Adai Dosa /Dosai

If there is one thing I have learned about making these, it is that there is no single recipe or consistent name for these pancake things - and everyone I consult has their own version which they adhere to as being the only correct one.

What they have in common is a batter made of some combination of pulses and a source of carbohydrates. That means dahl (and there are loads of different kinds - masoor, urid, moong, toor, chana....) and rice, millet, tapioca, sago, ...  soaked, milled, left to ferment (like a sour dough bread) and cooked in flat circles on a skillet.

They can be thin flat circles that are cooked to crispy, or thicker flat circles that are soft like pancakes or crepes.

My Singaporean Indian colleague pleaded with me to never put chana dahl in dosa.  Other recipes insist that inclusion of a couple of tablespoons of chana ensures they will be crispy.

End result - I have come to the conclusion that I can use any vaguely suitable ingredient, in any combo of quantities, as long as I like eating the end result.  The first ones I made were pure masoor dahl (orange lentils), and contrary to my expectations made excellent 'dosai', did not fall apart, crisped up wonderfully and were fantastic to eat on their own with just a grind of salt.  The one above is masoor and millet.

Remarkably, processed food addict Mr B, apparently enjoyed eating them straight from the pan too.  Of course he didn't know they were lentils or that might have prejudiced his judgment but I have received his 'green light' to regularly include them in the diet at chez nous.

What I can't figure out now is why it took me about 45 years of adult life to discover that you can soak and mill lentils (dahl) into a batter that makes pancakes.  I have eaten these orange lentils all my life, but usually boiled to a complete mush as part of 'soup mix' - lentils, split peas, barley - that my mother  (and later I) used as the basis of every vegetable soup we make.  I did go through a phase of cooking orange lentils in the pressure cooker and using the mush to make vegetarian burgers but honestly the texture wasn't there and they didn't hold together well in the frying/grilling stage.  I also learned to make dahl - as in spiced up mushy cooked lentil stuff to eat as part of a curry meal - some years ago, but it never crossed my mind that this staple in my kitchen could be soaked and milled raw to make such delish pancakes.

Thank you to my Singaporean friend for the delicious lunches we shared and my proper introduction to a huge range of South Indian 'pancakes'.

(PS I mill the soaked pulses and carbs in a blender.  Easy Peasy)