A tasty, healthful addition to your regular dosa repertoire, oats dosa has the goodness of oats and urad dhal with a few other ingredients to add to the texture, color and digestibility of this high-fiber counterpart of the humble rice dosa.
Ingredients (makes enough batter for approximately 20-24 dosas):
- Oats (you may use steel-cut oats or the instant variety – I used instant for this since that was what I had at the time) (2 cups)
- Urad (whole black gram) dhal (you may use half-broken or whole – I used whole) (3/4 cup)
- Rice (you may use any type – I used idli rice) (1/2 cup)
- Fenugreek (methi) seeds (1/2 tsp)
- Tur (split red gram) dhal (1 tsp)
- Black pepper corns (1/2 tsp)
- Cumin (jeera) seeds (1/2 tsp)
- Asafetida (hing) powder (1/2 tsp)
Method:
- Mix oats, rice, urad dhal, fenugreek seeds, tur dhal and wash well. Drain out the water completely.
- Add enough water to cover the dhals and grains completely, leaving about an inch or two of water extra on top, to allow for the expansion in size of some of the grains while soaking.
- Dry roast pepper and cumin seeds until slightly darkened.
- Drain extra water and retain it. We will use it for grinding the dosa batter, a little bit at a time. Now grind the mixture well, adding asafetida, toasted cumin and pepper seeds and salt. Add saved water, a little at a time so that the batter has a flowing (not runny yet not too thick) consistency.
- Heat a skillet on medium flame. When it is hot, sprinkle a few drops of water. The pan is hot enough if the water sizzles and evaporates within a few seconds. Wipe the pan with a clean paper towel.
- Pour a ladle of batter into the center of the pan. Using clockwise motions, spread the batter in concentric circles, starting from inside and working your way out.
- Add a few drops of oil (sesame or any oil) on the inside of the dosa and along the circumference, optionally. Cover with a lid and let it cook for a couple minutes on medium flame.
- Remove the lid. Flip the dosa.
- Cook for a few minutes on high flame without a lid so that the dosa turns golden brown and crisp.
- Take it off the pan and serve it hot with a chutney of your choice.
Tastes (Rasa):
Sweet (urad, oats, rice), sour (none), salty (salt), bitter (fenugreek), pungent (pepper, jeera), astringent (asafetida).
Doshic Influence:
Oats is heavy and sticky – a great grain for vata pacification. Rice is relatively tridoshic and easy to digest – kaphas should not eat it in excess. Urad dhal is heavy, nourishing and has a sour vipaka – great for vatas and during fall. All the spices added here enhance the digestibility of the dish – fenugreek, cumin, pepper and asafetida. Specifically, asafetida is good for flatulence. Cumin is a digestive and warming spice, that is safe even for the fiery pitta constitution. It is a great digestive for vatas and during fall. Pepper is sharp and pungent – a good balancing spice for oats. Fenugreek is a great spice for pittas, helps with detoxification and is also a good digestive. Overall, this recipe is primarily geared towards vata pacification and is a good fall dish. It is a good dish for pittas as well – just go easy on the pepper. Kaphas can enjoy this in moderation, with generous amounts of the digestive spices.
Effects on the Mind (Gunas):
This oats dosa batter doesn’t need to be fermented. It stores well and is best used within a couple days of grinding to preserve sattva.