Healthy Brown Rice and Quinoa Dosa; a healthy dosa (savory Indian rice-lentil crepes) with added gluten-free, high protein quinoa for a boost in nutrients; perfect to enjoy for breakfast or any time!
Dosa is the quintessential south Indian breakfast revered and enjoyed the world over now! Every morning, our day starts with these crispy, healthy rice-lentil savory crepes with a couple of bowls of different varieties of chutneys or sambar to dip and enjoy!
It could be either these or some soft, fluffy idlis – savory rice-lentil steamed cakes or even fluffy Rava Idlis (steamed semolina-yogurt cakes). But, my favorite has always been dosas, the crispier the better.
The present theme in our Face book group Healthy Wellthy Cuisines is dosa. Recently, I came across a recipe shared by a friend with healthy quinoa and brown rice instead of white rice and had bookmarked to make it. With a few changes, I decided to make these and share on our group.
DOSA BATTER:
Dosas have 2 main ingredients: rice and urad dal (whole or split black gram lentils) with a dash of fenugreek/methi seeds for added health benefits, taste and flavor.
Rice and dal are soaked along with fenugreek and then blended to a smooth batter. This batter is then fermented for at least 8 hours or overnight before making dosas or even idlis.
To make it healthier, I have used brown rice instead of white rice and one of the new super foods, quinoa.
WHAT KIND OF RICE TO USE?
Traditionally, we use something called “idli rice”, sometimes called “Salem akki/rice” (as I believe it originated from Salem in south India).
I have used Basmati rice, sona rice etc. due to unavailability of this idli rice and have got good results. So, please don’t rush out and try to look for idli rice! You can use any type of rice.
As I said, for this recipe, I decided to use brown rice; much healthier than white rice, high in fiber content and it has a lower glycemic index than regular rice; great for diabetics!
URAD DAL/BLACK GRAM LENTILS:
You can use dehusked or deskinned black gram, whole or split. I prefer to use the whole, deskinned urad dal. All these ingredients are easily available in any Indian store or even online.
OTHER OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS:
- When I first started cooking, I used to make dosas/idlis with just rice and dal. But during my working tenure, sharing lunch with colleagues introduced me to the mystery ingredient (for me!) in dosas and idlis; fenugreek seeds/methi seeds (seeds of the aromatic herb fenugreek) which aids in controlling sugar in your body! Their dosas/idlis used to have a distinct aroma which I loved. When inquiring about it, I found they added these nutritious fenugreek seeds (soaked and just a dash) to their batter while blending. I was floored by the aroma and flavor it lent to the dish. It aids in fermentation too! Ever since then, I have started adding them to all my dosa/idli batters!
- Some people add a couple of tablespoons of cooked rice or even poha/flattened rice to add to the crispiness. I do add these sometimes, but have not really noticed much difference. You can choose to add or just avoid it for dosas, but for idlis, it does make a difference in the fluffiness!
- Quinoa is one of the trending ingredients nowadays and it has found it's way in salads, pulaos, cookies, cakes etc. Addition of quinoa to the batter increases the nutrition, lends a lovely aroma to the dosa and makes it super crispy! The original recipe used the proportion of rice:dal:quinoa as 2:1:1, but I have used only 2:1:1/2 as I felt the smell of quinoa was too strong for our liking and may not be palatable to many!
MAKING THE BATTER AND FERMENTATION:
Soak all the ingredients; rice, dal, quinoa and methi seeds for at least 4 to 5 hours.
Blend to a fairly smooth paste/batter. I have used a blender, but this can also be made in a large wet stone grinder (found in most Indian kitchens) too.
If you are using the wet grinder, you can use proportions of dal and rice; 1:3. Increase quinoa to 3/4 cup.
Pour into a large container with enough room for the batter to rise while fermenting. This fermentation can be done in a warm kitchen or a warm oven.
Add salt to taste and mix with clean hands! I don’t know what it does, but mixing with bare hands does make a difference in fermentation (an old traditional method practiced by my mother and grandmothers!!).
Leave to ferment and leave aside for 6 to 8 hours (depending upon the temperature in the kitchen) or even overnight. I normally place the container in an oven with the oven light on or near the fridge wall on the counter; works perfectly every times. Make sure you place the container over a flat baking sheet or a plate, in case the batter rises too much and spills all over!
Nowadays, I prefer to use my INSTANT POT to ferment my batter in the yogurt mode! Comes out super fluffy and perfectly fermented!
MAKING HEALTHY BROWN RICE AND QUINOA DOSA:
Once the batter has fermented and risen, mix again with a ladle and dilute if needed to make a flowing slightly thick batter.
My favorite pan to use is an iron griddle (cast iron) to make my dosas. I have somehow never been enamored by non-stick pans, especially to make dosas!
The key to making crisp dosas is slow cooking on a medium low flame for a long time, to allow the bottom of the dosa to crisp up and brown beautifully. Quinoa, I noticed adds more crispiness to the crepe/dosa!
Once you have spread the dosas on the griddle, drizzle oil in the beginning and let the dosa set slightly on top (cover with a lid if needed). Now, comes the best part! This I learnt from a local dhaba/street food vendor; rub a block of butter (salted or unsalted) all over the top of the dosa and then continue to cook it until crispy and golden brown on the bottom!
SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
Remove and serve either rolled or folded over (sometimes filled with potato curry/bhaji, then the dosa is called "masala dosa"). On some days, I do flip the dosa and cook the other side too, but this is optional!
Serve crispy, healthy, nutritious and super delicious Brown Rice and Quinoa dosas with chutney, sambar, Indian pickles, Molaga podi or filled with a spicy potato-onion bhaji to make masala dosas! I have served these crispy, golden brown, healthy Brown Rice and Quinoa Dosa with Curry Leaves Chutney and Potato Bhaji!
I swear, these healthy brown rice and quinoa dosas came out so, so crispy and delicious; I may never go back to making dosas with regular rice and without quinoa! And of course, they are super healthy too compared to the regular dosas! They were so tasty; my family has been having these for breakfast and dinner! This combination of brown rice, urad dal and quinoa for my dosas is for sure a keeper!!
Hope you will try this soon in your kitchen and amp up the nutrition in your favorite breakfast dosa!
UPDATED DECEMBER 2020:
I have been making these quite often but wanted to share my recent plate of dosa goodness I had for breakfast last week with a side of homemade Molaga Podi/Chutney Powder and Instant No-Dal Thakkali/Tomato Sambar. Absolutely yumm!
If you do happen to make this, I would love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below (rate if you can) and/or share on Instagram (@curryandvanilla16) or on my Facebook page.
Enjoy and Happy Cooking!
Enjoy these crispy dosas with:
- Molaga Podi/South Indian Chutney Powder
- Instant Tomato Sambar
- Potato Curry/Bhaji
- Coconut Chutney with Onions
- Spicy Onion Chutney
Other Breakfast Delights you can check out are:
Let's fire up the griddle and make some crispy, super delicious Healthy Brown Rice and Quinoa dosas!
Brown Rice and Quinoa Dosa; a healthy dosa (savory rice-lentil crepes) with added gluten-free, high protein quinoa for a boost in nutrients; perfect to enjoy for breakfast or any time with your favorite chutney/sambar!
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown rice
- 1 cup whole, deskinned urad dal/black gram lentils
- ½ cup Quinoa
- 1 tsp methi seeds/fenugreek seeds
- 3 tablespoons cooked rice or poha (flattened rice); this is optional
- Salt to taste (I have added about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
- Butter to rub over the dosa (optional)
- Oil/ghee for roasting the dosas
Instructions
- Wash rice, quinoa and urad dal well in plenty of water until the water runs clear.
- Soak them separately in enough water (as they tend to soak and fluff up) for at least 4 to 6 hours.
- Add methi seeds to urad dal while soaking.
- After soaking, drain the water and keep it aside. Use it to blend/grind rice, urad and quinoa in a blender/wet stone grinder.
- First, blend the urad dal with about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water until the batter is very smooth and fluffy. You can blend in 2 batches. Use the soaked water.
- Add cooked rice or poha (optional) to rice and blend again using about ½ to ¾ cup soaked water. Rice does not need too much water to blend; add a little, blend and then add some more if needed to make a slightly coarse batter. When you touch the rice batter, it should feel like fine sooji/semolina.
- Blend the soaked quinoa and puree again to a fairly smooth paste. You can add this along with rice and blend too.
- Mix all the three batters to form a slightly thick dosa like batter (not too thick like idli batter but not too thin like rawa dosa batter); something like pancake batter but not crepes.
- Add salt (about 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons) and mix well with clean hands. Tradition says that if you mix with your hands, the warmth of the hands will give it a good kick start to fermenting the batter. Make sure there is enough space above the batter for it to rise.
- Close with a lid and ferment for 8 to 10 hours or even overnight. During winters, it could take a longer time.
- If you have an oven light, place the vessel or container in the oven and turn the oven light on for the whole time the fermentation is needed.
- Or, like I do nowadays, you could ferment the batter in an Instant Pot if you have one. Just place in inner pot and ferment for 8 to 9 hours on yogurt mode.
- Just before making the dosas, heat an iron griddle or tava. If the batter is too thick, you can add some water to make a free-flowing batter.
- Once the tava is hot (test by sprinkling water; it should sizzle). Reduce the heat to medium high and pour one ladle of dosa batter in the center of the pan. Start spreading from the center to the edges, making circular motion to form a thin crepe like dosa.
- Drizzle a few drops of oil all around the dosa and cover with a lid. Lower heat to medium.
- After a few seconds, when the top of the dosa is slightly cooked, gently rub a block of butter over the whole dosa. This adds to the crispiness and flavor!
- Continue to cook on medium heat until the dosa is crispy and golden brown on the bottom.
- Gently loosen the dosa from the griddle, starting from the outside edges using a flat ladle. Fold or roll and serve hot, crispy, healthy Brown Rice Quinoa Dosa with any chutney, sambar, pickles etc.
- Enjoy and Happy Cooking:
Notes
Make sure the heat of the griddle is not too high after spreading the batter. The dosa should cook on medium heat to crisp up the bottom.
If you want, you can flip and cook the other side gain for a crispier dosa.
Use oil or ghee for drizzling over the dosa. For a vegan version, omit the ghee and butter.
Do make these for your family soon!
PIN or SHARE HERE for later:
I am sharing this with our gourmet Face Book group "Healthy Wellthy Cuisines" where the current theme is #TimeForDosaAtHW ! Do check out other super delicious and unique dosas shared by my friends at Healthy Wellthy Cuisines:
- Spicy Tomato Dosa by Rosy
- Sweet Cucumber Dosas by
- Paneer Masala Dosa by Priya
- Pav Bhaji Dosa by Sasmita
- Jowar Dosa by Jayashree
- Ragi Dosa with Paneer Bhurjee by Shalu
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Have fun cooking, eating and sharing!!!!
Thanks a lot for your recipe for Brown rice dosa with Quinoa. I tried and it worked after just 1 attempt and thrilled with the result. It is particularly pleasing because I am on a restricted diet and cannot consume white rice. I mostly use organic products.
I was wondering if you can bake a bread with above ingredients of Urad dal, Brown rice and Quinoa. Please let me know if you have any ideas/suggestions.
Thanks
Ravi
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback.
I am so happy you loved it as much as we do too.
My family too restricts use of rice especially white rice and use quinoa often too.
About making bread with these ingredients, I have not tried it so far.
Sorry about that.
Again, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your positive comments and appreciation.
can i use regular medium grain white rice instead of brown rice?
Yes, of course 🙂 Any rice would work.
Hi there,
Thank u for the amazing recipe.
Quick question : what type of brown rice did you use. Kerala type matti : paraboiled brown rice . Or the regular brown rice.
Hi Veeja,
Thanks dear 🙂 I have used regular brown rice in this! Comes out amazing; crispy and paper thin!
Dosa looks so crisp and is tempting. I need to try this version soon, never tried with these ingredients. Lovely share.
Thanks so much Jayashree 🙂 Yes, these dosas do come out super crispy and I love the fact that they have healthy ingredients in them!
Wow. I have made Brown rice dosa, but never added quinoa. Will do that next time, I am really tempted now.
Thanks dear <3 This is the first for me too! Loved it!