Ragi Dosa / Whole Millet Crepes

Ragi / Finger Millet is a powerhouse of nutrients. I don't know how many people are aware of the health benefits of ragi. In south India it is a staple food and is consumed in many ways starting from childhood. Babies are fed ragi porridge from the time they are 6 months old daily. It is gluten free and easily digestible for kids. It makes their bones strong and help them grow. There are different varieties of recipes with ragi. In Kerala we make Puttu, Porridge, Ada, Roti, Idiyappam with ragi. Ragi can be washed, dried, powdered and stored in airtight jars. Today my recipe is ragi dosa. My kids had it without any fuss. I am a happy mom :)

RAGI DOSA

INGREDIENTS

Whole Ragi/ Finger Millet - 1 cup

Whole Skinned Urad Dal/ Whole Skinned Black Lentils - 1/3 cup
Uluva / Fenugreek - 1 tbsp

Water - to soak and 1 cup to grind

Ghee - for drizzling on dosa

Salt - as required

METHOD

Soak ragi and fenugreek together.
Soak urad dal separately for minimum 2 hours .

Grind the dal first. Add in very little water.

When the urad dal is smooth to touch add in the soaked ragi fenugreek mix and grind adding water as required.

Keep aside the batter for 4 hours.

Add the required salt and make dosas.

Heat a non-stick pan / caste iron griddle. If you are using a cast iron griddle then smear it with little oil using a kitchen tissue or a piece of cut onion. Reduce flame.

Pour a laddle of batter in the middle of the pan.

Using the bottom of the laddle spread the batter starting from the middle of the pan in circular motion until the batter has spread to the edges of the pan. Do not use much pressure.

Increase the flame to high.Add little ghee for frying.

Cook until the bottom of the batter has browned to your preference and the top has become firm.

When the edges start leaving the pan flip the dosa using a spatula and cook on low flame for 10 seconds. 

Flip it back again. Lift the dosa and transfer to a plate.

Repeat the same with the rest of batter.

Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Tips:

1. Ragi can be ground without soaking. But it is better to soak the urad dal (with atleast water approximately one inch above it) at least for an hour. Do not soak it for too long.

2.You can grind  ragi separately. And then add it to the ground dal.
3.The consistency of the batter should be thinner than idli batter and not too runny. If the batter is too thick add little water to get the right consistency. So it is better to add only as much water that is required to grind it. Water can be added later also.
4. The griddle temperature should be right. If it is too hot you will not be able to spread the batter. If you have seen dosas made in open kitchen restaurants you will see that water is splashed on the griddle, wiped clean and then the dosa batter is poured.
5. If you have difficulty removing the dosas from the cast iron griddle smear little gingelly oil on it and wipe off with a kitchen tissue. Or dip a piece of onion in this oil and smear on it. 
6. If you are making paper dosa just scrape off the excess batter from top of the dosas and there is no need to flip it. Just roll it once done.
7. It is better to have these crisp dosas as soon as you make it. The more you keep it, dosas become soggy and lose their crispiness.
8. Do not use the cast iron griddle used to make dosas for any other cooking purposes.
9.You can refrigerate the batter and use it for 2 days. But make sure you bring it back to room temperature before making dosas.