. What makes these protein rich moonglets different is the addition of fruit salt to the batter which makes the pancakes airy and fluffy. When cooked to a perfect golden brown and crispy with a generous addition of oil and butter, these make a great treat even to the naysayers of pesarattu. These wholesome and nutritious pancakes can be served with a chutney of your choice or some ketchup.

Ingredients: (Yield - 3)

1 cup yellow moongdal

1 tsp. salt or to taste

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. grated ginger

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped tomato

1/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

1 green chili, finely chopped

2 tbsp. minced cilantro

1/2 tsp. Eno's fruit salt

Oil and butter as needed

Directions:

1. Soak moong dal for an hour or two in enough water. (It can be soaked overnight too if planning for breakfast and doesn't want to waste time for soaking in the morning.)

2. Drain the water used to soak and grind moong and salt together into a thick batter adding water if necessary. (I added slightly more than 1/4 cup of water in total.) 

3. Transfer the batter to a bowl. Add cumin seeds, ginger, chopped onion, tomato, bell pepper, chili and cilantro and mix well.

4. Add Eno's fruit salt and sprinkle a tablespoon of water over it and immediately whisk it with a ladle. Add some water if the batter appears too thick.

* Heat a small pan with some depth and pour oil or butter generously. (I used more about 2 tbsp. oil. Mine was a 8 inch pan with inner circumference of 6 inches). 

5. Pour 2 to 3 ladles (about 1/2 to 3/4 cup) of batter into the pan. 

6. Cover and cook on low flame until it turns golden brown on the bottom side. Don't rush since the pancake needs to be cooked through as it is thicker than usual ones.

7. Flip it and gently score a '+' on the surface with the spatula. 

8. Pour oil / butter over it. (I used a tbsp. of butter.)

* Continue to cook until the other side turns golden brown as well. 

* Transfer it with a spatula onto a plate and repeat the steps with the remaining batter.

* Serve it warm with a chutney / ketchup.

This post is an entry for Blogging Marathon and check the link to find out what other marathoners are cooking.

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Musthi Polo

I thought of posting one more dosa recipe today which happens to be a popular and traditional breakfast dish from Konkani households. Polo means dose / dosa in Konkani while musthi means 'fist' in both Konkani and Kannada. Most of the ingredients used in the recipe were measured by fistfuls which would amount to approximately to 1/4 cup and hence the name. These polo are soft and fluffy and are prepared on the similar lines as the set dose, a breakfast popular in the eateries across Bangalore. Served along with coconut chutney or any other chutney of preference, these spongy dosas make a delicious breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice *
1/4 cup skinned black gram / urad dal
1/4 cup flattened rice / poha

1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds / methi seeds

1/4 cup fresh coconut

Salt to taste

Water to grind (I used a little more than a cup of water.)

* (I use extra long grain rice. Any rice can be used but not aromatic variety). 

Directions:

* Rinse and soak rice, black gram, flattened rice and methi seeds for about 4 hours. Drain the water used to soak before grinding.

* Grind finely the soaked ingredients along with coconut, salt and enough water to form a pourable but not runny batter. 

* Transfer the batter to a container, cover and let it ferment in a warm place overnight or for more time if living in a cold place.

* Heat a griddle and pour a ladleful batter at the center and spread only a little with the back of the ladle. These dosa are made smaller and thicker than the regular dosa. Drizzle oil around the edges and cook until the surface appears dry. The surface turns all porous if the batter is fermented well.

* The dosa can be removed at this point or flipped and cooked on the other side as well for few seconds.

* Remove the polo with a spatula and repeat the polo making process.

* Serve them warm with chutney of your choice.

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Avarekaalu Dose / Spicy Field Beans Crepes

Come winter season, streets in Bangalore area would be flooded with avarekayi, aka fresh hyacinth or field beans. A favorite of the locals, the bean is extensively used in cooking and enjoyed through out the season in the region. During my previous visit to India, I happened to see them surprisingly in the month of July when we went to eat at the Thindi beedhi / Eat street in V. V. Puram, Basavanagudi. We bought some avarekayi to try later at home while I tasted these dose there. 

Here is a delicious breakfast option using these beans if you are bored with the regular dosa and looking for a colorful and nutritious variation. These dose are prepared similar to uttapam with toppings thrown over though the dose are made with fresh batter. Feel free to use the measurements given below as a guideline and adjust the quantities of toppings as preferred. Minced dill leaves is a flavorful addition to this dose which I have omitted. Even spring onions can be used. 

Ingredients: (Yield - about 10 dosa)
4 cups dosa batter

Salt to taste

About 1/2 cup hitakida avaraekayi / skinned field beans *

1 big onion, finely minced

2 spicy green chilis, finely minced

Minced cilantro as needed

Oil to make dosa

* Fresh or frozen field beans can be used to make these dose / dosa. If using fresh beans, they must be skinned. 

Directions:

* Add salt to dosa batter if it was not done before. 

* If using fresh hitakida avarekayi, pressure cook for one whistle adding salt and little water. If using frozen beans, nuke them in a microwave adding little water and salt. Drain and proceed with the recipe.

* Combine cooked and drained beans, minced onion, green chili and cilantro. Keep this topping mixture aside. (Minced dill leaves, ginger and cumin seeds can be added if preferred.)

* Heat a griddle / tawa and pour a ladle of dosa batter at the center and spread in a circular fashion and quickly sprinkle the toppings generously over the dose covering it entirely. (Or pour a ladleful of batter at the center of the griddle and spread a little. Sprinkle the toppings over it and again spread the batter lightly in a circular fashion, with the back of the ladle so that the toppings stick better to the dosa.)

* Drizzle oil around the edges and cook until the surface doesn't look wet. Flip, drizzle some more oil around the edges and cook the other side as well.

* Remove the cooked dosa with a spatula and repeat the procedure with the remaining batter.

* Serve them warm with chutney.

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Instant Appam

I had made these instant appam for my Kerala breakfast platter that was a part of 'Thaalis & Platters' that I posted during September. Idiyappam was originally on my mind when I thought of that platter but decided to include another dish at the last moment. These appams that I found on YouTube came to my rescue (I however forgot to note the link.) which are an instant version. Unlike the traditional version appam posted here, this appam batter does not include any yeast and needs no fermentation overnight though the batter needs to rest for a short amount of time. The instant appam batter instead has an unusual addition of fruit salt that is not typically used in south Indian cooking which make these appam softer and fluffier. These appam make a great breakfast / brunch item on a weekend or even during weekdays if one doesn't mind the short resting period of the batter.

Traditional appam are pancakes / dosas prepared with a fermented batter of rice and coconut and are popular in the south Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The appam are bland on their own and are usually served with a savory condiment / side dish. These thin breakfast pancakes are typically bowl shaped since they are made in appachatti, a cast iron frying pan that is rounded at the sides and looks like a shallow bowl. I followed the recipe exactly including making them on a griddle instead of a curved pan similar to a wok and so these don't have the typical appam shape. Also they were made thicker. I had served them with kurma and kaara chutney.

Ingredients:

2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup shredded coconut, fresh or frozen
Salt to taste
1 tsp. sugar
1 to 1.5 tbsp. Eno's fruit salt
Oil to make appam

Directions:

* Thaw coconut if using frozen. Grind rice flour, rice, coconut, salt and sugar together into a smooth batter of pourable consistency, adding water as needed. (One may need about 2.5 cups of water.) 

* Pour the batter into a container, cover and let the batter sit for at least half an hour. (I let it to rest for a couple of hours.) Add any extra water if needed at this point.
* Add fruit salt just before making dosas and sprinkle a tbsp. of water over it. 

* Mix gently to combine, yielding a frothy mixture.

* Heat a griddle / tawa and pour a ladleful of batter at the center and don't spread it. 

* Add a tsp. of oil around the edges and when the appam appears dry  on the surface, flip it.

* Cook for few more seconds until the bottom side gets cooked as well and transfer the appam onto a plate using a spatula.

* Repeat the steps of making appam with the remaining batter.
* Serve them warm with a side dish.

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A - Z Karnataka Recipe Series ~ W for Watermelon Rind Dose / Kalingana Polo

I did not have to think much about the alphabet 'W' in this series as I was set on this watermelon rind dose recipe early on. I could not think even one recipe from Karnataka with a local name that starts with the letter 'W'. In fact I have saved this recipe for ages in the hopes of doing a Karnataka recipe series in the alphabetical order some day. Mysore pak, hitakida bele saaru, nuchinnunde, some of the classic recipes were not posted on my blog until this series for the same reason.

This watermelon rind pancakes called kalingana polo is a traditional recipe from Konkani households. Dosa, the popular south Indian breakfast is called dose (though-say) in Kannada whereas it is called polo in Konkani. It is one of those recipes which shows how our ancestors in the agrarian economy had been frugal and nothing went wasted in their kitchens. The white part of the watermelon rind which is usually tossed away after enjoying the fruit is used in these dose preparation. The white rind is crisp with a very mild flavor and is used in preparation of other dishes as well.

These dose are not instant and needs advance planning. The ingredients need to be soaked, ground and fermented overnight similar to regular dose. These are soft and spongy in texture like surnoli / set dose. One cannot even notice the watermelon flavor here. In fact one can hardly notice these dose being any different from the regular version except these being softer. The yummy dose go well with any spicy accompaniment like the regular dose.

I find summer to be the best time to prepare these dose when the watermelons are available in abundance. I freeze the white part of the rind after enjoying the fruit so that I can have access to it even during winters when the fruits are not found. Any cheap quality rice will work for dose recipe, if living in India. I use extra long grain rice for my dose which they sell in bulk at Sams / Costco stores. 

Ingredients:  (Yield - about 9 to 10 dose)

1 cup rice
1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
1 cup puffed rice or flattened rice (I used puffed rice.)
1 heaped cup of white watermelon rind
1/4 cup fresh / frozen grated coconut 
Salt to taste
1/2 cup water
Oil to make dose

Prep work:
* Rinse rice, fenugreek seeds and flattened rice (poha) if using with water and drain. Soak them in water for at least 3 to 4 hours. If using puffed rice / murmura instead of flattened rice / poha then just rinse them before grinding the dose batter.
* Cut the red fruit from the watermelon and you will be left with the outer green skin and the white rind.

* Carefully remove the white part with a knife and discard the outer green part.

* Drain the water used to soak the rice or save about half a cup to grind the batter and drain the rest.

* Thaw if using frozen coconut. First grind together watermelon rind and coconut. Then add soaked rice and fenugreek seeds, rinsed puffed rice / flattened rice, coconut and salt. Grind into a thick and fine batter adding water as needed. (I used about half cup. You can use the water that was used in soaking the rice. If you live in a hot climate, salt can be added before making the dose instead.)

* Transfer the ground batter to a container, cover it and leave it in a warm place overnight to ferment. (I ground the batter the previous evening at around 4 pm and made dosas for the breakfast next morning. Basically I left it to ferment for about 15 hours.)
* The batter in this case won't rise dramatically but it will become thicker and porous and you can lightly smell the fermentation.

* Heat a tawa and pour a ladleful of batter at the center and don't spread it. 

* Add a tsp. of oil around the edges and COVER it with a lid. You will start to notice holes developing and when the dose appears dry  on the surface, flip it.

* Cook for few more seconds until the bottom side gets cooked as well and transfer the dose onto a plate using a spatula.

* Repeat the steps of dose making with the remaining batter.
* Serve them warm with a chutney any spicy accompaniment. Mine were served with vegetable saagu and chutney pudi.

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Navaratri Naivedya ~ Sihi Dose / Bellada Dose

Sihi dose / Bellada dose which literally means a sweet pancake or a jaggery pancake is a traditional recipe from Karnataka. These are prepared during Dasara / Navaratri, especially on 'Sarawathi Pooje' day to offer as neivedya. These dosas are made with a ground batter of rice, jaggery, coconut and cardamom. A tsp. or two of poppy seeds can also be used in the recipe. If using them, they are soaked along with rice and ground. There is also another version of sweet dosas in south India which is wheat flour based. These sihi dose are usually made smaller in size compared to the regular dose / dosas. They are not cloyingly sweet and so one can enjoy 2 or 3 dose with no problem. 

The festive display of dolls and figurines arranged in tiers is a special feature of Dasara in south Indian regions. I am not sure about other places but it was a custom during olden days where I grew up that kids would visit homes in their neighborhoods, even strangers' during the time to see this arrangement. The kids usually got a simple treat from each home they visited. Some would prepare these dose in mini sizes and give them out to the kids who visited their homes.

Ingredients: (Yield around 16 dose)

1 cup rice
3/4 to 1 cup fresh / frozen shredded coconut 

3/4 tp 1 cup jaggery (depending upon the sweetness of jaggery.)
2 cardamom pods

Ghee to make dose

Prep work:

* Rinse and soak rice in water for about 2 or 3 hours. Drain the water after soaking period.

* Thaw if using frozen coconut by heating it in a microwave for about a minute.

* The jaggery can be directly used in the recipe if it is clean. If the jaggery has any impurities, add a little water and heat it. Turn off the stove and run the jaggery water through a strainer and collect the clean liquid. (Brown sugar can be substituted for jaggery.)

* Powder the cardamom seeds finely and keep aside.

Directions:

* Add the drained rice, coconut, jaggery or the jaggery water and cardamom powder to a mixer / grinder. Grind the mixture finely to a pancake batter consistency, adding little water if needed.

* Heat a pan and pour a ladleful of batter and spread it a little to keep it slightly on a thicker side. (One can make it thinly as regular dosas if preferred but they are usually made in a smaller size.) Pour 1/4 tsp. ghee around the edges and cook until the surface is no longer wet looking. Flip and add another 1/4 tsp. ghee around the edges if preferred. Cook until the other side cooks as well. Remove it and repeat the steps to make more dose with the remaining batter.

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A - Z Karnataka Recipe Series ~ S for Sajjige Rotti

So far in my 'A - Z' Karnataka Recipe Series,
Akki Halbai
Biscuit Roti
Congress Kadalekayi
Davanagere Benne Dose
Ellu Pajji
Field Beans / Avarekalu Payasa
Girmit
Hitakida Avarekalu Huli
Iyengar Bakery Style Masala Toast
Jolada Vade
Kumbalakayi Idli
Limbe Hannina Gojju
Mysore Pak
Nuchinunde
Oodhalina Bisibele Bhath

Panchakajjaya
Quinoa Oralu Chitranna
Rave Vangi Bhath

Welcome back on this culinary journey across the state of Karnataka. My first choice for today's letter was sakkare achchu, the sugar figurines which are associated with the harvest festival in the region, Sankranthi. I was planning to visit India this summer and this achchu making was on the cards for the marathon. Achu making requires expertise and patience and I was planning to reacquaint with the process along with my mother who has stopped making them in the recent years. Unfortunately, the trip and the achchu did not happen for the obvious reasons. Going by the chaos happening around right now, this should be of least concern, I know.😟

I chose to go with something made with sajjige aka semolina and so here are some sajjige rotti if one is looking for some filling, tasty and healthy breakfast ideas. A rotti conjures up an image of thick and sometimes crisp flat breads which are a very popular breakfast choice in Karnataka. They can be made with rice flour and finger millet aka ragi flour which are the most common ones served for breakfast. Then there is jola/sorghum based flour ones which are a routine lunch item in North Karnataka homes. 

Today's semolina rotti aka rave or sajjige rotti is slightly different than those and can can be made in two ways. One is where a firm dough is prepared like the akki masaale rotti or the ragi ones and patted on the griddle and toasted. Or a thick batter is prepared with a similar consistency to idli batter and are prepared as thick dosas. However they do not have any resemblance to another popular version of  semolina pancakes in south India called the rava dosa either in texture or taste. They take a little longer to cook than the regular dosas and make an instant, no ferment dosas though the semolina needs to be soaked in yogurt for a short time. I make dosas sometimes adding turmeric as well and so there are both yellow and brown colored rottis pictured here.

Some other 'S' Dishes of the region:
* Sabbakki payasa - Tapioca pearl kheer
* Sajjappa - A festive dish with a sweet filling of coconut and semolina.
* Shaavige payasa - Vermicelli kheer
* Sukkinunde - Stuffed and fried sweet dumplings
* Shenga holige - Peanut poli
* Saasive - A raita prepared with a paste of coconut and mustard seeds with a tempering of spices. 
* Shenga hindi - North Karnataka style peanut powder
* Saaru - Rasam
* Saarina pudi - Rasam powder
* 'Sandige' aka sun-dried vadi 
* Sandige huli - A gravy made with steamed lentil dumplings
* The 'Set dose' which is served as a stack of three thick, spongy dosas served with vegetable saagu and coconut chutney. 
* Shaavige bhath / uppittu - Vermicelli upma
* The savory and sweet versions of 'Surnoli', dose / pancake from the Konkan region. 
* Southekayi rotti - Flat breads made with rice flour and cucumber
* Susla / Sushila - A puffed rice based snack from North Karnataka.
* Dishes made with the following vegetables would also fall under 'S' category. 

'S' kitchen ingredients / produce in Kannada:
* Sabsige soppu  aka dill leaves which is a commonly used greens in the region. 
* Soppu in general means greens. 
* Seeme badanekayi - chayote / chow chow
* Southekayi - cucumber. 
* Sorekayi - bottle gourd 
* Shunti - ginger
* Suvarna gadde - elephant yam / suran
* Sapota hannu - chikoo fruit
* Sebu or sebina hannu - apple
* Seebe hannu - guava
* Seethaphala - custard apple
* Saame - little millet
* Sakkare - sugar
* Sabbakki - sago, tapioca pearls
* Sajje - pearl millet / bajra
* Sasive / Sasive kaalu - mustard seeds
* Sihi - sweet
* Siri dhanya - millets
* Shavige - vermicelli

Ingredients: (Yield 8 dosas)
1 cup semolina
3/4 cup yogurt
3/4 cup water
Salt to taste
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 pinches of asafoetida powder
2 pinches of turmeric powder (optional)
2 sprigs of curry leaves, finely chopped
A handful cilantro leaves, finely chopped
2 green chilies, finely chopped
1 tsp. ginger finely chopped
A handful of fresh / frozen grated coconut
Ghee / oil to make dosas

Directions:
* Combine semolina and salt in a bowl. Add yogurt and water to it and mix well. Leave it aside for at least 15 to 30 minutes.
* If using frozen coconut, thaw it in the microwave before adding it to the batter.

 * Add the remaining ingredients except the ghee / oil to semolina bowl and mix well.

* Heat a tawa / shallow pan on medium pan. Sprinkle a little water on the pan to check whether the pan is ready to make rotti. It is ready if the water sizzles and evaporates immediately. If not, heat the pan some more but don't bring it to a smoking point. 
* Pour a ladleful of batter at the center. Spread it as thin as possible. The traditional way is to spread the batter thickly using fingertips.  A ladle can be used instead to be on a safer side though these can not be spread as thinly as the regular dosa.

* Pour a 1/2 tsp. oil / ghee around the edges and cook until the batter appears dry on the surface, around 2 minutes and flip. Cook the other side as well for about a minute and remove the dosa with a spatula.
* Repeat the rotti making with the remaining batter and serve warm with a chutney.

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Horse Gram Dosas / Ulava Dosalu

South Indian breakfast dishes are preferred over bread / cereal any given day in our home and I therefore keep rotating them. However idlis and dosas, which everyone seem to like mostly contain rice and I am trying to make them a tad healthier. Over the recent years, I have started to substitute a healthy ingredient for a portion of the rice in those recipes. Today's recipe is such one though a traditional one to make idlis and I make dosas with it as well. 

Horse gram, though chiefly is horse fodder as the name suggests is beneficial to humans as well as it is rich in iron. It is being used in Indian cuisine from a long time though not used as extensively as the other beans. Here is one way to include these in the diet if interested. One cannot miss the distinct flavor of horse gram, when tasting the dishes made with this bean. If one is bothered about it, serve these dosas with a coconut chutney / sambhar instead of dry spice powders which masks the flavor.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup horse gram / kulthi
1/2 cup skinned black gram / urad dal
1/2 cup idli rava
Salt to taste 
Any neutral flavored oil to make dosas 

Directions:
* Rinse horse gram and black gram with water thoroughly and drain. Soak them together in water for at least 3 hours, such that water level is at least two or three inches higher than the ingredients during the soaking period. 
* Similarly rinse idli rava and soak separately, covered in enough water.
* After the soaking period, drain the water completely from beans and rava containers. Add all the soaked and drained ingredients to a blender and grind into a thick, smooth batter adding salt and enough water. The batter should not be too runny. 
* Pour the batter into a container, with some extra space to allow the fermented batter to rise. Cover the container and leave it in a warm place overnight or for at least 8 hours or more depending upon the local weather to ferment. 
* Heat a tawa / flat non stick griddle when ready to make dosas. Stir the fermented batter once with a ladle. Pour a ladleful (about 1/4 cup) of batter at the center of the griddle and quickly spread it thinly with the back of the ladle. Pour 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. oil around the edges (I use very less oil.) 
* Cook until the bottom side is done and the surface no longer looks wet. Flip it with a spatula and cook the other side as well for few seconds. Transfer the cooked dosa onto a plate and repeat the dosa making process with the remaining batter. 
* Serve them warm with coconut chutney or any other spicy chutney.

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A - Z Karnataka Recipe Series ~ D for Davanagere Benne Dose

So far in my A - Z Karnataka Series
A - Akki Halbai
B - Biscuit Roti
C - Congress Kadalekayi

The letter 'D' in my series stands for dose or to be precise, gari - gari benne dose. The crispy butter dose from Davanagere, a city in Karnataka.  I thought the dish for 'D' gas been sorted out more than a year ago when I took pictures of a dish my Kannadiga sister in law was cooking. It was an authentic, traditional recipe unique to the state and I had saved it in the hopes of using it when I do a series on Karnataka food. I know I sound crazy when putting it that way. Guess what when the time came for the 'D' recipe, this lady went looking for other options, sounds more crazier, I am sure. 

'D' stands for the word 'Dhaanya' meaning grains in Kannada which forms the basis of any cooking. I could have cooked something with donne menasinakayi (capsicum), doddapatre (Mexican mint), dantu soppu (Amaranth greens), drakshi (grapes) or dalimbe (pomegranate.) and my 'D' dish would have been ready. There was Konkani duddhali which is prepared along the same lines of a halbai and so it did not even come to my consideration. 

The two options that were on the top of my list happened to be  calorie laden, mouth watering delicacies - Benne dose which has become synonymous with a city in the central part of the state called Davanagere or a melt in mouth peda, again synonymous with the city in which it was originated, Dharwad from Northern Karnataka. Not exaggerating, Dharwad peda is one of the popular sweets of the state with it's own GI tag and a history of 175 years. The secretly guarded recipe originated in the city of Dharwad, concocted by a family that had migrated from Uttar Pradesh. May be it's nostalgia or I am biased, the real version is a treat and the rest doesn't meet the standards. 

The benne dose has not been posted yet on my blog which came handy now and became my "D ' dish. Besides I wanted to post one dose recipe in this series from the state which has given so many iconic dose recipes to the world like masala dose, Mysore masala dose, set dose and such. I have never eaten these benne dose in the town they originated in but I knew what makes it benne dose, Davanagere style. The side dishes to go with this dose are a bland, colorless potato curry along with a fiery coconut chutney prepared adding cardamom as well. Believe it or not, the curry and chutney complement each other well and one wouldn't notice the blandness of the curry. The dose usually served as a set of two unless specifically ordered as a single benne dose. They are not large sized as masala dose, and are soft and crisp at the same time. The dosas are cooked in loads of white butter and ghee and served again with a lump of butter on the top. 

Pronunciation:
Davanagere is a city in the central part of Karnataka state. The part 'Davana' is pronounced as the Hindu mythological character 'Ravana'. The 'da' sound is as in the name 'Damini'. And the part 'ge' as in the word 'get' and 're' as 'ray'.  
Benne means butter in Kannada. (pronounced like benn-a, stressing on the 'n' sound. The 'n' sound here is not the soft one that comes after alphabet 'dha' in south Indian languages but the one that comes after 'da' alphabet.). 
Dose is a 'Kannada' word for south Indian style pancakes and is pronounced as 'though - say'. Dose can be singular or plural.

I came across an article here which came handy for this dose preparation, which gave me hotel style butter dosas which I have always thought was impossible to create at home. The recipe makes superb dosas even in case if it is not authentic as the original version that was created. Whereas this article talks about the origins and gives some more tidbits about the preparation. According to it, benne dose originated in Mahadevappa benne dosa hotel, which opened in 1928 in Davanagere. The third generation of the family is running the business now and the owner's grandfather's family had moved from a village in Belagavi / Belgaum to Davangere in 1927 after a severe drought in their region. The grandmother, named Chennamma who happened to be a good cook started selling ghee dosas made with finger millet and other snacks near a drama theater which gave them enough patronage. When it was time for her sons to take over the business after a decade or so, the menu changed from her ragi / fingermillet ghee dosas to rice based dosas and as they say, the rest is history. Those dosas went on to became popular as benne dose in the entire state. Even though they don't divulge in the secrets of the trade, it seems that they use a particular brand of rice called Jaya brand, use butter prepared in a special method and used to cook over wood fire. Only potato, onion and salt go into the curry. No chillies or tempering are used and not even turmeric for a hint of color. They add byadagi and Guntur variety dried red chillies for the chutney recipe though most of the other restaurants use green chillies. Also the chutney uses only cardamom as the first article mentions which is an unusual addition to the coconut chutney. I have seen online versions where clove and even cinnamon have been included in the chutney recipe. 

1 cup = 235 ml
Ingredients for dose:
2 cups rice / akki  *
1/2 cup skinned black gram / uddina bele / urad dal
1 tsp. fenugreek seeds / menthya / methi daana
1 cup puffed rice / mandakki / murmura
2 tbsp. all purpose flour / maida
2.5 tsp. salt
About 1 and 3/4 to 2 cups water to grind
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Butter and ghee to make dosas

* Any rice can be used. Even cheaper variety rice can be used in the dosa preparation and I usually go with extra long grain rice. The recipe makes at least 2 batches of dosas for a family of four and so the batter covers two days of breakfast. It can be used to make regular dosas or uttapams. The ingredients can be halved or doubled depending upon the quantity of the dosa batter one needs.

Ingredients for potato curry:
4 big sized potato (About 3 cups chopped)
1 tbsp. oil or as needed
2 red onions, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Ingredients for coconut chutney:
1 cup shredded fresh / frozen coconut
Green chillies to taste
Salt to taste
Seeds from 1 cardamom

Preparing dosa batter:
Dosa batter needs advance preparation. If one needs to make dosas for breakfast then the ingredients need to be soaked by mid morning or afternoon the previous day. It needs to be ground by evening (or afternoon if living a cold place) and allowed to ferment overnight or a few hours extra depending upon where one lives. The standard 8 hour fermentation rule apply only if one lives in warmer areas. I soak the ingredients around 11 am and grind by 3 pm during winters, leave it to ferment in a warm place and make dosas around 7 am next morning. My batter takes double the time to ferment. In the recent years, I have started to leave my batter container on a heating vent which works perfectly fine. I set even the yogurt that way. Or one can leave the covered batter container in an oven, keeping the light on. Just remember not to turn on the oven.  

Steps:
1. Rinse rice, black gram and fenugreek seeds with water twice and drain. Wash the puffed rice in a colander and drain the water. (If any of the ingredients being used contain stones or any other things need to be picked, do so before soaking.) Add all the rinsed ingredients in a container and soak them in water. Add enough water so that water level is at least 2 inches higher than the ingredients. Let them soak at least for 3.5 to 4 hours. 

2. One can use the soaked water to grind the batter or drain and use fresh batch of water. I prefer the latter method. Whatever method is preferred, use as much water as needed to grind into a smooth, thick batter. The batter shouldn't be too runny. If not sure how much water is needed, drain all the water used to soak the ingredients and follow according to the given measurement. One can even collect the drained water into a container and use it if preferring that way.

Add the drained rice, black gram, fenugreek, puffed rice, all purpose flour and water as needed to grind the batter in either a wet grinder or a mixie. If living in a cold place, add salt as well while grinding. (I used a little less than 2 cups of water to grind in my 14 speed Oster blender but the batter can be ground using less water in a grinder. If using a mixer / mixie, the ingredients may need to be ground in two batches since the quantity is more.)

3. Transfer the smooth and thickly ground batter to a container with space enough for the batter to rise during fermentation. Cover the container and leave in a warm place  overnight or until fermented. When ready to make dose, add sugar and baking soda to the fermented batter (or to the portion of the batter that is going to be used) and mix well. (Salt need to be added as well if it was not added during grinding.)

4. Heat a cast iron or non stick pan on medium flame until drops of water sprinkled over it sizzles and evaporates. No need to bring it to a smoking point. Pour a ladleful of batter and lightly spread. One can spread the batter thinner too. I poured a little ghee around the edges of the dose which is optional. 

5. Let it cook until the raw batter is no longer seen / dose appears dry on the surface. Spread blobs of butter over the surface and lightly spread when it is melting. Cook until the butter melts, fold and remove. (The dose can be flipped and cooked the other side too for few seconds and I didn't do it.)

6. Repeat the dose making steps with the remaining batter. 

Preparation of aloogadde palya:
* Peel the potatoes and cut into big chunks. Pressure cook them adding water for 2 or 3 whistles. When the valve pressure is gone, drain the potatoes and mash them. 
* Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions and fry them until translucent. (Some skip the frying part and boil the onions in water and drain.) Add mashed potatoes and salt to the pan. Mix well and turn off the stove. 

Preparation of kaayi chutney:
* Add all the ingredients mentioned under chutney and grind fine adding enough water to make a thick chutney. The chutney is supposed to be spicy but one can adjust the spice levels according to taste. 

* Serve the hot benne dose with palya and chutney.

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