Multi Legume Savory Pancake(Dosai) with Sesame Seeds

Know what you Eat - Breakfast is such an important part of the every day meal and  make sure it is high

in protein to give all the energy to get you going throughout the day. Legumes are so rich in fiber they

give you sense of fullness for a longer time.  Legumes are a valuable part of a healthy diet, because they

are low in fat, do not contain cholesterol, and have a significant amount  of fiber, and are low in sugar and

fat. This is such a wholesome and nutritious pancake, which is  packed with different legumes and the

calcium from sesame seeds. The darker the color of the sesame seed the better nutrition profile it is.

Very suitable for kids, adults and even for people with diabetes and gluten free diet.

If you have a picky child at home, surely the Mom has to be creative to whack the brain and come up

with nutritious dishes. Each and every child is different, some like all colorful dishes some might not

eat slight brown or green ones, that’s why i had to peel the peanuts, had to go for white sesame seeds

instead of black and not include the curry leaves  and cilantro, even though i love them and they give

such a flavor and taste to any dish. You can also add chopped veggies, greens etc to make it even

more nutritious.



Preparation Time – 30 Minutes

Cooking Time – 30 Minutes

Serves - 6



Ingredients



Peanuts – 1/2 cup

Split Moong Dal/Mung Bean – 1/2 cup

Split Channa Dal(Split Chick Pea) – 1/2 cup

Whole Urad Dal( white lentil) – 1/2 cup

Green Chili – 2 or to taste

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Salt – 1 1/2 tsp or to taste

Asafoetida – 1 small piece or 1/4 tsp powder

Curry leaves – handful (optional)

Onion – 2 medium sized

Cilantro – chopped 2 tbsp(optional)

Sesame seeds – 4 Tbsp

Oil – 2-3 Tbsp



Method



1) Except the peanuts, rinse and soak the other three legumes together and  soak the

peanut separately overnight.

2) Take handful of peanuts in your hand and roll between your palms so the peanut peel will come out

or if you don’t mind the color of the peel go to step 3 without peeling.

3) Drain all the water from the legumes, add salt, ginger, green chili, asafoetida, curry leaves(add this

only if there are no issue of food color) and grind to fine paste(batter) adding water as needed

at time.

4) Chop the onion into small pieces and mix with batter and add water as needed to get the

consistency little thinner than pancake.

5) Refrigerate and use this batter as needed.

6) When preparing add the chopped cilantro to the batter, heat a griddle(iron and not nonstick

for additional health benefits).  Take a ladle full of batter and spread into a thin circle shape

and take a 1 to 2 tsp of white sesame seeds and  spread on top of the batter and pour a tsp

of oil around the batter.

7) Once one side of the dosai/pancake is well cooked and the batter color has changed on the top

flip it and let the other side get cooked.

8) Remove from the griddle and serve hot with chutney or sambar of your choice. I served

it with Tomato Thokku(Tangy & Spicy Tomato Pickle) and i will post the recipe later.



Notes – If you have the batter ready, it will take a maximum of 30 minutes to make a full breakfast

for 6 people. So even on a time crunchy day, you don’t have to compromise on the your health, but

just prepare this in a jiffy and enjoy.

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Tomato Onion Chutney & Idli(Steamed Rice & Lentil Dumplings)

Know what you Eat - If you are looking for a fat free food Idli(Steamed Rice & Lentil Dumpling) is the top food on the list. Idlis are made from a combination of rice and urad dal which is fermented and then steamed. Both these processes are very good for the digestive system and involve cooking with no oil at all. Most restaurants however use baking soda to speed up getting the idli batter ready and while too much baking soda does destroy nutrients and affects the digestive system in the long run. This is a very popular breakfast item in South India.



Now coming to the nutrition in this food, the carotenoid lycopene found in tomatoes (and everything made from them) is a very useful antioxidant and has cancer-preventing properties. Urad Dal(a type of lentil) is a very good source of dietary fiber and protein. Parboiling rice drives nutrients, especially thiamine, from the bran into the grain, so that parboiled white rice is 80% nutritionally similar to brown rice.

From yesterday's Chole puri from the North we are travelling down to the traditional Idli chutney of South. I always have Idli batter in my refrigerator and this is one of the quick breakfast item on a time crunchy day.

Tomato Chutney

Preparation Time - 1o mins
Cooking Time - 15 mins
Serves - 4


Ingredients

Tomato - 2 big ones ripe and firm but not over ripe
Onion - 1
Red chilli - 4 or to taste
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Split Urad dal - 2 tsp
Asafaoetida powder - pinch

Method

1) Chop tomato and onion into small pieces and corsely grind in a blender along with red chillies(do not puree, otherwise it will become like tomato ketchup).
2) Heat oil, add mustard seeds. Once they stop spluttering add split urad dal, asafoetida powder and saute till urad dal becomes slightly brown.
3) Now add the tomato, onion, red chill paste and simmer in the gas stove for 10 to 15 minutes till the water evaporates.
4) Add salt to taste and serve with hot idlis.

Idli


Ingredients

Urad Dal(whole) - 1 cup
Idli Rice(Puzhungal Arisi/ ParBoiled Rice) - 2 1/2 cups**
Salt to taste

Method

1) Rinse and drain Urad dal till you get a clear water. Now soak in enough water for 2-3 hours.
2) Rinse and drain Idli rice and soak in enough water for 6 hours.
3) Using a stone grinder/blender grind the urad dal adding the soaked water little by little till you get a smooth fluffy batter.
4) Now grind the rice into a fine paste adding water little by little.
5) Mix the Urad dal batter, Rice batter and Salt and mix them thoroughly.
6) Leave it over night for the batter to ferment nicely, on cold winter days switch on the oven light and leave the batter inside the oven overnight. The heat from the light will make the batter to ferment.
7) The trick to get a soft spongy idli is proportion, the grind urad batter and rice batter should be in equal quantity, so based on how much batter you are getting from the urad dal adjust your rice batter.
8) Now use cooking spray and grease the idli plates, thoroughly combine the fermented batter and pour the batter in the greased plates and steam them for 15 minutes on medium heat in a pressure cooker or pan till they are cooked.
9) Serve with Chutney.

Event Participation

This dish goes to My legume love affair twelfth helping event hosted by Annarasa started by Susan.

This dish goes to Delectable Combinations hosted by Kamalika originally started by Sunshinemom.

This goes to EFM June Breakfast series hosted by Srish.

*This rice measurement depends on how much batter comes out from the urad dal, for most of the varieties available in India you can add as much upto 5 cups of rice. But the ones available here i use anywhere between 2 1/2 to 3 cups of rice. The fluffy urad batter and the rice batter should be in equal quantity to get a soft idli. So adjust according to the quality of your urad dal)

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