Ragi Dosa (Finger Millet Savoury Crepe)

Ragi Dosa


Sometimes when I think about the importance given to having a variety of fruits and vegetables in everyday diet, I wonder why there is not much importance given to a variety of grains that we should include in our diet. I am currently reading a book about food, diets and nutrition. I read about how people could have been eating something for decades and suddenly become intolerant to it. For this reason, it is suggested that we include a variety of food in our diet. Infact the book goes on to giving recommendations like say if you have wheat today, give 2-3 days time before you have wheat again. For most of us I would guess that could be quite challenging. As far as possible I try to avoid keeping my lunch and dinner common. Again to keep dinner light, it is usually tiffin as we call it. One of the regulars is a variety of savoury crepe, dosa. This dish recipe uses ragi, a grain which is suppose to have its origin from Ethiopia and is quite common in south India. I have written a bit more about ragi in my post on Ragi Kuzhi Appam. Most ragi dosa recipes are instant dosa type. However I somehow dislike that preparation (usually mixed with rice flour, maida and buttermilk) and prefer this fermented version. It keeps the consistency close to traditional dosa, which I love and still more nutritious.

¼ cup urd dal (black gram)
½ cup par boiled rice (idli rice)
½ cup ragi flour
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
Salt to taste

Wash and soak the urd dal and fenugreek seeds together. Soak rice separately. Try to soak for 8 hours or overnight.

Grind the urd dal to a fine paste and then add the rice and grind fine. Now add the ragi flour and grind until the batter is uniformly mixed. The consistency of the batter should be such that it just starts to flow when spooned.
Add salt and allow to ferment overnight. Before making the crepe, mix the batter and if needed, add some water.

Pour a ladle of batter on a hot tava and spread to desired thickness. I usually make a thick (‘uthappam’ like for my son) and make thin crispy crepe for myself. Spoon some ghee or oil and cook both sides.

A wee cat dosa I made for my wee one!

Serve with nice chutney.