Recipe: Bethica's Bun Dosas

Bun Dosas, a traditional preparation from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which are soft and spongy, are shaped like a bun hence the name, explains food blogger Bethica Das.

"They are generally prepared in a small round tadka pan. These dosas can also be prepared in a small wok pan or an appe pan too.

"In this recipe, I substituted rice with foxtail millets. A tempering of mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, onion, ginger, curry leaves and green chilies were also added to the batter."

She suggests trying this amazing and wholesome variety of dosa, accompanied with coconut chutney for a comforting breakfast. One can use any other type of millets for the batter, like proso (baragu or broomcorn millet), kodo, barnyard (bhagar), etc too.

Millets, according to WebMD.com, are high in niacin, vitamin A, potassium, calcium, iron and antioxidants (that ward off the effects of free radicals in the body, an excess of which can cause heart disease, cancer, high BP etc).

Millets also have a 'low-glycemic index' and happily take much longer to be processed by the stomach and digestive system.

If you are looking for something unusual to make for dinner, Bethica, who cooks South Indian, Bengali and also fusion cuisine, always has the most appetising recipes up her sleeve.

Bun Dosas

Serves: 2-3

Ingredients

• ½ cup foxtail millets
• ¼ cup urad dal or white gram
• Water
• 1 tbsp oil
• ½ tsp jeera or cumin seeds
• ½ tsp rai or mustard seeds
• ¼ tsp hing or asafoetida
• 1 sprig curry leaves, chopped
• 1-2 green chilies, chopped
• ½-inch piece ginger, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh green dhania or coriander leaves or cilantro, chopped
• Salt to taste, about 1 tsp
• 1 tsp Eno fruit salts
• Oil to fry the bun dosas

Method

• Wash the millets and the urad dal and rinse well and soak overnight or for a minimum of 5 hours.
  Drain and then grind into a smooth paste with water.
  Not too much water; the batter should be of pouring consistency.
  Keep aside.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a small frying or tempering/tadka pan over medium heat and add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida.
  Allow it to splutter and then add the chopped onion, curry leaves, ginger, green chilies.
  Sauté till it turns translucent and then add the chopped coriander leaves and give it a mix.
  Take off heat and pour this seasoning/tempering into the prepared batter along with the salt and mix well.
• Just before making the bun dosas, add the Eno fruit salt and mix.
  Heat 2 tsp oil in a small tempering/tadka pan and pour a ladleful of the batter in it.
  Cook till one side turns golden brown.
  Flip over and fry the other side till perfectly done and transfer to a serving plate.
  Use up the remaining batter in a similar manner.
  Serve the dosas hot with coconut chutney.

Bethica Das is a Sharjah-based food blogger. Please do check out her recipes here

• REDIFF FOOD