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Green Adai Dosa with Brown Rice and Quinoa
This nutritious and protein rich dosa is a multi-lentil savory Indian pancake/crepe with nutritious greens. Make it thick or thin and enjoy it for breakfast, lunch or even dinner with a side of chutney and/or sambar.
Ingredients
- ½ cup urad dal/split deskinned black gram lentils
- ½ cup whole mung beans
- ½ cup chana dal/split bengal gram dal
- ½ cup quinoa
- ¾ to 1 cup brown rice
- 1 to 2 cups baby spinach leaves or whole chopped
- Salt to taste
- Oil/ghee for roasting
Instructions
PREPPING INGREDIENTS:
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Wash lentils, mung beans, rice and quinoa thoroughly in plenty of water, rubbing with your fingers until the water runs clear.
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This step is especially necessary to remove the outer covering of quinoa called “saponin” which may turn the batter bitter. Did you know that animals, birds and other creatures do not eat unrinsed quinoa for the same reason?
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Add plenty of water and soak overnight or for at least 3 to 4 hours.
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Wash and drain spinach leaves if unwashed. If the leaves are large, chop them roughly for easy blending.
TO MAKE THE ADAI BATTER:
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Transfer the washed, soaked and drained mixture in batches to a blender jar and adding a bit of water (to run the blender and form a thickish batter), blend to a smooth paste.
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You can add the spinach leaves in one of those batches.
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Transfer the batter to a bowl and mix well.
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Add salt to taste and it is ready to make dosas!
TO MAKE DOSAS:
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Heat a cast iron griddle; the best choice (or even a non-stick pan) until hot.
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Smear some oil over it and rub with a paper towel.
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Reduce the heat to medium, sprinkle some water over the hot griddle to cool it slightly (as a hot pan will lump up the batter while spreading) and then pour a ladle of batter on the pan.
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Immediately, spread it on the pan using circular motion, starting from the center. Make it as thick as you want or as thin as you can or want. This process should be done quickly.
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Once spread, drizzle some oil over it, cover with a lid and cook for a minute or so. Keep an eye as the bottom could burn in no time!
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As soon as the top of the adai is dry, using a flat ladle or pancake turner, flip to cook the other side.
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When both the sides are cooked and light brown, remove and serve hot!
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These crepes or dosas can be made soft (by cooking for a shorter time until you see that the batter is cooked) or super crispy by cooking on a lower heat for a longer time on each side until you get the crispiness you want.
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Make as many dosas as you want and store the rest of the batter in the fridge to make another day. Use the batter within 2 to 3 days.
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Now, wasn’t that easy? Enjoy these delicious, crispy or soft but nutritious multi-lentil, brown rice and quinoa dosa with the goodness of spinach dipped in some coconut chutney, onion chutney, Indian pickles or with a side of sambar and/or dry chutney powder which we call “Molaga Podi” or Chili Powder!
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We enjoyed these delicious green dosas with a side of our favorite spicy and super tasty “ONION CHUTNEY”
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Enjoy Foodies and Happy Cooking!
Recipe Notes
- You can make these adais even without spinach leaves. Feel free to stir in any of your favorite greens as long as they are not bitter raw; I have even blended in salad greens in my adai and regular dosa batter to sneak in some greens for my family!
- For a flavor variation, feel free to add some jeera/cumin seeds (in the batter or while blending) or even some dry red chilies or green chilies/jalapenos for a kick of heat.
- Love ginger, then a small piece of ginger when blending the batter should do.
- Adore the crunch of onions or even some soft tomatoes? Then sprinkle some finely chopped onions and/or tomatoes over a slightly thickishly spread dosa on the pan.
- These dosas can be cooked on both sides or just on one side too as long as you do not see any wet batter on top.
- Store leftover batter in the refrigerator and use within a couple of days.