Saamai (Little Millet) Idli & Dosai (Without Rice)

Category: Breakfast / Millets
Soaking Time: 8 Hrs / Overnight  
Fermentation Time: 6- 8 Hrs    
Cooking Time: 10 mins /batch; 2 mins/dosa

Saamai Idli & Dosai

Millets are very nutrient rich grains. These super grains were forgotten for a while and now they are making a coming back. Saamai is known as little millet in English. For those who want to skip rice or need to try an alternative to the regular rice based Idli or dosai, Little millet is sure a healthy choice. This is also an excellent option to feed millets to the kids and toddlers.

Saamai (Little Millet) Idly

Before I try this Idli with Saamai and without any rice, I was bit skeptical about the texture of Idli. Because I never tried Idli without a portion of Idli rice, even with Ragi Idli or any other Idli varieties, I have used some Rice. But to my surprise, the Saamai Idli is super soft and tasty. Only the colour will be little dull but taste wise not much difference. Saamai Dosa is crispy and flavorful.

Saamai (Little Millet) Dosai

One thing to keep in mind is, the batter becomes sour faster than or regular Idli batter so I would suggest to use the the batter within 2 or 3 days.

Ingredients:

• Saamai/ Little Millet - 2 cups
• Whole white urad dhal - 1/2 cup
• Fenugreek seeds - 2 tsp
• Salt - To taste
• Sesame oil - for making dosa

Chola Paniyaram - Home Style (Kongu Special Recipes)

Category: Breakfast / Dinner
Soaking Time: 6 Hrs / Overnight  
Fermentation Time: 8-12 Hrs    
Cooking Time: 5 mins /batch

Chola Paniyaram is an authentic Kongu Nadu Special Recipe and this is the one from my Mom's home:) Until I entered college, I never know we can make paniyaram with normal Idly batter, every time when we make paniyaram, it is surely with the Corn. Since Corn is a staple food in Kongu region, in our home after corn harvest, they will clean and broke the dry corn into coarse bits and pieces using "Ural" and will store for months specially for making paniyaram and also "Chola Puttu".

Adding Raw rice and Moong dhal is purely optional, My aunt will be adding these for crispiness and more flavour:) After coming to US, I am using the broken corn / corn rava from Indian store for making this paniyaram. As far the Kongu nadu special recipes are considered, Small onions are the important ingredients for the authentic flavour and taste and we wont get the same taste while using shallots / big onions.

Chola Paniyaram

Ingredients:

• Boiled Rice / Idly Rice - 1 1/2 cups
• Raw Rice - 1/2 cup
• Broken Corn -  2 cups (Here I used Corn Rava)
• Whole Urad Dhal - 1/2 cup
• Yellow Split Moong dhal - 1/4 cup (Optional)
• Fenugreek seeds / Vendhayam - 1 tsp
• Small Onions, peeled - 1-2 cups
• Curry leaves - handful
• Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
• Salt - to taste
• Fresh coconut, chopped into tiny pieces - to taste

*Notes:

• Small Onions are the must for this recipe to get the authentic flavour. Adding big onion / shallots will not give that real flavour
• Adding Raw rice is optional, if we want to skip that, we can increase the quantity of Idly rice to 2 cups
• Moong dhal is also an optional ingredient

Method:

1. Soak Idly rice, broken corn and moong dhal (if using) together for 6-8 hrs / overnight; urad dhal and fenugreek seeds separately for 45 mins-2 hrs
2.  In a wet grinder, first add the fenugreek seeds followed by urad dal, grind till it becomes soft and silky. Once urad dhal is done, remove it in a big container and keep aside. While grinding dhal, make sure you just sprinkle required water at regular intervals rather than pouring it at once. This will make the batter very fluffy and airy
3. Now add the rice and corn to the grinder and grind to a smooth batter similar to Idly batter consistency. Once done, remove it into the container with urad dhal
4. Add required salt and mix well with hands
5. In a mixie / blender add the small onions, curry leaves, cumin seeds and grind it to a coarse paste without adding any water
   
   
   
   
6. Add the ground paste to the batter and mix well
   
7. Allow to ferment for about 8-12hrs and it depends on your room temperature; After fermentation, the volume of the batter would be almost doubled. (Make sure to place the batter in a big bowl to avoid spills after it gets fermented)
   
8. After fermentation, add the tiny pieces of fresh coconut into it and gently give it a mix
   
9. Heat Paniyaram pan, add few drops of oil in each hole
10. Once the pan becomes hot, add a spoon of batter into each hole
    
11. Reduce the flame to medium and cover the pan with lid; allow to cook for 1-2 mins
12. Then flip it over and allow to cook the other side without covering with lid
    
13. Once its done, remove from the pan and repeat the same for the remaining batter
14. Serve hot with Sambar and chutney! Peanut / Coconut Chutney with Paniyaram is always a great combination:)

Barley Idly & Dosai

Category: Breakfast / Tiffin    
Soaking Time: 6 Hrs / Overnight  
Fermentation Time: 8-12 Hrs    
Cooking Time: 10 mins /batch; 2 mins/dosa

Barley idly & Dosa with Carrot Sambhar

Another healthy Idly / Dosa recipe to add on to my list:) I tried substituting 50% of Idly rice with Barley in our normal Idly / Dosa batter and the result was good:) Only the colour of the Idlies would be pale and not pure white but tastes good. Dosai came out perfect and yummy!

Barley Idly

Barley Dosa

Ingredients:

• Barley -2 cups (I used Pearl Barley)
• Idly rice - 2 cups
• Whole white urad dhal - 1 cup
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt - To taste

Method:

1. Soak Idly rice & fenugreek seeds together and barley (separately) for 5-6 hrs / overnight and urad dhal for 45 mins-2 hrs
   
   
2.  In a wet grinder, first add the urad dal, grind till it becomes soft and fluffy. Once urad dhal is done, remove it in a big container and keep aside. While grinding for Idly, make sure you just sprinkle required water at regular intervals rather than pouring it at once. This will make the batter very fluffy and airy which results in soft idlies
3.  Add barley to the grinder and grind it till it becomes smooth, then add the rice and fenugreek seeds to it and grind to a smooth batter, but with a slight coarse texture. Once done, remove it into the container with urad dhal
4.  Add required salt and mix well with hands

   

   Before Fermentation

5.  Allow to ferment for about 8-12hrs and it depends on your room temperature; After fermentation, the volume of the batter would be almost doubled. (Make sure to place the batter in a big bowl to avoid spills after it gets fermented)

   

   After Fermentation

6. Once fermented, make idlies as usual
   
   
   
   
7. Serve with your favourite side dish
8. Next day, just add little water to the batter and make it slightly thinner than the idly batter
9. Heat Tawa and grease it. Pour a ladle of dosa batter and spread it to a thin circle. Pour a teaspoon of oil around the corners and cook covered for few seconds 
   
10. Flip it over and cook other side
    
11.  Serve hot with sambhar / chutney!
    
    

Horse gram (Kollu) Idly & Dosai

Category: Breakfast / Tiffin      
Soaking Time: 6 Hrs / Overnight  
Fermentation Time: 6-8 Hrs      
Cooking Time: 10 mins /batch

Horse gram (Kollu) can help with a number of health problems as it is a grain which contains a good and rich amount of vitamins, proteins, and iron. In addition to weight loss, it helps in reduction of extra fat from the body. Horse gram is rich in B-complex vitamin and proteins. It helps in purifying menstruation and cures and prevents arthritis. The presence of a good amount of dietary fiber in the gram helps balance sugar glucose and blood pressure levels.

In our normal Idly - Dosa batter, I just tried replacing Urad dhal with Horse gram and  the result was too good:)
 

Kollu Idly

Kollu Dosai

Ingredients:

• Idly rice - 4 cups
• Horse Gram (Kollu) - 1 cup
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
• Salt - To taste
• Sesame Oil - for preparing Dosa

Method:

1. Soak Idly rice and fenugreek seeds together and Horse gram (separately) for 5-6 hrs / overnight

   

   Soaked Horsegram

2. In a wet grinder, first add the horse gram and grind till it becomes soft and fluffy (similar to the normal Urad dhal batter). Once it is done, remove it in a big container and keep aside. While grinding for Idly, make sure you just sprinkle required water at regular intervals rather than pouring it at once. This will make the batter very fluffy and airy which results in soft idlies

   

   Fluffy Horse gram batter while grinding

3.  Add rice to the grinder and grind it till it becomes smooth, but with a slight coarse texture. Once done, remove it into the container with horse gram
4.  Add required salt and mix well with hands

   

   Before Fermentation

5.  Allow to ferment for about 6-8 hrs and it depends on your room temperature; After fermentation, the volume of the batter would be raised. (Make sure to place the batter in a big bowl to avoid spills after it gets fermented) 

   

   After Fermentation

6. Once fermented, make idlies as usual and serve with your favourite side dish

   

   Idlies - Before steaming

   

   Idlies - After steaming

7. Next day, just add little water to the batter and make it slightly thinner than the idly batter. 
8. Heat Tawa and grease it. Pour a ladle of dosa batter and spread it to a thin circle. 

   

   Dosa - Before Cooking

9. Pour few drops of oil around the corners and cook covered till its done.

   

   Dosa - After Cooking

10. If not covering with lid, Flip it over and cook other side
11. Serve Hot with favourite side dish
    

Brown Rice Idly & Dosa

Category: Breakfast / Tiffin    
Soaking Time: 6 Hrs     
Fermentation Time: 6 - 8 Hrs    
Cooking Time: 10 mins /batch

Brown Rice Idly / Dosa Batter - I tried substituting 50% of white rice with brown rice in our normal Idly / Dosa batter and the result was good:) One thing I noticed in this method was fermentation takes bit less time than our normal batter and also it gets sour quickly. So its better to use up the batter within 2-3 days (Under refrigeration) and keeping it in fridge for more than 3-4 days will make it very sour.

Brown Rice Idly

Brown Rice Dosai

Ingredients:

• Brown Rice -2 cups
• Idly rice - 2 cups
• Whole white urad dhal - 1 cup
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt - To taste

Method:

1. Soak brown rice & Idly rice together and fenugreek seeds (separately) for 5-6 hrs and urad dhal for 1-2 hrs
2.  In a wet grinder, first add the fenugreek seeds and then urad dal, grind till it becomes soft and fluffy. Once urad dhal is done, remove it in a big container and keep aside. While grinding for Idly, make sure you just sprinkle required water at regular intervals rather than pouring it at once. This will make the batter very fluffy and airy which results in soft idlies
3.  Add rice to the grinder and grind it till it becomes smooth, but with a slight coarse texture. Once done, remove it into the container with urad dhal
4.  Add required salt and mix well with hands
5.  Allow to ferment overnight / for about 6-8 hrs and it depends on your room temperature; After fermentation, the volume of the batter would be almost doubled. (Make sure to place the batter in a big bowl to avoid spills after it gets fermented)
   
6. Once fermented, make idlies as usual and serve with your favourite side dish  
   
7. Next day, just add little water to the batter and make it slightly thinner than the idly batter. 
8. Heat Tawa and grease it. Pour a ladle of dosa batter and spread it to a thin circle. Pour a teaspoon of oil around the corners and cook covered for few seconds. 
   
9. Flip it over and cook other side
   
10. Serve hot 

Quinoa Idly & Dosai

Category: Breakfast / Tiffin    
Soaking Time: 6 Hrs / Overnight  
Fermentation Time: 4 - 7 Hrs    
Cooking Time: 10 mins /batch

I tried substituting 50% of Idly rice with Quinoa in our normal Idly / Dosa batter and the result was good:) Only the colour would be pale and not pure white but will be soft.
One thing I noticed in this method was fermentation takes lesser time than our normal batter, so we need to check after 4-5 hrs to avoid overflowing

Quinoa Idly

Ingredients:

• Quinoa -2 cups
• Idly rice - 2 cups
• Whole white urad dhal - 1 cup
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt - To taste

Method:

1. Soak quinoa & Idly rice together and fenugreek seeds (separately) for 5-6 hrs / overnight and urad dhal for 1-2 hrs
2.  In a wet grinder, first add the fenugreek seeds and then urad dal, grind till it becomes soft and fluffy. Once urad dhal is done, remove it in a big container and keep aside. While grinding for Idly, make sure you just sprinkle required water at regular intervals rather than pouring it at once. This will make the batter very fluffy and airy which results in soft idlies
3.  Add rice & quinoa to the grinder and grind it till it becomes smooth, but with a slight coarse texture. Once done, remove it into the container with urad dhal
4.  Add required salt and mix well with hands
5.  Allow to ferment for about 4-7 hrs and it depends on your room temperature; After fermentation, the volume of the batter would be almost doubled. (Make sure to place the batter in a big bowl to avoid spills after it gets fermented)
   
6. Once fermented, make idlies as usual and serve with your favourite side dish 
   
7. Next day, just add little water to the batter and make it slightly thinner than the idly batter. 
8. Heat Tawa and grease it. Pour a ladle of dosa batter and spread it to a thin circle. Pour a teaspoon of oil around the corners and cook covered for few seconds.
   
    
9. Flip it over and cook other side
   
10. Serve hot 

Oats Idly & Dosai (Fermented)

Category: Breakfast / Tiffin  
Soaking Time: 6 Hrs   
Fermentation Time: 8 Hrs  
Cooking Time: 10 mins
 
Since Ragi Idly / Dosa recipe came out really good, I am trying to adapt that recipe for other grains too and this time I tried with oats. I was bit concerned while preparing this batter, but the result has not disappointed me:) Idly came out good but I personally like the dosai / Uthappam the most.

Oats Idly

Oats Dosai

  Ingredients:

• Oats - 2 cups (I used old-fashioned oats)
• Idly rice - 1 cup
• Urad dhal (Whole white) - 1/2 cup
• Fenugreek seeds (Vendhayam) - 2 tsp
• Salt - As per taste
• Water - As required 

Method:

1. Soak rice and fenugreek seeds together overnight or for about 4-6 hours and soak urad dhal for about 1 hour before grinding (Since fenugreek seeds take more time, I soak it with rice this time). Soak oats in enough water 30 mins before grinding
2. Grind Urad dhal in wet grinder to a smooth fluffy paste; keep aside
3. Add rice and fenugreek seeds, grind as for normal Idly batter (not too pasty)
4. Then grind oats to a smooth batter (Oats will give bit coarse texture even after grinding)
5. After grinding, mix urad dhal, rice and oats into a batter like consistency
6. Add required salt; mix well with hands and allow it to ferment for around 6-8 hrs
7. After fermentation, make idly as usual and serve with any spicy chutney 

   

   After Fermentation

8. Next day, just add little water to the batter and make it slightly thinner than the idly batter. 
9. Heat Tawa and grease it. Pour a ladle of dosa batter and spread it to a thin circle. Pour a teaspoon of oil around the corners and cook covered for few seconds. Flip it over and cook other side

   

   Oats Dosai

10. Or you can make soft uthappams
    
    
    

    

    Oats Dosai