Cucumber - Jaggery Dosa & Guli Appa

Cucumber/Mullu southekai as we call it, is mainly used in salads and eaten raw. We do make use of it in curries, idli, roti or dosa.

Here I have prepared Sweet Dosa, using Cucumber, Bottle gourd and the normal dosa ingredients with jaggery.

Cucumber Jaggery Dosa turns soft once it is fully fermented. Soak rice for 2 to 3 hours and grind it with cucumber and strictly no water. The batter should be thick and you can add water if needed once you start preparing dosa the next day morning or after 5 to 5 hours.
This is one of the South Canara /Udupi recipe which my doddamma and amma used to prepare. Dosa turns soft and fluffy and very nice to have them for breakfast or as snack.
Let us see some benefits of having breakfast in the morning.
Breakfast is one of the best meal for the day. It gives energy for the whole day. It helps to strengthen  metabolism and helps you to concentrate at work.Eating breakfast is good for health. It helps for better memory and concentration, lowers the bad cholesterol and helps in increasing good cholesterol.
Let us see the recipe now :

Ingredients :

Raw Rice : 2 Cups
Urid dal : 1/2 Cup
Methi /Fenugrik seeds : 1 Teaspoon
Fresh grated coconut : 2 Tablespoons
Cucumber : 2 (Very small ones or 1 medium size)
Grated bottle gourd : 1 Small bowl. (1/2 bottle gourd of medium size)
Jaggery : 2 Tablespoons./Powdered
Salt : As required
Oil/ghee : 2 to 3 Tablespoons

Method :

1. Wash and soak raw rice, urid dal and methi seeds together for 2 to 3 hours.

2. Grate coconut. Wash cucumber and cut into small pieces. Grate bottle gourd.

3. Now grind soaked rice-dal mixture with coconut,grated bottle gourd and cucumber till paste.

4. Add jaggery to the dough. Grind it for 2 minutes. Remove from mixi jar to a big bowl and add salt. Mix it well and let it ferment nicely till next morning/Overnight.

5. Mix the dough nicely.

6. Next morning see that dough is fermented well. Dough should be like normal dosa consistency.
7. Keep a pan on the fire and add very little oil and clean it with a kitchen tissue.
8. Take a ladle full of Cucumber jaggery dosa dough and pour it on the hot pan.

9. Do not spread much. Add oil on the top, cover and cook on medium flame for a minute.
10. Remove the cover and turn the dosa on the other side and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

11. Remove it from the pan. Dosa is ready to serve.

12. Serve it with a spoon of fresh ghee on the top of hot Cucumber jaggery dosa and a side dish of your wish.

Note :
The dough has to be fermented well or you will not get good dosas. So you need to see the dough is fermented well. Use of jaggery more /less is optional. Thick dosas taste better. Spreading and making it thin might tare and it will not come out of the pan. Let the flame be low while pouring the dough to the pan and then increase the flame to medium flame). I have used organic jaggery. Powder the jaggery and then add it. ( It is easy to grind powdered jaggery). Adding bottle gourd is optional. ( I have added grated bottle gourd while grinding along with cucumber). Time : Soaking the ingredients 3 hours + grinding 10 minutes and fermentation over night/6 to 7 hours.
Dosa preparation : 30 Minutes.
Serves : 3 to 4 .

You can also prepare Guli appa /guntponglu/kuli appam/paddu using the same dough. I added little grated carrots on the top of Guli appa.

Foxtail Millet & Mixed dal Dosas

Here I have tried using dals and foxtail mellet. 

varities of dosas can be prepared using this dough, like plain dosas (Crispy as choice), Masala dosa, (Using potato dry curry), paddu, onion dosa etc.

You can even prepare dosa as soon as you grind the dough. ( Optional) (Fermented is better and good).
Foxtail millet/Navane is one of the healthy Millet and using millet in daily life has become more popular these days .Millets are getting more and more popular. I have used mixed dals & Foxtail millet and prepared plain dosa and Masala Dosa. Dosa  came out crispy, yummy and need not to say we loved it. I even tried the fresh ground dough which was just ground and it turned soft and nice.
I have used foxtail millet, moong, toor, urid and channa dal with little Avalakki/flattened rice.
Millets are known as "Siri Dhanya " in Kannada langurage/Karnataka/India. This foxtail millet is known as Navane or Navanakki in Kannada. (ನವಣೆ ಅಥವಾ ನವಣಕ್ಕಿ), Kaon dhana in Bengali, Kooralu in Telugh and Kangani in Hindi.
Millets are known for their healthy properties, they are gluten free, rich in fiber and helps to control diabetes and high blood pressure.
Adding  little dry ginger powder helps to avoid the gas contained in dals. It acts as antioxidants and helps to digest the food easily. 
Let us see the recipe Now :

Ingredients

Foxtail Millet : 3 Cups
Urid dal : 1/2 Cup
Moong Dal : 1/2 Cup
Toor dal : 1/2 Cup
Channa Dal : 1/2 Cup
Avalakki : 2 Handful ( Nearly 1/2 Cup)
Methi Seeds : 1 Teaspoon
1 Teaspoon of ginger :
Salt : As It required

Method :

1. Wash and soak all the ingredients together except avalakki/flattened rice/poha. and methi seeds.

 2. Grind it after 3 to 4 hours with required water and remove from the grinder.

3. Put it in a big bowl and add required salt and ginger powder. Let it ferment. (Over night or 6 to 8
hours).
.

4. In the morning or when you are ready to prepare dosa, mix the dough well. The dough is ready to use it.
Now let us try the plain dosas :

 Plain Dosa :

Things Needed
Fermented dough  : 1 Big bowl
Ghee/Cooking oil : 2 to 3 Tablespoons

Method :

1. Method : Keep the pan on the fire and heat. Clean the pan nicely. (No oil should be there on the tava). Use a clean cloth or kitchen to clean the tava.
2. Mix the dosa dough and a ladle of dough and spread it on hot tava/pan. Let the flame be very low.
3. Now sprinkle oil/ghee on the top and cook on medium and low flame for 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Remove the dosa from the pan and serve hot Foxtail Millet dosa with a side dish of your choice.

Note :

The consistency of the dough should be not very thich. Dp not heat the pan fully with oil and then try to do dosa will stick to the pan. Be careful and clean the pan and remove the oil completely. Spread the dough slowly so that it turns as thin as you want. Adding ghee/oil is option.
Time : 20 Minutes
Serves : 3 to 4

Masla dosa :

Things Needed :

Fermented dough : 1 Big bowl
Oil /Ghee : 3 to 4 Tablespoons
Potato Onion dry curry : 1 Bowl.
Method :
1. Keep a dosa pan on the fire and clean it with a kitchen tissue.
2. Mix the dosa dough nicely and take a ladle full of dough and spread it on the tava. (Let the flame be very low while spreading around the dough. Or it stick to the pan and you will not be able to spread it nicely.

3. Let it cook on medium flame once you finish spreading the dough . Let it cook on 1 to 1 minutes.
4. Cover and cook on low flame for a minute. Dosa turns crispy on low flame.
5. Add some oil or ghee on the top. Take one or two tablespoon of potato dry palya and close dosa with both sides.

6. Let it be there for a minute. Now remove ready Foxtail Millet Masala dosa and serve with the side dishes you have prepared.

Note :

Do not put dough when the flame is high or the pan is too hot. Sprinkle some water on the top of tava and let it cool. Reduce the flame to be low. Clean the tava with clean cloth or kitchen tissue. Adding chutney powder on the dosa and then placing dry potato palya is optional. I have not done it. Using ghee taste better.
Time : 30 Minutes
Serves : 3 to 4 People

Dry Potato curry /Palya

Boil 3 to 4 potatoes and peel off the outer layer. Smash it and keep them aside. Cut 3 to 4 onions, 2 green chilly, curry leaves (5 to 6) (wash it before cutting) and keep it aside.
Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add 2 Tablespoons of oil, mustard seeds and urid dal. Let mustard seeds splutter. Add curry leaves and cut green chilly. Fry for a minute. Add cut onions and fry till they turn golden brown. Add salt, turmeric powder and smashed potatoes. Mix it well and add washed, cut coriander leaves. Dry Potato Curry is ready for Masala dosa.

Dosas prepared with fresh ground dough which is not fermented.

You can also prepare dosas as soon as you grind the dough. Add required salt to ground dough.
Prepare dosas and serve with your choice of side dish.

Dosas are soft when you use the dough which is not fermented.

Time for soaking 3 to 4 Hours. Fermentation : 6 to 8 hours.
You can prepare dosas as you like it ..
Njoy..Happy Millet ..Healthy Millet, Yummy Millet....
Type : Indian/South Indian.

Coconut Chutney

Grind fresh coconut, little tamarind, 2 green chilly and required salt with little water. Let it be soft and paste consistency. Remove it from the mixi jar and add mustard, curry leaves and ingh seasoning. Coconut chutney is ready to serve.