Quinoa Venthaya Dosai

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In this health conscious world,every body is trying to incorporate all the good grains into their diet instead of the traditional Rice.  One such grain(or a seed I must say) that has caught every one's attention is QUINOA ( pronounced as kee-n-wah).  This is not new to many of the innovative cooks out there in the blogging as well as the non blogging world.  In fact, I have heard of some friends who eat this like the regular  rice.

I have tried Quinoa Upma and Pulao and Puliyogare was my recent attempt.  There are quite a few recipes out there using Quinoa in  idlis, dosas and adais - the typical breakfast dishes of South India.  I too was keen on attempting to do this.  But I was a little skeptical given the fact that my husband does not relish  Quinoa as much as I do.  And getting the kids to eat is going to be out of question.

As I was pondering, I decided to include  Quinoa into a variety of Dosa called Venthaya(methi seed) Dosa.  This is a version which is very popular in Chennai households.  I have had this many times when I was growing up but never tried in my own kitchen.  So I called my mother and got the recipe for Venthaya Dosa which is as follows

3 cups parboiled rice
1/2 cup urad dal
1/4 cup toor dal
1 table spoon methi seeds
The soaking and grinding procedure is all the same like any other dosa.

I also came upon this variation in the very famous Tamil cookbook called "Samaithup Paar"(Cook and See) by Meenatchi Ammal.  This book is like a big piece of  treasure to any girl getting married and having to explore the nuances of cooking all by herself.  Of late, the English version of the book is available as well.  In that book there was a mention of  Venthaya Thuvaramparuppu Uthappam(Methi toor dal/ Uthappam).
The ingredients for this is as follows

2 cups parboiled rice
1 cup toor dal
1 table spoon methi seeds

However, I decided to go with the one my mother makes all the time and alter it to my needs.  Here goes the recipe of Quinoa version of the methi dosa.

2 cups parboiled rice
1 cup quinoa washed thoroughly
1/2 cup urad dal
1/4 cup toor dal
1 table spoon methi/fenugreek seeds

Soak all the ingredients for 5-6 hours.  Start grinding the urad dal and methi seeds.  When it is almost frothy add the toor dal.  After it is ground well, add the quinoa and let the grinder run for about 10 minutes. Finally add the rice.  Make sure the rice is not ground too fine.  It should be a bit coarse.  Add the required amount of salt.  Let the batter ferment for 12 hours.


These dosas cannot be made as wafer thin crepes.  They will have to be spread out thick like uthappams.  But they are really soft and makes good for lunch boxes.  As I expected, the flavor of the methi seeds overshadowed the distinct smell and taste of the Quinoa.   Everybody loved it including my kids!!  No complaints whatsoever:-) I am now going to have to try out the other variation.

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