Polay (Yeasted Rice Batter Pancakes)
Soaking time: 3hrs or overnight | Prep time: 15mins | Cooking time: 15-20mins Yield: 17-18 medium sized pancakes
You Need:
- 1-1/2 cups boiled rice (ukda chawal)
- 1/2 cup raw rice * see notes
- 1/4 cup urad dal (split black gram)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2-3 tsp (or to taste) sugar
To prepare the yeast solution
- 1 tsp dried yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 tbsp warm water
- oil for frying
Note:
1. If you don’t intend to use up all the dough to make polay, you can simply pour it into ramekins (gindlaa) and steam them to make a batch of sanna. If you don’t have ramekins, just pour out the dough into a lightly greased steel plate with tall edges (thaali/boshi) and steam it in one go. You can cut up this large sanna and serve it.
2. Alternately, if you do not wish to steam up the remaining batter into sanna but wish to eat some polay for dinner/refrigerate them for the next day then I suggest you fry up the entire batch and just steam them in a steaming pot/thondor for 5-7 minutes before serving them – they become absolutely fresh and soft.
3. Take a look at my sanna recipe for more tips on how to prepare the perfect batter
Delicious and lovely looking dosa.
Deepa
Hello, I am a Mangalorean from both my parents side and I remember in my house & all our relatives – sannas & polas were made from toddy not yeast. Can you try with toddy & give us an authentic mangalorean recipe please rather than this fusion.
Hi Heather,
This is my mother’s recipe and I consider it authentic and not a ‘fusion’ as you’ve put it. I will be more than happy to try a version of this recipe using toddy if you can indicate where I can legally find it in the U.A.E where I live currently.
For most people like me who live outside India and have no access to toddy, yeast is a blessing in disguise as it helps us recreate fond memories of culinary delights that were made back home. This is what my blog is all about. I am not sure who qualifies to decide what is authentic and what is not.
And Oh! it was lovely to learn about your Mangalorean lineage. I am most certain that one of your relatives would cheerfully part with their recipe that has toddy in it. Please share it with me so that many of us can benefit from it.
Don’t get so defensive. It was a suggestion. You need to chill out & take life easy rather than getting angry with a reader.
We live overseas too. Someone directed me to your site but I am not a fan as you are passing off idlis for sannas and dosa for polas. I will not be returning to your site, better to follow a chef.
Hello again!
If you can go back and read your first comment you may notice the condescending tone with which you call my recipe as a ‘fusion’. I always go the extra mile and oblige the recipe requests of my readers whenever they ask me for one, politely.
I have every right to defend my recipe as it is not ‘fusion’ as you called it. This is the way sannas and polays are made in most Mangalorean homes and I just presented a much loved family recipe. And as far as being angry is concerned, well, in fact I am amused at your tone which sounds pretty passive-aggressive to me.
You clearly do not know the difference between idlis and sannas because if you did you would not have accused me of passing off idlis for sannas and dosas for polays. There is no yeast or toddy in dosa so there is no question of me passing off dosa as polays. I have made the reference to toddy and how it was used in the past in my sanna recipe https://www.ruchikrandhap.com/sanna-mangalorean-idlissteamed-rice/
I welcome every reader who comes here to learn something new. Some are traditional recipes, some are new but they are my versions without deviating from the soul of the original ones. There are no hard and fast rules about what is authentic and what is not. People adapt along the way as and how recipes are passed down from one generation to the other. Please follow a chef if you wish, it is totally your call.
Hi Shireen,
I have been following your blog for years and I love how you have documented so many traditional recipes and made them accessible to the world, especially to NRIs. You are doing a great job and I know thousands of people who have benefited from your work. Keep up the good work and I will continue to spread awareness of your blog so that even more people can gain from it. It is quite a tough job to create and present so many recipes and hats off to you for doing it so well, both your traditional ones as well as the range of other recipes that you showcase. Love your You Tube videos too. Keep up the good work.
Hi Carol,
Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. I am happy to know that my work is noticed and appreciated by readers such as yourself. And as you rightly pointed out, it is a tough job to collect old and forgotten recipes from people, most of who don’t share them very easily. Sometimes I recreate recipes purely out of recollection of how it tasted like. I am so glad that you find value in what I do on the blog and the videos as well. Your comment made my day! Hugs!
ohh really cant imagine my life without dosa and this is such a new one. such a spongy texture.
My mom makes a similar kind. They look nice & porous. Love these for breakfast with coriander & coconut chutney
Do drop by my space & follow if you like
http://shwetainthekitchen.blogspot.com/
Soft and spongy dosai…
So soft and delicious!!
Such a super fluffy dosas, inviting.
Soft and spongy!! Living in mlore, i have never tastes polay..tasted and love sannas though since its easily available at supermarkets..We usually make egg curries to go with it..looking fwd to the indad recipe…also would love to know how to make egg indad :))
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner
Thanks everyone for your comments!! Prathima, thanks a lot 🙂 you must try making Sanna & Polay at home itself, fresh and nice. All you need is dried yeast which is easily available in Mlore. I will post the Indad recipe by evening, you can definitely try it with eggs!! 🙂
Dear Shireen kindly tell me one cup means how many grams of rice. Because yeast you said 1 tsp. so it is better if you could tell me the qty of rice too.
Hima
Dear Shireen kindly tell me the qty in grms or kgs. because while adding 1 tsp of yeast the proportion of rice should be correct or else it will go wrong. so let me know 1 1/2 cup means how many grms.
Hi Hema,
Unfortunately, I am not at home right now – on vacation and I cannot measure/weight the rice right now. I have used a US standard cup measure where 1 cup = 240ml. So if you use the cup and teaspoon measures you won't go wrong.
Yay! This is a cool recipe! Looks like regular dosa but I'm intrigued by the yeast!
Looks grt, btw could you please tell what the woody woven base in the first two snaps are called? its most used so the steam from the freshly cooked dosa's or idlis can escape without turning the dosa soggy! I cant seem to remember what its called!
Thanks Sree! The woven base is made of reed..and called as 'Kurpon' in Konkani..not sure what its called in other languages 🙂
Can you please share appam recipe ? I was looking for it in your recipe index. There are so many versions of appam recipe– I am a Mangalorean and want a soft tasty appam recipe please
Minny Rai
minnyrai@gmail.com
@ Minny: Here you go : https://www.ruchikrandhap.com/2011/02/appams-sweet-fermented-rice-pancakes.html
Hope you enjoy them 🙂
hi,
Shireen, pl help me here!
Since it requires only 2hrs for fermenation, I need to grind in the morning,
therefore I dont want to disturb the late wakers _ my question is ..
can I grind in the evening and add only 1/2 tsp yeast and keep it overnight
for fermentation? pl reply urgently – thanyou
and make the polays the nex morning –
@ Maria: You can prepare the batter (grinding, fermention etc) the previous morning. Then refrigerate it for the whole day. At night, remove it from the fridge and keep it out on the counter, it will be ready by the time everyone wakes up (I do this often!)
Shireen, more questions…
if it requires less time to ferment in the day with 1 tsp yeast
wont the fermented batter left overnight on the counter
be a little too overdue with 1tsp yeast?
Sorry, i dont want it to go wrong! I am comfortable with 1/2tsp yeast
actually, so the confusion. Pl enlighten! thanks
@ Maria, if you want it for Monday morning's breakfast, you grind and ferment it by say 11am on Sunday and then you refrigerate it for the whole day in a steel pan. At night, around 9.30-10pm you leave it out on the counter. The batter will take a while to come to room temperature as it would be chilled. Then it will rise, by then your batter will be ready to be cooked into polay. If you want you can use 1/2 tsp yeast. I haven't tried it but I guess you could!
thanks shireen for your quick reply … i think i better follow your method –
my initial courage seems to have dwindled!!!! will let you know.bye
hi shireen,
i followed your tips and was successful – thanku for the awesome recpie!
I used a muslin cloth to cover while storing in the fridge …. is it ok?
why do m'loreans cover with cloth and others with a tight fitting lid?
any tips for appams like you had for polays? will be glad if you have!
waking in the mornings and grinding is not my cup of tea!! esp sunday!!!!
thanku once again.
hi shireen,
i followed your tips and was successful – thanku for the awesome recpie!
I used a muslin cloth to cover while storing in the fridge …. is it ok?
why do m'loreans cover with cloth and others with a tight fitting lid?
any tips for appams like you had for polays? will be glad if you have!
waking in the mornings and grinding is not my cup of tea!! esp sunday!!!!
thanku once again.
@ Maria: Sorry for the delayed response. While storing in the fridge you can cover with a fitting lid. Mloreans cover with a cloth only for yeasted batter as some air is required to activate the bacteria in the yeast. Others who make regular idli batter which does not require yeast cover the pan with a well fitting list. I guess I have shared all tips for the appams on the post itself 🙂 Happy New Year!
I made these dosas for the second time today…and they came out really well both the times. Soft, fluffy and delicious! Being a mangy, have grown up eating dosas and it was until about few months ago i tried my hands on them. Thank you Shireen!
Can I make the batter a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator and the next morning add the yeast?
Hi Satzy,
There are two options:
1. You can make the batter a day in advance, ferment it and then put it in the fridge. Before making the dosa the batter must come to room temperature.
2. You can grind the batter the previous day and store in the fridge, but before adding the yeast the batter must come to room temperature
Iam glad to read your blog and will try to make some of the dishes you have published.Its a great help for us
who live abroad & cook ourselves.this site will refresh our childhood days & helps to try our traditional home dishes.
Thanks a lot for the simple narration with photos of the dishes.
Hello Robert,
Thank you very much for your appreciation! I am glad to note that my blog is useful to you and you enjoyed reading it. Do stay tuned for more traditional recipes!
Dear Shireen,
I am a regular follower of your blog. Whenever I want to try authentic manglorean recipes I always come to your blog. Thanks to you I have made sannas for the first time in so many years during this lockdown. I have even tried it making with homemade soor. But the recipe was yours always. The sannas came perfectly soft and pillowy.
Your recipes are so detailed and have so many useful tips.
BTW I have even made grape wine following your recipe it has come very nice
Thanks Jonita
Thank you so much for the great feedback Jonita! I am so happy to hear that both the sannas and the wine turned out well!