Baalekaai Dose | Plantain – Rice and Lentil Crepes

Plantain Crepes

[Baa lay kaah ee Dosay] Kannada

Before my neighbor moved to Raleigh, she handed me down her entire vegetable crisper full of veggies. Along with it came a whole bunch of plantains. I had made curry, mor kozhambu (spiced yogurt dish), chips and bajji (fritters) from plantains earlier, but was neither ready to repeat the same nor let them go a waste. So, I called on Mr.Google for a little help and that’s how I came across this one.

Plantain seemed like an unusual addition to the Dosa batter at first, but the resulting Dosa was nothing short of dazzling our taste buds. It had an aroma of the bajji while subtly making its presence felt in a whole new way.

Him and I both equally liked it. The batter was over and we were yearning for more. It certainly is ‘blog worthy’ he declared and so it shall be.

And the best part yet, is it needs no fermentation unlike the regular Dosa. Green chillies are an addition in my version.

Things you’ll need:

• 3/4 or 1 Plantain depending on the size, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 cup raw rice
• 2-3 small green chillies
• Sea salt
• Oil for pan roasting

How it’s done:

• Wash and soak the rice for 2-4 hours in warm water
• Grind the soaked rice and green chillies. Halfway, add the chopped plantain and a little water and grind for  a smooth ‘neither too thick nor thin’ batter.
• Heat a Tawa over medium-high heat. Ladle out the batter (about 1/2 a cup) on the tawa and spread it in a circular motion, starting from the center and outwards. Drizzle a little oil all around and at the center and cook on both sides until golden brown.
• Serve hot with a chutney of your choice.

Tips:

• Do not run the blender/mixer first with the plantain pieces; the blades don’t move due to the stickiness of the plantain.