Sorghum Dosa (Jowar Dosa)

A lacy, crispy, probiotic Sorghum Dosa or Jowar Dosa made with just three ingredients. It’s healthy eats, especially so in summer, and it’s gluten-free, making it everyone-friendly. It’s going to be one of the best–and easiest–dosas you ever made and/or ate.

If you love lacy, crepe-like south Indian dosas with golden edges that crackle and crunch as you eat them, I have for you a recipe that will make you fall in love: a sorghum dosa.

This is a simple recipe, with just three ingredients needed, and there’s some soaking and fermentation time involved. However, it’s also a fairly easy recipe and there’s no reason you can’t make it even if you’ve never tried making an Indian dosa before.

Why you’ll love this sorghum dosa

It’s really, really delicious

Whether or not you are used to eating dosas with any regularity, you will want to once you’ve tried this recipe. The sorghum makes the dosas really crispy and has a delicious, nutty flavor.

It’s easy

While a dosa might appear like a difficult dish to make, it honestly can’t be easier. The only skill needed is to spread it into a thin crepe on the hot griddle, but if you mess up the shape you will still have a delicious dosa to eat and who cares how it looks? You’ll get better with time.

It’s healthy

For all the benefits of sorghum I stated above, and for the fact that there is not a thing in this recipe that’s not amazing for you. There’s a whole grain (well, technically a seed), a lentil, urad dal or black gram dal, and a few fenugreek seeds, which are by themselves a superfood. And you can ferment the batter to make it probiotic and amp up the gut-friendly value of this dosa. I’ll show you how.

It’s kid-friendly

Children tend to love dosas because they are crispy and crunchy but this sorghum dosa is a special favorite in our home and goes down fabulously with my teen.

1. Course: Breakfast/Brunch/Lunch/Dinner
2. Cuisine: Indian (South Indian)
3. Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
4. Prep Time: 15 minutes
5. Cook Time: 15 minutes
6. Soaking and fermentation time: 12 hours
7. Calories: 101kcal

Equipment

• Large bowl for soaking ingredients and batter
• Cast iron griddle

Ingredients 

• 1 cup sorghum (jowar. Use the whole seed, not the flour)
• ½ cup urad dal
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (for cooking the dosas. Can sub with cooking spray)
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Rinse the sorghum, then place it in a large bowl with the urad dal and fenugreek seeds. Do not add salt at this time.
• Cover with at least two inches of water and let it stand for four to six hours until the millets and lentils are puffy.
• Place the soaked sorghum, lentils and fenugreek in a blender bowl. Use some of the soaking water (you might not need all of it) to process into a smooth paste. You should, however, feel a very slight graininess when you rub the batter between your fingers–that will help make your dosas crispy.
• You can make the dosas rightaway at this point. But if you’d like to ferment the batter, cover the bowl and let it stand in a warm spot, like a cold oven with just the light turned on, overnight or for at least eight hours.
• The batter should have fermented at this time–it will look puffy and when you scrape at the surface with a spoon you should see some bubbling. The time for fermentation will vary depending on where you are and how hot/cold it is around you.
• Mix the fermented batter well with a spoon and add salt to taste.
• Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or nonstick griddle until drops of water skitter off and dry up immediately. You can rub a paper towel with a tiny bit of oil across the surface of the griddle to season it for the dosa, but don’t leave any drops of oil on the griddle.
• Using a rounded ladle, preferably, pour about a third of a cup of the batter on the griddle and then, using the bottom of the ladle or the bowl of a spoon, quickly spread it by moving the spoon outward in a spiral fashion. You might not get it perfect the first few times, but you will get better with practice.
• Cook over medium-high heat until the underside is golden and crispy. Using a flat spatula gently loosen the dosa from the griddle and flip. Cook about 30 seconds, then remove the dosa to a plate.