Udid and Moong Dal Pollo ( DOSA)

This is a very yummy Pollo/ Dosa but guess what? No rice in it..............so for all you low carbers, and high protein dieters, this is a perfect breakfast. It is very light too. I am so excited to feed my little one and her little one, something nutritious, as well as tasty every morning. This preparation was made at my Ajji's house too, but I had completely forgotten about it. This is similar to the "Addai" version of south indian dosas, which calls for a variety of dals and rice. All of these dals can be easily found in any Indian store. The added ginger and green chillies just bumps up the taste.
Ingredients:
1 cup Udid Dal
1 cup Moong Dal
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 or 2 finely chopped or ground serrano peppers
2 tsp salt ( to taste)
Wash the dals thoroughly and then soak them for about 2-3 hours until soft.
Grind it to a smooth paste, using the water that was soaked in, to a cake batter consistency.
Add salt and the grated ginger and chopped chillies. You can add a little yoghurt, if you like it a little sour.Let it ferment overnight, to make it even lighter.
Using a large cast iron griddle , spread a ladle full of batter into a nice round shape,lightly drizzle it with oil around the edges, and cook covered until the edges are browned and seperated from the tava(griddle). Non stick pans make excellent low fat version of this. Flip and cook on the other side, until nice and crisp.
Serve with green chutney , butter or konkani nonche (pickle) or just plain.............................

Tavshya dodhak( Cucumber Dodhak)

I tried to create my own recipe for this traditional dodhak. I feel like I am stepping into my Ajji's shoes, where nothing was ever created from scratch. She always had to mix something and come up with a new and yummy tasting dish. In this case I had leftover cucumber raita, that we had made several nights ago, and it ended up being a little salty. I hate to waste things or throw away stuff, that has not gone "bad". I think this ended up very tasty , nutritious and yummy breakfast treat. You can never go wrong with this preparation.
Ingredients:
1 cup leftover cucumber raita
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 chopped green chilly
1/4 cup cilantro
2 cups coarse organic white rice flour
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup oil
salt to taste
Add all the chopped fresh ingredients( coconut, green chilly, cilantro) to the raita, and mix in the rice flour and all purpose flour to bind it. The batter should be soft and easy to pick up with your hands.
On a flat cast iron griddle, place a large handful( 1/2 cup) of dough and spread it with wetted fingers, to a round shape. Drizzle a little oil around the dodhak and cover with a lid, keeping it on medium to high heat, until the edges turn brown. Flip and cook on the other side with a little more oil if needed, for extra crispy texture.
Serve with green chutney, or sweet butter.

Ajji's Pumpkin Dodhak (Uttapam)

Dodhak or uttapam is a savory and spicy pancake made with sooji (cream of wheat). A lot of folks that have it for the first time compare it to the scallion pancakes you can get at authentic Chinese restaurants. A lot of dodhak (uttapam) recipes call for onions or tomatoes to keep the moisture intact. Unfortunately, this usually leaves these soggy areas only where the onions or tomatoes end up. My ajji had a secret trick to keeping these savory pancakes moist all over without sogginess and still keeping the outside crispy -- pumpkin! Any kind of raw pumpkin or hard squash, like acorn, can be used in this recipe and if you're fresh out of pumpkin, substitute cucumber. You will be surprised with the delicious result. After enjoying this breakfast in Phoenix and watching as I prepared, my son-in-law tried it out for my daughter back in Austin. I can truly say she was thrilled to wake up to what she thought she could only get at mom's house. Aaron is now a true konkani and also a budding Indian chef in the making. One of his favorite items as accompaniment to the dish is a simple "chutney" made with 1 cup yogurt, 3 tablespoons sambar powder and a teaspoon (or to taste) of salt. Mix these all together and let sit while you combine and make the dodhak. Seriously simple, seriously yummy.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup grated pumpkin

1-2 green/red fresh chilis (depending on your spice level)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 cups sooji

1 cup yogurt/buttermilk

1-2 teaspoons salt (depending on how salty your yogurt is)Vegetable oil

Step 1: Mix all dry ingredients together and then add the yogurt and combine until well incorporated. Batter should be thick, almost a pasty consistency.

Step 2: Fill a small bowl with tap water. Heat cast iron or non-stick skillet with a teaspoon of vegetable oil.

Step 3: Using your hand (clean!), scoop up about a half cupful of batter and place on the hot pan. Press down on the batter with wet fingers to make a flat pancake. If the batter is sticking to your fingers, you need to wet your fingers further and try again. Trickle a little oil around the dodhak and flip once edges are crisp. Cook about 2 minutes on each side.

Step 4: Serve hot with yogurt sambar chutney, butter or hot pickle