Aval Dosai/Poha Dosa/Sponge Dosa/Beaten Rice Pancakes

Aval Dosai is a spongy dosa that doesn’t require many tricks and techniques like the normal dosa batter and this was my go-to recipe during my early days of cooking.
Also it turns out  in the same taste and texture if grinded in grinder or a mixie. But the batter should be used within 2 days as they turn sour easily. But during winter they stay for a week in refrigerator.  So give it a try.

 Ingredients:

Raw rice-4 cups

Fenugreek seeds/ Methi seeds/Vendhayam- 1 tsp

Aval/Poha/Beaten rice-1 & ½ cups

Buttermilk-1/2 cup

Salt-as required

Oil- For roasting

How it Happened:

1. Wash the rice twice and soak in water, well immersed along with vendhayam/methi seeds for 4-5 hours.Wash the aval once and soak it in buttermilk along with ½ cup water 1 hour before grinding.

2. Drain the rice and vendhayam and add them to the blender jar. Grind them to a smooth paste by adding water slowly now and then. Now add the soaked aval along with the buttermilk (notes) completely to the blender jar and grind it to a smooth paste.

3. Now mix both the batter, add salt and mix well.

4. Transfer the batter to a container and let it sit and ferment for 8 hours (summer) or 15 hours (winter).While preparing the dosa, mix the batter well once again and add water if needed( see notes).

5. Heat a tawa/griddle and smear it with a drop of oil. When the tawa is hot, pour a ladle full of batter on to the tawa. Do not spread.

6. When small pores start appearing on the dosa, drizzle a little oil around the edges of the dosa and cover it with a lid. Simmer the flame and cook for 1 minute.

7. Remove the lid, the dosa should be cooked by now. Remove from the tawa.

8. Serve hot with kollu podi or garlic chutney.

Notes:

* Do not wash the rice for long, as they loose the starchy nature and the dosa may turn rubbery.

* The buttermilk and water mix will be completely be soaked up by the aval. So do not drain the aval also the sourness in the buttermilk aids fermentation. While grinding the rice add water little by little and limit the use of water.

* The batter should be a little watery/ thin. It should be thinner than the usual dosa batter but not runny like rava dosa batter.

* In summer this batter ferments faster than the usual dosa batter as it has buttermilk. But in winter it takes time. What I do is wrap my container with a woolen shawl so the batter is kept warm or you can place it near the stove top or inside a kitchen storage rack/ in a switched off microwave oven.

* The dosa remains soft even when it is cold and had after a long time.

* This dosa is cooked only on one side like aapam. So cover and cook.

* Do not spread the batter for the dosa should be thick for it to become spongy and form pores.