↑

Ruchik Randhap

Food & Memories of Mangalore

You are here: Home / All Posts / Bella Metthe Dosa (Jaggery & Fenugreek Seed Pancakes)

Bella Metthe Dosa (Jaggery & Fenugreek Seed Pancakes)


As I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, Mangalore is a beautiful pot pourri of cultures. This beautiful coastal town is home to so many languages, cultures and religious beliefs so it goes without saying that much of it trickles into our cuisine on the whole. The fine details ofcourse vary between ethnicities. Everyone identifies with the ‘dosa’ as a wholesome food that originated in the South. But there are so so many varieties that it is mind boggling. Some of them are traditional recipes passed down from one generation to the other and enables others to distinguish one culture from the other. The Bella Metthe Dosa is typically a breakfast or tea time snack prepared by the Mangalorean Protestant (Christian) community. The recipe was given to me by my dear Mangalorean friend Jenifer who I met here in Bombay, a family friend who is like a sister to me.
While a ‘Dosa’ typically means a pancake made out of rice or wheat, this one has extra flavours brought in by fresh coconut, jaggery and fenugreek. The right balance of flavours makes these dosas so irresistible especially when you have them once they have completely cooled off – you can lose track of how many you’ve had!
A perfect breakfast is one which helps jump start the metabolism and keeps you going through the day. These dosas are a great breakfast option as they are filled with the goodness of  coconut (rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals), jaggery (popularly known as medicinal sugar is a good source of magnesium, potassium and helps to maintain blood pressure), fenugreek (excellent herbal remedy for reducing cholesterol & blood sugar levels, treating skin inflammations and increasing milk production in lactating mothers), rice (which is an instant source of energy – a carbohydrate with many benefits), black gram dal (reduces formation of cough & acidity in the body and is beneficial to people with diabetes, nervous disorders, digestive system disorders and rheumatic afflictions)
‘Bella’ in Kannada means Jaggery and ‘Metthe’ is Methi seeds (Fenugreek)
So friends, what are you waiting for? There’s nothing like a power packed breakfast – try this and let me know how you liked it!

 

Bella Metthe Dosa

Soaking time: 6- hours | Prep time: 10 mins| Fermenting time: 2 hours | Cook time: 15 mins | Yield: 12-14 medium size thin dosas

Ingredients:

  • 200 grams (1 cup) raw rice (Kolam/Surai/Belthige)
  • 175 grams (1 cup) jaggery, powdered
  • 100 grams (1 cup) fresh grated coconut
  • 1/4 cup urad dal (black gram dal)
  • 1-1/2 – 2 tbsp methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)
  •  1/4 cup cooked rice (preferably brown/red rice or boiled rice) or poha (beaten rice)
  • 1 level tsp dry yeast (I used instant yeast)
  • sugar to taste (approx 1 teaspoon)
  • salt to taste (approx 3/4th teaspoon)

Method:
1. Wash and soak the raw rice, urad dal and methi seeds for at least 6-7 hours or overnight. Drain and grind it along with the jaggery, grated coconut and cooked rice or beaten rice to a fine thick paste. The consistency of the batter should be slightly thinner than dosa batter so add water in 1/4 cup increments until you get the right consistency.
2. Transfer the batter into a large and deep container that accommodates fermented batter. Note that the fermented batter will overflow so the pan must be tall & deep. Add salt to taste and sugar only if required. The batter should have a fine balance of sweetness & saltiness.
3. To prepare the yeast solution, take yeast in a small bowl and add 2 tablespoons of lukewarm water and 1 teaspoon sugar to help activate the yeast. Stir, cover and keep aside for 10 minutes till the yeast solution turns frothy. If the yeast has not turned frothy (and looks like coffee – flat and not frothy, discard it and start again with a new package. Add the yeast to the prepared batter, stir well so everything is mixed properly. Cover the mouth of the vessel with a muslin cloth or a lid that is not airtight but has an outlet for air to pass. Keep the pan undisturbed, in a warm spot of your kitchen to aid fermentation. In good (warm) weather and when good quality yeast is used the batter takes anywhere between 1-1/2 – 3 hours to ferment. * see notes.
4. When the batter has doubled, give it a good stir. It will immediately reduce in terms of its volume but will have the desired thickness and fluffiness.

5. Heat a non stick tawa/griddle on a medium high and grease it with a little oil. You can use half an onion poked with a fork to apply the oil (traditional method).

6. Reduce the heat to a medium low, take a ladleful of batter and pour in the centre of the pan, let it spread on its own or just help spread it a bit using the back of your ladle. Cover and cook for about half a minute. Since the batter is fermented with yeast it will be very airy (with air bubbles) and light so frying the dosa has to be done carefully. It will seem very soft and wobbly so you have to make sure that the top is cooked  or until the surface looks cooked and no wet spots are visible. Using a spatula gently raise the edge, the dosa should be golden brown underneath, if not, let it cook some more. Ensure that the heat is not too high.

7. Drizzle a a few drops of oil around the edges before you flip it over. Use a light hand to remove the dosa (gently shake the spatula back and forth till you get your dosa on it) so and it can be flipped comfortably. Cover and cook on the other side as well. Transfer to a plate and let it cool a bit.
8. Serve hot with chutney or eat them plain when completely cool – they are irresistible even when cold!

 

Notes:
1. You may leave the batter overnight for fermentation if you live in a slightly colder weather or have central AC at home. Make sure that you place a large plate underneath the pan just incase the batter spills over.
2.  If you don’t wish to fry  dosas at this stage you may even pour the batter into ramekins or a steel plate with sides and steam it for 15-20 minutes for a fluffy steamed cake.
3. In the picture above I have prepared thick dosa by frying them on a flat tawa. If you are using a large dosa tawa which is slightly concave in the middle then use a ladle to spread the batter in which case you may get slightly thinner dosa.
4. If the tawa is too hot the dosa will burn outside and remain uncooked inside. If it is not hot enough the batter will stick and refuse to spread even with the help of a ladle. Maintain the heat on a medium high.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  10. Shireen Sequeira says

    Thank you all for your lovely recipes! Charishma, Sobha,Miri, Prathima: It was new to me too when I tried it, but loved them instantly! Prathima & Charishma, being a Mangy, even I didnt know about them, looks like only the Mangalorean Protestant Christian community makes them – i think each of our communities has specific delicacies 🙂

    Reply

  11. Anonymous says

    The wife made them exactly per recommendations, the dough was perfect, the dimples on the dosa were super but… we could not flip the dosa, where did we go wrong?

    Reply

  12. Shireen Sequeira says

    Hi Anonymous: What happened when you tried to flip the dosa? What kind of tawa/griddle did you use? If it was a non stick tawa there's no reason why you couldn't flip it. Did you grease the griddle before you started off?

    Reply

  13. Anonymous says

    Hi Shireen

    Thaks for the reply, the dosa just would not keep its shape, yes I used a non stick. I did grease it too.

    Reply

  15. Shireen Sequeira says

    Hi Anonymous: Was your batter too thin? Cuz that could be one reason why it didn't hold shape. Secondly, if you tried to flip it before it was cooked properly, then it won't lift. In order to check if it has cooked properly on one side, just carefully lift one corner and see if it has turned to golden brown, if not let it remain and cook properly before you attempt flipping it again. Sorry to ask, but hope you are not new at making dosas (I am assuming you are non-Indian), but if you are, then I would suggest you try it again and I really hope it works the next time around. Good luck!!

    Reply

  16. Anonymous says

    The consistency was per your recommendations, not too watery. we have tried making other variety of pancakes and they turned out fine. How could we repair this?

    Reply

  17. Shireen Sequeira says

    I guess I would need to try them out again before I answer the question of how you could repair it. I have never been faced with this problem before, so I hope you can wait till I revert with some tips on it.

    Reply

  19. Sneha says

    This recipe was a disaster. 1 tsp of yeast is too much for 1 cup of rice. The batter rose like a volcano spewing ash. I used T-fal non stick to fry the dosa, couldnt get the dosa off the pan, it was so spongy and sticky, and wouldn’t hold its shape and wouldn’t flip. The batter was the right consistency, In the end i had to throw the batter out. Waste of ingredients and money

    Totally disappointed with this recipe. May be you should take this recipe out of your website.

    Reply

    • Shireen Sequeira says

      Hi Sneha,

      Thanks for your feedback. Please let me know how long you kept the batter to ferment. Depending on your weather (if you live in warm weather) the batter can ferment very quickly and overflow. Secondly, if your Tefal pan is very new or has been heated too much, the batter won’t stay in shape. Not sure why it did not come off the pan, maybe it was not adequately cooked.

      Perhaps you need to recheck the way you prepared the dish – type of ingredients used, duration of fermentation, weather conditions and the type of yeast matter a lot for fermented batters. Even if one factor is not favourable you could end up with a failed dish. Do let me know if I can help you rectify it if you are inclined to give it a second try.

      Lastly, I always share tried and tested recipes. This particular one was shared several years ago and has been tried & liked by many. Several others have adapted my recipe and shared it on their own websites so I do know that the proportions and ratio of yeast to rice is accurate. Sorry that you had this experience but honestly, one negative review is not reason enough for me to take this recipe off my website.

      Reply
error: Content is protected !!