Thursday, February 26, 2009

Rye Crepes / Dosai

I was looking up the Indian term for rye when I came across this hilarious Q & A on a forum. Apparently some other person was seeking the answer to this question too and had posed that question on the forum. The answers ranged from suggesting to the questioner to look up Aishwariya Rai (an Indian actress) to suggesting that it could be rai as in mustard seeds.So even though I did not find the answer to my question I enjoyed a  hearty laugh at some of the creative and innovative replies to this question.  Apparently rye does not seem to have an Indian equivalent term or if it does I have not been able to find it yet. 

Rye is a cereal grain that looks like wheat but is longer and more slender. It has immense health benefits including being fiber rich and also rich in magnesium. It is also said to decrease the risk for type 2 diabetes and is said to protect against certain types of cancer. I bought rye on my last trip to whole foods with the idea of baking bread with it. But when I was researching about rye I learned that baking bread with rye is a little more difficult since it has lower levels of gluten than wheat. 

So I decided to use the rye flour in some Indian preparation, the first thought was to add it to roti (Indian flat bread) . Later though, I decided against rye roti in favor of rye crepes (dosai) since dosai is almost always a sure fire success in my home. So I added rye flour along with other flours to make a batter and ground some spices to add the element of flavor for the crepe.These crepes were quick and easy to make and turned out tasty, tender and crisp.I served them with classic cilantro coconut chutney but you can serve it with any chutney of your choice. 




Ingredients and Method to make Rye Crepes/ Dosai 

3/4 cup rye flour 
3/4 cup semolina (medium rava)  
 3/4 cup rice flour   
3/4 cup whole wheat flour (atta) 
salt to taste (I used approx about 2 tsp) 

Grind together
10 curry leaves
1 to 1 1/2 inch piece of ginger
3 serrano peppers (or according to taste)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/8 tsp asafoetida (hing)
handful of cilantro

3 1/2 cups of water
A few drops of sesame oil or any other oil to shallow fry the dosai 

Add all the ingredients from1 through 5 in a large bowl, mix well and keep aside.

Grind all the ingredients mentioned in grind together along with half a cup of water until fine and  add to the dry flours.

Add the balance of  the water (3 cups) a little at a time, mixing thoroughly while doing so.

Let the batter rest for a few minutes

Heat a griddle/ flat pan on medium to medium high heat

Pour a ladle of  the batter on the center and spread quickly in a thin circle as thinly as you would like it

A very thin crepe would be crisp whereas a thicker crepe would be soft and tender so you can make the thickness of the crepe depending on your likes 

Sprinkle a few drops of oil on the side facing upwards. When the lower side is browned, flip the crepe over and cook the other side for a few minutes until pinkish/ brownish spots appear on the other side.

Serve hot with chutney of choice or sambar of choice

Yielded approximately 14 to 15 average sized crepes

Notes
You can use brown rice flour instead of plain rice flour too
With serrano peppers this was very very mild and not very spicy so if  you  like more heat try using Indian variety or thai variety of green chillies
 

52 comments :

Unknown said...

I had once tried making like chapathis with it, turned out good.
Dosa is nice dish to try too,looks delish Usha.

Manju said...

thats a good way to make dosais healthy..for dosai in itself doesnt have much!! loved it wiht the combination of cilantry chutney.

FH said...

That's a great idea to use Rye flour to make dosas. I only used Rye in bread so far. I will try these dosa! :))

Varsha Vipins said...

That was hilarious..!!:D
Looks so yum..I havent made Dosa's for a while..Baking bug u knw..:D..its always sandwich now..the pic of that Dosa with chutney hit me hard..:(

Mangala Bhat said...

Arre wah ! such wonderful recipe..and it looks very helathy too..New recipe to me surely try this asap Thanks for the recipe Usha :)

Preety said...

that's a good one..rai & aishwaraya..

I never used rye flour..nice idea od using it in dosas

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

dosas look perfect... never tried anything with rye. you are an expert in dosa varities... my goodness, you come up with different ideas.

A_and_N said...

Very healthy! :)

indosungod said...

rye dosai, that is really a splendid idea. Would love to give this a try.

Deepa Hari said...

Nice way to use the rye flour Usha...Dosas look perfect and healthy...Never made anything with rye...will try it.

Deepa Hari said...

Nice way to use the rye flour Usha...Dosas look perfect and healthy...Never made anything with rye...will try it.

Sara said...

I love rye bread, so I'm sure I'll love rye crepes too!

Nithya Praveen said...

This is an interesting one,i;ve heard abt rye bread not crepes.Will try out for sure:-)

Cham said...

Rye in dosa, that is something welcoming! That is a great innovation!

Sharmila said...

It does look like a success Usha! Though the word is not new to me, rye as a grain sure is.:-)

Amy said...

Mmm I love rye flour. I'll have to try these!

Anonymous said...

dosai looks so crispy :)
I love all your dosai recipes... very innovative :)

Priya Suresh said...

Excellent idea of making dosas with rye flour, crispy dosas looks superb Usha!!

Daily Meals said...

Sounds healthy...

Sia said...

now i call this an innovative recipe:)

Shama Nagarajan said...

am drooling here..........send me that

Anonymous said...

Thats a splendid dosa..I havent tried one like this..Nutritious for sure

Jaishree Iyer said...

This dosa is my husband's favorite.sounds healthy & yummy usha:)

Deepthi Shankar said...

this one is such a cool healthy thing to make .. nice variation

AnuSriram said...

Usha, Thats very inviting! Can i get that for today's breakfast?

Navita (Gupta) Hakim said...

dosai looks gorgeous Usha...n rye ...so healthy! :)

just been a lil busy so not regular on blogosphere.

Ashwini said...

Wow Nice and healthy dosa..I have not tried rye in dosa..You can't make out the difference..

Paru ... said...

I have tasted rye bread, rye donuts, even rye naans but never rye dosa..Great unique recipe and healthy too with all that grain..

Lisa Turner said...

Great idea to use rye flour. I hope to try this soon.

Shivali said...

Sounds healthy and looks delicious.

Anonymous said...

Dosa is always my favorite! i never thought of this one!

Unknown said...

you surely come up with great dosa ideas..using rye sounds good and healthy too..

zlamushka said...

this is lovely :-) i adore dosas. Nice blog, Usha. havent been here for ages.

Vibaas said...

that is such a neat idea! looks super yum and crisp! Lol on your search on rye :)

Dershana said...

that's such a good idea, usha. i somehow can't eat rye bread 'cause i find them too dense and grainy for my liking, but these dosas look gud!

Archana said...

Very nice Usha, all your other dosa recipes look yum and are healthy too...will try the ragi one, havent made that in a really long time...and thanks for dropping by

Anonymous said...

Nice one Usha! Great idea making dosa using rye flour!

Anonymous said...

rye & bollywood rai.. LOL

But your recipe is a great one! & they look good too.

Vidhya said...

plate looks really inviting Usha..

Sukanya Yogesh said...

I really love to try the healthy recipes you blog. This is a very good one and the dosas look so crispy and inviting.

Pam said...

I've never used rye flour...these crepes look great.

Andhra Flavors said...

its new to me with ray flour. looks yummy.

Jaishree Iyer said...

Hi Usha,I have something for u in my blog. Pls accept!

Srikitchen said...

wow! looks very nice!

Beyond Curries said...

What Usha, trying to become the Dosa queen? I have not used rye flour so far. Will get it and try these dosas. Another thing I love about this dosa is no fermentation.

Usha said...

Thanks all of you for visiting and for your warm comments.

Asha, do try it, I am sure you will enjoy this dosai :-)

Varsha,LOL you make the baking bug sound about as scary as the flu bug:-) enjoy your baking phase,look forward to yum bakes on you site !

Ashwini really when you make this dosai you will not be able to tell very much that it has rye in it, it is well disguised :-)

Jaishree thanks so much for thinking of me for the awards!

Madhuram, LOL, no I am not trying to become a dosa queen, just that I love dosai a lot so it features frequently in my kitchen. Do try it and let me know if you liked it as much as we did too !

Priyanka Agrawal said...

all the food looks gr8, sorry wasnt coming online for a long time - had scheduled my posts too. i have never had the courage to make dosa but an mustering up the courage now. u guys inspire.

Usha said...

Thanks Food Fanatic,for dropping by and for your sweet comments !

Pallavi said...

what a unique and creative combination ! Looks yummy..Usha

Ramjee said...

Hi,

Is it coarse rava or the fine variety and does it need to be roasted first ???

Also, please let me know how long is the shelf life for this ? Can it be prepared and stored earlier?

Thanks,
Anusha

Usha said...

Thanks Pallavi !

Usha said...

Anusha, it is coarse kind of rava and it does not have to be roasted.
The batter for the dosai can definitely be made a couple of days ahead if required and stored in the refrigerator and used as required.

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