A spongy, airy millet based savoury South Indian pancake. Served with Chutney or Sambar for a Vegan, Gluten Free meal
Millets are making a huge come back in Indian Cuisine and coincidentally 2023 has been declared the International year of Millets by the Hon Prime Minister of India.
What are millets?
Millets are traditional pseudo grains, which need very little water to grow, are ecologically sustainable and provide wholesome nourishment. In recent times, millets have also replaced rice in most dishes like iDli, Dosa (savory crepe), Pongal (savory one pot meal) or savoury pudding (Upma) at my kitchen.
Breakfast – the most important part of a day, and if there is hot breakfast, why not? We prefer hot breakfast every day, with a few exceptions like my little one who absolutely adores her oatmeal topped with raisins and chocolate chips. But for that, it is always a hot breakfast and we are thankful for these little things were I live, to source local ingredients and millets have taken a prominent position in our breakfast menu too! Another equally popular dosa using Little Millet is this Dosa
Millets are a great source of phytate, which helps fight free radicals and prevent cancer. Regular consumption of millets is also said to lower cardiac risk and help regulate blood sugars. Although millets were eaten by my Grandmom in various forms – flatbread / bhakri, koozh (savoury porridge), a recent resurgence of millets over past 9-10 years is seen in India
Today, we shall see how to make Millet Set Dosa.
What is Set Dosa ?
It is a fluffy , airy Vegan and GlutenFree Savoury pancake which has its origins in Karnataka / Udupi Cuisine. Served in a set of 2 or 3, these are also (mostly) oil free and a well fermented batter gives it that characteristic, spongy, hole-laden dosa which is used to mop up curry / sambhar or a spicy chutney on the side. Usually made with Rice (click here for the traditional recipe), I have subbed the rice with millets for a rice-free version here.
Another soft, delish Dosa using no rice is this delish Barley + Karamani Dosa (Barley + Cow pea lentil dosa)
Tips to make fluffy Set Dosa:
- Wash the millets / rice (as using) well in several changes of water
- Grind all ingredients to a smooth paste, do not add too much water while grinding at the same time, not too less
- Once the batter is fermented, mix with a light hand – you want to preseve the air bubbles that gives the Set dosa the charcteristic porous spongy look and feel
- Do not spread the batter like a normal dosa , pour 1-2 ladles on a hot tava. IF the batter is fermented well, then it spreads to a thick pancake type.
- Oil / ghee to cook the dosa is optional as is flipping the Dosa once its cooked. Serve hot with any curry / sambhar as soon as it is made for best taste.
Other dosa / savoury pancakes (all GF & vegan ) you may like on the blog
For millet set dosa, I have used barnyard millet, but you can sub with any brown top millet that you use. Proportions are more or less the same
PIN FOR LATER
Prep time -15 mins, soak time – 6 hours, grind time – 30 mins, fermentation time – 8-10 hours (or overnight)
Cook time – 2 mins / dosa
Makes – 20 servings
Cuisine – South Indian; Course – Breakfast or Light dinner
(I have used 200 gram cup as 1 measure here)
What you need to make Millet Set Dosa
- 2.5 cups barnyard millet
- 3/4 cup split black gram / urad dal
- 1/3 cup flattened rice / poha / aval** see recipe for substitution
- 1 tsp fenugreek / Methi seeds
- 1.25 tsp salt (or as required)
- Oil (for making the dosa, optional)
How to make Millet Set Dosa | Barnyard Millet Set Dosa
- Wash millet in several changes of water till it’s clear and transparent . Soak in 3 cups of water.
- Washing the millets several times is a very important step, please do not skip that
- In another bowl, wash the lentil well twice, soak in 1 cup of water along with the fenugreek seeds
- Soak both these for 4-6 hours
- Towards the end of the soak time, wash the poha / flattened rice well and soak for 30 mins in 1/4 cup of water till just moistened .
- **If you are NOT using flattened rice / poha, soak 1/4 cup of sago / sabudana when you soak the Millet itself in a separate bowl and add the soak sago at this stage
- Drain water from the soaked dal if any and reserve
- In a wet grinder or a mixer grinder, add the soaked dal+ Methi seeds and grind to a very smooth paste adding the soaked water as needed in intervals. The batter should be smooth as butter. Transfer to a large bowl
- In the same jar / wet grinder , add the drained millet and grind to a smooth paste
- Towards the end of the millets grinding, add the soaked poha and grind further for 5 mins
- Mix both the batters well with a clean hand, add salt and mix further . Cover and close the batter to ferment for 6 -8 hours or overnight
- Next morning, the batter will be fluffy and airy, mix with a light hand
- Pour 1-2 ladles on to a pre heated tava / skillet and do not spread too much,
- Drizzle 1/4 tsp oil if using
- Cover and cook the dosa for 1-2 min
- Flip and cook for 30 seconds
- Serve hot with any curry / sambar or chutney
Millet Set Dosa | Barnyard Millet Set Dosa
Equipment
- Wet Grinder (sub with mixer grinder)
- Bowl
- Ladle
- Tava / Skillet
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups barnyard millet
- 3/4 cup split black gram / urad dal
- 1/3 cup flattened rice / poha / aval
- 1 tsp fenugreek / Methi seeds
- 1.25 tsp salt or as required
- 1/2 tsp Oil (per dosa, optional)
Instructions
- Wash millet in several changes of water till it’s clear and transparent . Soak in 3 cups of water.
- Washing the millets several times is a very important step, please do not skip that
- In another bowl, wash the lentil well twice, soak in 1 cup of water along with the fenugreek seeds
- Soak both these for 4-6 hours
- Towards the end of the soak time, wash the poha / flattened rice well and soak for 30 mins in 1/4 cup of water till just moistened
- If you are NOT using flattened rice / poha, soak 1/4 cup of sago / sabudana when you soak the Millet itself in a separate bowl and add the soak sago at this stage
- Drain water from the soaked dal if any and reserve
- In a wet grinder or a mixer grinder, add the soaked dal+ Methi seeds and grind to a very smooth paste adding the soaked water as needed in intervals. The batter should be smooth as butter. Transfer to a large bowl
- In the same jar / wet grinder , add the drained millet and grind to a smooth paste
- Towards the end of the millets grinding, add the soaked poha and grind further for 5 mins
- Mix both the batters well with a clean hand, add salt and mix further . Cover and close the batter to ferment for 6 -8 hours or overnight
- Next morning, the batter will be fluffy and airy, mix with a light hand
- Pour 1-2 ladles on to a pre heated tava / skillet and do not spread too much,
- Drizzle 1/4 tsp oil if using
- Cover and cook the dosa for 1-2 min
- Flip and cook for 30 seconds
- Serve hot with any curry / sambar or chutney
Notes
- Wash the millets / rice (as using) well in several changes of water
- Grind all ingredients separately to a smooth paste, do not add too much water while grinding at the same time, not too less
- Once the batter is fermented, mix with a light hand – you want to preseve the air bubbles that gives the Set dosa the charcteristic porous spongy look and feel
- Do not spread the batter like a normal dosa , pour 1-2 ladles on a hot tava. IF the batter is fermented well, then it spreads to a thick pancake type.
- Oil / ghee to cook the dosa is optional as is flipping the Dosa once its cooked. Serve hot with any curry / sambhar as soon as it is made for best taste.
Look at all those wonderful holes for scooping up the curry. YUM
thank you, Wendy. it is indeed yum
Millet is relatively new to me but I love the flavor. I appreciate having another recipe to use it in. Your dosa looks wonderful, Kalyani!
Thank you, Stacy ! Hope you do try it whenever possible.
Kalyani, this looks delicious.
thanks Camilla
Perfect set dosa with barnyard millets! We love dosa and these will definitely make breakfast enjoyable.
Thank you, Archana. we love these healthy delights too
Making millets set dosa in the morning is a good thing, it is filling and easy to prepare. They look soft and spongy.
thank you Jayashree
By mistake I ordered a really big bag of barnyard millet. Now I know how to use it up before it gets spoilt. This millet set dosa is perfect for a filling and healthy brunch.
It sure is Mayuri. do try, am sure you would like it a lot