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I've been making dosa lately and was wondering if you could make the batter using only soaked urad dal (black lentils)? Or, do you have to include soaked rice, as well?
I am diabetic, so I am trying to make dosa batter more "diabetic-friendly," because I love them so much!
If not, what's the smallest amount of rice you can use?
Currently, I use 3 cups rice and 1 cup urad dal. I am using brown basmati rice, because it's a little better, carb-wise.
Thanks in advance for answers!
Main ingredient for making a traditional dosa is rice. Rice can't be substituted. Although you can definitely reduce the amount of rice you are using.
From what you've mentioned, you are using 3:1 rice to black lentil ratio. Using 2:1 rice to lentil ratio can also yield you similar batter without compromising the crispiness.
I am assuming that you only use rice and black lentils. You can try adding more types of lentils like Moong (Split Green Gram lentil with skin removed) or Toor Daal. The point here is to reduce the amount of rice in per serving by adding lentil. I usually follow 4:2:1 rice to black lentil to Moong Daal ratio.
If you completely cut out rice, you can still get similar crepes using substitutes but they won't be authentic dosa. You can try Rava Dosa (Semolina Crepe) or many other substitutes mentioned here
Yes, you can make dosa without rice! I am very health-conscious and one day tried making dosa without rice and it worked very well. Moreover, this doesn't even require fermentation. Just soak urad dal for couple of hours and grind it into a smooth paste. Make the batter as thin as regular dosa batter and enjoy :)
I don't know if you can make it with only dal but I made a dosa with masoor dal and rice. 2 :1 ratio. Ie more dal than rice. It turned out perfect and tasted just like a normal dosa. Rest of the steps are same. I added some methi seeds to aid fermentation
Yes, urad dal can be used for making dosa, and fermentation is not necessary [source]. Moreover, there are many other no-rice dosas, which use:
