The Best Of Samaithu Paar (7 page)

Mix the wheat flour and rice flour together with the salt in the buttermilk. Add enough water to prepare a batter the consistency of thick buttermilk. Chop the ginger and green chillies. Mix the cumin seeds, asafoetida water, curry leaves and chopped ginger and green chillies in the batter. Allow the batter to stand for about 2 hours.

Heat a flat pan or ‘tava’ on a low flame. Smear 1 tsp of oil with a soft rag on the ‘tava’. Pour ⅕ cup of batter on the ‘tava’ and spread into a circle. When the dosai cooks, small holes will appear on the surface. Pour 1 tsp of oil around the dosai and 1 tsp on the surface. Continue to cook over a low flame. When the side facing downwards turns golden, flip the dosai and cook till the other side also turns golden. If necessary, use more oil to cook the dosai. When ready, slide off on to a plate. Continue till all the batter is used up.

Ingredients

Wheat flour
1 cup

Rice flour
1 cup

Salt
2 tsp

Buttermilk
(Sour) ½ cup

Ginger
1"-2" piece

Green chillies
2-3

Cumin seeds ½
tsp

Asafoetida water
1 tsp

Curry leaves
(Broken) 2-3 tbsp

Oil or ghee
As required

To serve
4 persons

Mix the semolina, rice flour and salt in the buttermilk along with water and prepare a batter. Allow the batter to stand for at least 2 hours. The semolina should soak well, otherwise the dosais will stick to the pan. Preferably, to prepare dosais in the morning, prepare the batter the previous evening. If the dosais are to be prepared in the evening, prepare the batter that morning.

Cut the ginger and green chillies. Add along with the mustard and curry leaves to the batter just before preparing the dosais.

Cook the dosais like the wheat
dosais
. Use a mixture of ghee and oil when cooking rava dosais. Oil will need to be used liberally as the dosais should be crisp.

Ingredients

Semolina
2 cups

Rice flour
¼ cup

Salt
1½tsp

Buttermilk
(Sour) ½ cup

Ginger
l"-2" piece

Green chillies
2-3

Mustard seeds
1 tsp

Curry leaves
(Broken) 2-3 tbsp

Oil or ghee
As required

To serve
4 persons

Heat the water and dissolve the jaggery in it. Remove from fire and let it become lukewarm. Add the wheat flour and rice flour. Mix well, taking care to break all the lumps. Grate coconut finely and add. Powder cardamom and mix.

Heat a flat pan or ‘tava’. Smear it with 1 tsp of oil. Take ⅕ cup of the batter and spread on the pan as a thick cake. Pour oil around it and on top. When the base is cooked to a reddish brown colour, turn it slowly with a flat ladle. Pour 1 tsp of ghee or vanaspati on top and around. Remove when the other side is cooked as well. Cook the dosai over a low flame otherwise it will get scorched due to the jaggery.

Ingredients

Jaggery
(Powdered) ¾-1 cup

Water
2 cups

Wheat flour
2 cups

Rice flour
¼ cup

Coconut
¼-½ (Medium)

Green cardamoms
5-6

Oil, ghee or vanaspati
As required

To serve
4 persons

Soak the rice for 2 to 3 hours. Separately soak the red gram dhal with the fenugreek seeds also for 2 to 3 hours. Wash the soaked rice and dhal. Grind the rice into a rough paste. (Not as rough as the idli batter but not as smooth as for dosais either.) Grind the dhal and fenugreek seeds together into a soft spongy mass. Mix with the rice dough along with the salt. Keep overnight. Prepare the oothappams the next day.

Heat a flat pan or ‘tava’. Smear 1 tsp of oil and pour out ⅕ cup of batter. Spread into a thick round cake. Turn and cook both sides to a reddish brown, adding another spoon of oil.

Ingredients

Par-boiled rice
2 cups

Red gram dhal
1 cup

Fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp

Salt
¼ cup

Oil
As required

To serve
4 persons

Photograph

Wash the rice and the three dhals. Soak altogether for at least 2 to 3 hours. Grind into a rough paste-like dough with the salt, red chillies, five or six green chillies (whole) and asafoetida. (The paste should be as coarse a mixture as that of semolina and water.)

Grate coconut. Pinch coriander leaves and curry leaves. Chop ginger and remaining green chillies. Mix grated coconut, coriander and curry leaves, and chopped ginger and green chillies into the ground paste.

Heat a flat pan or ‘tava’. Smear the heated pan with 1 tsp of oil all over. Pour ⅕ cup of dough in the centre. Draw it into a circle, either with your hand or a flat ladle. The ‘adai’ should not be very thin. Make a small hole in the middle of the ‘adai’ with a spoon. Pour 1 tsp of oil right round. Pour another spoon of oil into the hole in the centre and over the ‘adai’. When one side turns golden brown, turn and toss and cook the other side, pouring 1 tsp of oil. Remove from fire and serve hot. Continue till all the batter is used up.

Ingredients

Par-boiled rice
2 cups

Red gram dhal
⅓ cup

Bengal gram dhal
⅓ cup

Black gram dhal
⅓ cup

Salt
¼ cup

Dry red chillies
5-6

Green chillies
8-10

Asafoetida powder
A pinch or to taste

Coconut
½ (Medium)

Coriander leaves
3-4 tbsp

Curry leaves
12-15

Ginger
1"-2" piece

Oil
As required

To serve
4 persons

Cut the coconut into fine little bits. Powder cardamom. Roast the lentil beans a little and cook in water. Drain any excess water. Powder the jaggery. Heat the water in a wide mouthed vessel. Add the jaggery and boil. When the jaggery is completely dissolved and the water boils vigorously pour in the rice flour and stir continuously. Add cooked lentil beans and coconut. When the flour is half-cooked and becomes a mass, remove from fire. Mix cardamom powder. (Cooked lentil beans and coconut may be added at this stage also.)

Spread a greased plantain leaf over a single idli tray. Take a little of the cooked flour and flatten it out with your palm like a thick ‘vadai’ (¼ inch thick). Make a hole in the centre. Arrange on the tray. Boil water in a pan or pressure cooker. Insert the single idli tray. Close the lid. Steam and cook the ‘adais’ for about 10 minutes. When the ‘adais’ are cooked, remove from tray on to a plate. (To check if the ‘adais’ have cooked, insert a fork into one. If the batter does not stick, then the ‘adais’ are cooked.) Continue till all the batter is used up. Serve hot with butter.

Ingredients

Coconut
½ (Medium)

Green cardamoms
10-12

Lentil beans
½-¾ cup

Jaggery
4 cups

Water
10 cups

Rice flour
(Roasted) 4 cups

To serve
4 persons

Wash rice and dhal. Soak together for 2 to 3 hours. Strain the water. Grind to a paste adding salt, green chillies and ginger. The batter should be of a medium consistency like that prepared for oothappams. Set the batter aside to ferment for at least 8 hours. If you want to prepare the dosai immediately, add the sour buttermilk. Take care not to make the batter too watery.

Heat a flat pan or ‘tava’. Grease the ‘tava’ with 1 tsp oil. Mix the batter well and pour ⅕ cup of batter on to the pan. Spread the batter in a circular motion to make a round dosai. Pour 1-1½ tsp of oil around and over the dosai. Cook till one side turns golden brown. Flip and cook the other side, pouring another teaspoon of oil around and over the dosai. Remove from fire and serve hot.

Ingredients

Green gram dhal
2 cups

Rice
¼ cup

Salt
2 tsp

Green chillies
6-8

Ginger
1" piece

Buttermilk
(Sour) ¼ cup (Optional)

Oil
As required

To serve
4 persons