Carrot Oats Dosa

Given that I hail from southern India, I have a comforting affinity towards all things dosa.  An Indian Breakfast is incomplete without Dosas. Dosas are lentil crepes that are served plain or with different fillings. Varieties abound – sada dosa, karuppu ulundhu dosa, murunga keerai dosa, egg dosa, thalippu dosa, sprouted mung dosa, sprouted ragi dosa - to name just a (paltry) few!   They make great vehicles for creativity. Think whole-grains, legumes, vegetables -  think dosas.  They are extremely handy to have around in your fridge since they can be whipped into delicious meals at a very short notice. Dosa can be fermented as well as made instant. This one falls into the latter category.

Years of blogging and general passion has taught me the value of eating whole foods the right way. Soaking and sprouting are effective ways of consuming such foods since it enables  optimal digestion and absorption of nutrients. I find germinated brown rice  very convenient since the rice has already been soaked, sprouted and dried thereby making the nutrients more bio available. If you cannot find it near you, simple soak brown rice in an acidic medium (details in step 1). Instead of the skinned variety of Urad dal (black lentils/ whole gram), I use the whole (black) variety since its more nutritious than its counterpart. I tend to soak and sprout during weekends. It stays good for a 4-5 days in the fridge and I am good to go for the entire week where I tend to add sprouts to many dishes.

And now comes the best part. Carrots! My produce box was glowing with red carrots and I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to add these to my favourite dosas. I searched around google to see if anyone else had a similar idea and to no one’s surprise, there were a zillion carrot dosas already. I came across this particular recipe and what appealed me to it was the use of a kitchen staple in my house – Oats! I had to make it pronto but with my own touches. Nutritious carrot dosas all ready to go. Make sure to compliment the meal with something citrusy. Helps to absorb iron from all these wholesome ingredients.

Serve it hot, right out of the skillet with any chutney of your choice. I served it with almond chutney and homemade mango pickle (lentils – check, wholegrain – check, vegetable – check, nuts – check! )

• 2 medium-large Carrots
• 1 cup germinated Brown Rice (or regular brown rice)
• 1 cup thick Rolled Oats
• 1/2 cup Sprouted Urad dal (or regular urad dal)
• 4-5 Dried Red Chillies, or as per taste
• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida
• 1/4 cup curry leaves
• Salt to taste
• Sesame/Coconut oil/Ghee for greasing

I prefer soaking my oats (be it for oatmeal or for recipes such as these) overnight in an acidic medium. Its optional, but is better for digestion and soaking increases the resistant starch. Ditto for brown rice and legumes. If using regular brown rice and urad dal, I would suggest soaking them overnight. Opt for whole black urad dal. It provides more nutrition than its skinned counterpart.

Next day, I wash the oats well in cold water.

These carrots were fresh from the farm. Since they are on the smaller end, I used 4 instead of 2. Scrub them well to remove any dirt. I do not peel since it contains nutrition as well. But if they are not organic and not that young, I would recommend peeling. Give them a coarse chop.

Add them along with oats, rice and sprouted dal. Since I am using germinated brown rice, I did not soak them overnight. I simply let it dehydrate a bit in water for 15-20 minutes and used them here. I added the sprouted dal directly. If you went the soaking route, simply rinse them in cold water and proceed with this step.

Add salt, chillies, asafoetida and curry leaves.

Blend to a smooth paste adding enough water to make into a thick yet flowy consistency. Similar to a thick buttermilk.

These do not need fermentation unlike the traditional dosa and can be used right away.

Heat a cast iron skillet (recommended – but can use non stick). When hot, lower the flame and add a ladle of batter.

Spread it either like a pancake or a crepe. Thinner ones make for crispy crepes while thicker would make for a softer, pillowy ones. Increase the heat to med-high.

Drizzle a little oil around the crepe and let it cook until browned about 2-3 minutes.

Turn and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Fold and serve. Repeat for  rest of the batter.  Just make sure to lower the flame every time you are ladling the batter and then increase heat to avoid sticking.  If the skillet gets too hot, sprinkle some water and wipe it away with a paper towel before making another dosa.

Related posts:

1. Karuppu Ulundhu Dosai (Whole Black Gram Dosa)
2. Vendakkai Dosa (Okra/Lady’s Finger Crepes)
3. Sprouted Ragi Dosa
4. Thalippu Dosai (Tadka Dosa)
5. Sprouted Mung Beans Dosa
6. Murungai Keerai Dosai (Drumsticks Leaves Black Gram Dosa)

© DK for Chef In You, 2018. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: