VENDHAYA DOSAI

VENDHAYA  DOSAI

We make so many types of dosa/dosai for breakfast in South India. You may be surprised to know that entire books have been written exclusively with dosa recipes! Dosas ("Dosais" in Tamilnadu) vary not only in their content by way of ingredients but also in their thickness, from the thin and crisp Paper Dosa on one hand to the much thicker Uthappam on the other. 

Since we are big dosa eaters, in this blog naturally you will find many recipes for dosa. Some among them, with brief descriptions , are:- 

• Dosa, the plain version 
•  Paper Dosa, as crisp as you can get
• Moong Dal Dosa, can be made fast as no fermentation is required
• Dal Dosa, if one wants to avoid rice
• Carrot, Onion & Tomato Uthappam power packed with veggies

Today's recipe is for yet another dosa, this one from Tamilnadu, called Vendhaya Dosai. It is a thick, soft and porous dosa with the aroma of fenugreek, which is called Vendhayam in Tamil.

Traditionally, it has been believed that Fenugreek seeds are good for health. They have a good amount of fibre and minerals including iron and magnesium. In the old days, lactating mothers were given lots of fenugreek seeds in their diet. 

The Vendhaya Dosa is thick and porous and need not be flipped and cooked on both sides. I prefer to serve  this with hot chutney. 

Ingredients:

• Idli Rice, ( Parboiled Rice), 2 cups
• Urad Dal, (Black Gram Dal),  2 tbsp
• Vendhaya (Fenugreek) Seeds, 2 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil,  for making dosais

Method:-

In a bowl, soak the fenugreek seeds in adequate water for 6-8 hours or overnight 

Wash and soak the Idli Rice and Urad Dal together in adequate water for about 4-5 hours

Drain the excess water and grind together the soaked fenugreek seeds, idli rice and urad dal to a smooth paste adding the required amount of water

The batter should be slightly thick like the batter for making Uthappams

Add salt to the batter and mix well and leave it to ferment for about 8-10 hours or overnight

Prepare the dosas: heat a tawa and grease it lightly with a little oil

Sprinkle a little water and when it sizzles, you know the tawa is hot enough to make dosas 

Mix the batter before use and  pour a ladle of batter and spread it slightly as this is a thick type of dosa like Uthappam  

Drizzle some oil on and around the dosa and cook covered on medium heat till pores appear on the dosa and it gets full cooked

There is no need to flip this type of dosa but you may if you wish to

Transfer to serving plate

Serve hot with chutney of your choice.