Nov 8, 2009

Moong dosa/ adai inspired by Holy Cow

I have to admit that till I started reading Vaishali’s blog, Holy Cow, my conception of vegan was vague. Not so any more. Eating a vegetarian Indian diet gets you as close to being a vegan as possible with the exception of daiy, fat and meat. Nevertheless, I try to check up Vaishali’s recipes as fast as she posts them. Trying them out at the same speed is another matter. In the past I have made her baghare baingan and loved them. This is saying a lot from someone not fond of baingan (eggplant).

Her moong dal dosa were another hit in my home. Soaking time two hours, no fermentation and a little grinding later the batter is ready. All you have to do is roll a ladleful on the skillet and your breakfast, lunch or snack is ready. These are not only easy to make and full of nutrition and protein but addictive as well. Ever since I read the recipe three weeks ago, I have been tweaking it and trying it out every few days. What I have not done is stop eating them.

So here’s my version of Vaishali’s moong dosa:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup moong dal (I used whole but split can be substituted)
1/2 cup ponni rice (Vaishali recommends any medium grain rice)
1/4 cup chana dal (optional)
2-4 green chilies
2-4 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
1/2 bunch of coriander

Method:
Wash and soak both the dals and the rice together. Soak in about a cup and a half of water for two to three hours.

In a blender, grind the soaked ingredients with the chilies, garlic, ginger, coriander and cumin to a smooth consistency. Add salt to taste and keep aside in the refrigerator till ready to use. If the batter is too thick, add a little water to the batter.


When ready to use, heat a non-stick or a cast iron skillet on medium heat. With a smooth concentric motion of the hand, spread a ladleful of batter in a thin circle on the skillet. For a demo on how to spread dosa batter, check out this link.
Add a few drops of oil on the dosa. Unlike regular dosa, this one does need only a few drops. If you add too much, the dosa will get oily. A few drops of oil is another plus of this dosa.

When the dosa starts lifting from the edges, in a minute or two, flip it with a spatula and cook the other side. Fold it in half and serve with chutney of your choice.


Sra of When My Soup Came Alive is hosting this month's MLLA -- 17, originally started by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook. The moong dal dosa is getting shipped to the two lovely ladies on account of it being loaded with legumes.

27 comments:

  1. i love this green dosa n your tawa picture with all those swirls loos beautiful..
    i make a different version, a Jiggs Kalra recipe which is yumm too...

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  2. This is my fav dosa too!! You made it so nice and round and perfect.

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  3. Hi Yaja.
    I have to start trying out your recipes. It all looks so good.
    From snowy Oslo, have a great day:)
    SP

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  4. I too tried this once.Nice color :)

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  5. delicious dosa and a nice click. you can visit my blog and give ur comments.

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  6. the best part about this dosa is that you can have it for any meal - much like a one size fits all kind of thing!

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  7. Hi Jaya, perfect shape and beautiful colour.Though I understand adai are a little thicker than the dosas, that's what my neighbour had explained me in Chennai. I make this version and sometimes with sprouted moong which I always find more tasty and healthy, do give a try with the sprouted version, I am sure u will like that too.I find it a good item for kids lunch box.

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  8. Thank you Sangeeta. Would love to try out the Jigs Kalra recipe.

    Thank you Chakhlere, SP, Chitra and Kitchen Queen.

    Yep, Aqua, I totally agree. I substitute it for rotis all the time, have it for breakfast or as a tea time snack.

    Thank you Pari. I have made this with sprouted moong too, though I didn't think the taste was any different. Healthier, yes.

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  9. The Moong dosas look very yummy. I make Adais quite often as they don't have to ferment like regular dosas. This dosa looks like a mix of Pesarattu ( from Andhra) and Adai ( from TN). This is one of my favourtie dish.

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  10. Hi Jaya, I saw this yesterday, even before I received your mail - am so struck by the beauty of the second photo. We call this pesarattu in Telugu - it's an Andhra speciality and is usually served with some ginger chutney. A famous combination is some upma placed inside it. At home, it's made with bits of onion and ginger sprinkled on top. I'm not sure if my folks use rice in the batter, though, I think it's all green gram. Thanks so much for this entry, and the memories. Have to make this soon.

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  11. they look really good..im no good at making dosas...but i REALLY do wanna try...love anything with coriander in it

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  12. oh these dosa are cool love dosa and the color rocks Rebecca

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  13. Oh this is all new to me and I can tell I love it! What a gorgeous presentation...love the colour. I HAVE to HAVE to try this. I bet it will be difficult for me...that smooth concentric motion has me stumped already...grin. Oh wait...you said there was a link...I couldn't find it...did I miss something? BTW..thanks for your extremely kind words today. It means so much to me!

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  14. The color of the dosa looks so pretty.
    You know, I had heard about Adai before but had nevertasted it. but then I had it at my friends place and like you i have been hooked on to it ever since.
    I use all different daals in it like Toor Daal, Urad daal, masoor daal, chana daal for the batter and turns out great.

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  15. Trish, sorry about that. The link is up. :)

    Sra, the upma inside the adai sounds interesting. Never heard of it. I did try the onion but ended up with a mess on the tava. I think the purist version of adai does not have rice in it but I like the crispiness it gives.

    RC, I have been thinking of adding urad and masoor but did not dare to attempt. Now that I have your 'go ahead' next batch will have masoor in it. :)

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  16. Thanks for the link Jaya....as I have a day off today I am going to try this....I hope it turns out as beautiful as yours!

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  17. Jaya, I have been superbusy these last few days and on a blogging low, but you really made my day today -- I am so glad you tried out the recipe, and I like your tweaks very much. Using more dal and less rice is a great idea-- more nutritious too-- and I will be sure to try it your way soon.
    Like the other readers, I have to say the pictures are stunning and you are really good at spreading out the dosas. It took me a while to master that particular aspect of dosa-making and I still don't consider myself too good at it. Yours look perfect.

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  18. Dosas are my ultimate favorite...i love and enjoy making dosas, but have never tried variations till date...its usually the traditional udad daal + rice dosa. This one im definitely trying..no fermentation, that's a blessing in disguise ...especially with the winter approaching.
    I usually dont flip my dosas...as they get crispy on one side, they start lifting themselves up and there, staright onto my plate.
    How do u think masala moong dosa wud taste...or some other kind of filling that goes with moong flavor? wat wud u suggest??

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  19. Wow, Trish, you are proactive. Good luck and let me know how they turn out.

    Vaishali, compliment from a seasoned cook like you makes me blush. As to rolling dosas, I had a good teacher, my MIL.

    Rush, I would recommend flipping these dosas, since the dal proportion is more and dosas are not as thin as the regular one. As to the filling, I think you could sprinkle it with onions and ginger or even upma as Sra suggested. I had eaten them a long time ago with shredded paneer bhurji. I think when it comes to stuffing you can go as varied as your imagination. :)

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  20. Pesarattu - as it is known in Andhra and made with whole green gram. We also add chopped onions and at times grated coconut just before folding the dosa. Wholesome meal.

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  21. I too make this in similar way, its super healthy and delicious..isnt it?

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  22. Your green dosa look great!! I love to eat dosa but there is no Indian restaurant in this town.. I am gonna try your recipe next time. Thanks for sharing.. :)

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  23. Looks delicious and Vaishali has an excellent collection of recipes.
    This is also called Pesarattu.

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  24. i posted the jiggs kalra recipe just now n have given your link too..
    check out...

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  25. It was very interesting for me to read the post. Thanks for it. I like such themes and everything connected to them. I would like to read a bit more on that blog soon.

    Avril Hakkinen

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  26. Rather interesting blog you've got here. Thank you for it. I like such themes and everything connected to them. I would like to read more soon.

    Kate Hakkinen

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  27. Hi Can you please tell me from where i can buy this kinda tawa in india. I am from Hyderabad.

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