Moringa Leaves Dosa or Sanna Polo

Moringa leaves dosa/drumstick leaves dosa (or sanna polo) is a spicy, savory south Indian dosa/coconut, rice and lentil based crepe packed with healthy and nutritious moringa leaves, fresh green onions and spicy dried red chillies to pack a punch in every bite! 

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Moringa leaves Sanna Polo is always looked forward to in our house to enjoy with rice and a simple dal for a comforting Konkani meal! We have a few moringa trees in our garden and whenever we need to indulge in some fresh greens in our diet, this is the first leafy green we migrate too!

These tender, fresh and healthy green leaves are the trending super food all over the internet (highly nutritious with more vitamins iron, and minerals along with protein than many other vegetables or greens!)  and the fruit of the tree or we can say vegetable, moringa or "drumstick" as it is sometimes called has always been enjoyed in our south Indian cuisine by adding it in our sambars; coating them with rice flour, chilli powder and salt and deep frying them, and sometimes, making a stir fry.

The leaves are the best part of the tree. I love the fresh, green thick branches swaying on breezy days, enticing me to pluck some and use them in curries and every day cooking.

Today, I will be sharing a simple Konkani style dosa or "sanna polo" as we call it. The base of the dosa is a spicy coconut paste with rice and toor dal or split pigeon peas.

Fresh grated coconut is blended with dry red chillies and some tamarind to a coarse paste and then ground with soaked and drained rice and lentils in equal quantities to a semolina like coarse paste.

Tender and fresh moringa leaves (devoid of all the stalks and either added whole or chopped) is added to this basic coconut paste. With some salt and hing/asafetida powder, the dosa dough or thick batter is ready. For added flavor, we stir in some finely chopped onions but today, I decided to go green all the way and mixed in finely chopped green onions or scallions.

Once the mixture is ready, heat an iron griddle (tastes best and comes out crispy and delicious only on an iron griddle) and pat lemon-sized dough balls into discs and make dosas or thick crepes, drizzling with oil (for authentic flavor, use coconut oil) until golden brown on both sides.

This is not like a regular dosa where you can spread the batter; it is just patted with your fingers to a round disc. The same crepe can be made adding finely chopped cabbage or any other greens you like.

This wholesome dish or snack with all the elements needed for a complete meal; proteins (from the coconut and lentils), carbs (from the rice) and vitamins and minerals from the greens is  perfect to snack on as a meal in itself or to be enjoyed as a side dish with rice, dal etc.

Moringa leaves is now available in most Indian grocery stores and in India, it is mostly available with roadside vendors selling fresh greens. If you know of a neighbor who has a moringa tree, nothing like it! Pluck these today and enjoy all the nutritional benefits of moringa leaves, (a “miracle food”) by adding them to your diet.

Step-by-step method to make Moringa Leaves dosa or sanna polo:

Wash rice and dal well until the water runs clear and soak for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, drain.

Pick the drumstick leaves (along with tender stalk, discard the tough stalks), wash and drain well.

Chop fine and keep aside. If the leaves are small and tender, leave them as such.

Blend coconut, dry red chilies and tamarind with a little water in a blender to a coarse paste.

Add the drained rice and dal and blend again (try not to add too much water) to make a coarse paste (like coarse semolina) which is a little thick.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in salt, hing, spring onions and drumstick leaves (add about 2 to 2 ½ cups of moringa leaves depending upon how much you want).

Mix well. The batter should be slightly thick and not too watery.

Heat a large iron griddle or dosa pan. Once it is hot, drizzle oil (coconut or any other oil you like) all over.

Take a large lemon sized ball of the dough and pat on hot griddle with your fingers to a small disc about 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Drizzle some more oil on and around it.

Reduce heat, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes and then flip the dosa.

Sprinkle oil again and roast on the other side until cooked and golden brown on both sides.

Serve hot with rice and dalithoy. Enjoy and Happy Cooking!!

Do check out some more Indian dishes with leafy greens like:

Vaali Ambat (Malabar Spinach Coconut Curry)

Beet Greens Ambat

Hara Gobi Masala Curry

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Moringa Leaves Dosa/Drumsticks Leaves Sanna Polo (with spring onions)

Savory south Indian dosa or crepe with healthy moringa or drumstick leaves in a spicy coconut, rice and lentil based masala. 

Course Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Indian, Konkani

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Author curryandvanilla

Ingredients

• ¾ cup raw rice
• ¾ cup toor dal/split pigeon peas/split yellow lentils
• ¾ cup grated coconut fresh or frozen
• 12 to 15 dry red chilis
• 1 large marble-sized tamarind or ½ tsp tamarind paste
• 1 large bunch drumstick or moringa leaves 2 to 2 ½ cups leaves
• ¼ cup green onions or spring onions chopped
• ¼ tsp hing/asafetida
• Salt to taste
• Coconut Oil for shallow frying

Instructions

1. Wash rice and dal well until the water runs clear and soak for 30 minutes.
2. After 30 minutes, drain.
3. Pick the drumstick leaves (along with tender stalk, discard the tough stalks), wash and drain well.
4. Chop fine and keep aside.
5. Blend coconut, dry red chilies and tamarind with a little water in a blender to a coarse paste.
6. Add the drained rice and dal and blend again (try not to add too much water) to make a coarse paste (like coarse semolina) which is a little thick.
7. Transfer to a bowl and stir in salt, hing, spring onions and drumstick leaves (add about 2 to 2 ½ cups of moringa leaves depending upon how much you want).
8. Mix well. The batter should be slightly thick and not too watery.
9. Heat a large iron griddle or dosa pan. Once it is hot, drizzle oil (coconut or any other oil you like) all over.
10. Take a large lemon sized ball of the dough and pat on hot griddle with your fingers to a small disc about 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Drizzle some more oil on and around it.
11. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes and then flip the dosa.
12. Sprinkle oil again and roast on the other side until cooked and golden brown on both sides.
13. Serve hot with rice and dal.

Recipe Notes

Adjust spices and quantity of leaves according to taste and preference.

Instead of green onions, you can use regular onions too.

The dough can be stored in refrigerator before adding salt, leaves and green onions for a day or two. Just before making sanna polo, add the rest and mix well. Make this with any leafy green like spinach, methi (fenugreek leaves), chopped cabbage, radish leaves etc.

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