Maapillai Samba Dosai
Maapillai samba is a very prominent rice variety grown in Tamil Nadu, India. It’s red in color and rich in iron & zinc. It’s called Maapillai (which translates to “bridegroom”) samba for a reason. In the olden days, the bravery of a man was as important as wealth for a women’s family to decide whether to give their daughter in marriage to him. As a result, men consumed food made out of this rice to increase their energy levels naturally so they could train themselves for bull fights, weightlifting, etc. and not only express their strength but also marry a woman of their dreams. My kids have no motivation like this so eating Maapillai Samba or any other red rice was a challenge in my house until I figured a way to make yummy dosas with them. This recipe is a variation from jeyashriskitchen.com.
Desika Products Used:
Maapillai Samba Rice, Urad dal,Channa dal, Toor dal, Ragi flour
RECIPE FOR Maapillai Samba Arisi Dosa
Ingredients:
Maapillai Samba Rice - 1 cup
Ragi Flour - 1 cup
Urad Dal - 1/2 cup
Channa Dal - 1 tblsp
Toor Dal - 1 tblsp
Methid seeds (optional) - 1 tsp
Salt - as needed
Peanut Oil - 2 tblsp for making dosas
Instructions:
Wash and soak the maapillai samba rice with the methi seeds and all the dals listed above for at least 5 to 6 hours.
In a separate bowl, add the ragi flour pour in water little by little, mixing it thoroughly to make it to a thick paste. Do this step right before you are ready to grind, not too early.
After the soaking time, grind the soaked ingredients from Step 1 into a smooth paste. Use water as needed to reach this desired consistency.
Now add this mixture to the ragi flour paste from Step 2.
Once the pastes are thoroughly combined, ferment for 4 to 5 hours.
After fermentation, add salt and mix thoroughly. Adjust the consistency if needed by adding water.
To make dosas, first heat up the dosa tawa. You can test of it is hot enough by sprinkling some water and seeing if it sizzles.
Rake a big ladle of the dosa batter and pour on the tawa. Move the ladle in circular motions to spread the batter and get the dosas as thin as possible.
Drizzle peanut oil around this and cook on high flame.
Once cooked, flip the dosa and cook the other side. There is no need to add oil for the other side.
Maapillai samba dosa is ready! I enjoyed it with mint chutney & peanut chutney.
Tips & Tricks:
Adding methi seeds makes crispy dosas. I made it optional as some people don’t like the bitter taste it gives.
Adding millets to any batter results in quick fermenting, so keep a watch if you are using unlit oven to store fermenting batter like I did.
After fermenting, the dosa batter can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days and can be used to make vegetable uthappams.