Quick Ferment Wholesome Dosa

This dosa recipe has been a long time in the making. It is a healthy wholesome dosa, made with lentils and millets. And since its inception, I have also made this with rolled oats and quinoa. So essentially it is a classic wholesome and wholegrain Dosa. The quick ferment part of this is pretty genius.

My Quick Fermented Dosa Story

However, is fermented and tangy just like the real deal. This is done using some prior dosa batter or sourdough discard.  The best part of all of this is that if you stick to the process, you can have this ready in about 5 hours regular fermentation and 2 to 3 hours using the instant pot.

So, Manisha over @indianfoodrocks posts these amazing Indianish things she does with her sourdough discard. So a year or more ago, I saw what she did and went on a trip and got myself all kinds of flour – sorghum, millet, and I am sure there were some lentil flours in the mix. Well, since I did not know jack about how the sourdough  I never did try her techniques. I found ways to use the other flours, all except the 3 bags of millet flour. I know, I am so excessive in my exuberance.

More about Pinocchio

Now fast forward to this year. Pandemic and all, I have my own sourdough starter called Pinocchio. Now, all except my millet flour is gone. So, with all my trial and errors I have this version of dosa, which I make from a cup of the prior batch of the dosa batter. I find this works better and keeps the recipe gluten-free. You will find a recipe for traditional dosa batter and all the fixings in Instant Indian.

The traditional dosa batter is made with rice and lentils, in fact about 60 perfect rice and takes a good 24 hours between the soaking, grinding, and fermenting. So, I was a skeptic.  However, loads of millet flour and all the extra cooking helped me nudge my adventurous side. Not that it needs too much coaxing. And, voila a new, easier, and healthier dosa is born.

I used hot water to quick soak the lentils and fenugreek seeds for an hour and then blend and mix. About 3 hours in the instant pot or 5 hours outside is enough for the batter to ferment. Since this is being done with older batter, keeping it out longer gets the batter tangier than typical. But, still pretty good. So, yes if you want to do this before you sleep and work with it in the morning that too is possible.

Some Tips and Tricks

A few things to ensure about this variation.

• I use whole lentils and add in millet flour later in the process. If you want to use lentil flours, the soaking will not be needed.
• Instead of the millet flour, I have tried this with 3/4 cup of quinoa, in which case I soak everything together.
• This proportion yields enough for about 2 32 ounce yogurt containers. Usually enough for two batches of just dosas in our household.
• And yes, this freezes very well.  So, now you are talking to a major quick dosa convert.

If you like this recipe and want more ideas, do join my Indian Instant/Air Fryer Facebook group and Legume Love Group. Of course Instant Indian is ready for order, joining its siblings The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles and Spices and Seasons.