Aval Dosai - Beaten Rice Pancakes

AVAL DOSAI - BEATEN RICE PANCAKES

Pichu Pati was a cooking wizard! She could efficiently cook a feast for a hundred people without any noise or fuss. She was a very slender and short lady and her deftness and speed was unimaginable. Whenever there was a feast at home, Pichu Pati was summoned for help. It never seemed as if she was hired help for the day, as she did her job with great devotion and love for our family. She had taught mother her trade secrets and had given her many of her hit recipes as well. One such recipe is making fluffy and marvelous Aval Dosai. Mother has been preparing this dosa ever since.
During one of our picnic outings to a nearby bird sanctuary (it was not buzzing with crowds, like it is in the present days) mother prepared hot aval dosais under the shade of the tall trees on the banks of the river. Though packing up the gas stove, the batter vessel, the tava and other knick-knacks was a wee bit of work, the experience of eating dosais, as we enjoyed the beauty of the gurgling  river and the babbling of the fledglings in the bushes, is etched indelibly in our memories.

The photo below is of the aval dosai prepared by my mother during a recent visit.


INGREDIENTS:
Rice – 4 cups
Beaten rice – 1 cup
Sour curd – 1 cup
Salt – 1 ½ tsp
METHOD:
1. Soak rice and beaten rice for half an hour.
2. Grind them into a smooth batter adding sour curd in the end.
3. Mix in the salt and leave it in a warm place to ferment.
4. It takes at least 12 to 15 hours for the batter to rise.
5. When the batter is ready for use, heat a tava and rub it evenly with a drop of cooking oil. Using a halved onion to rub oil on the tava yields good results.
7. Once the tava is heated decrease the heat and pour one ladle of batter on it.
8. Help the batter to spread into a thick round dosa without applying too much pressure.
9. Dribble a little oil around the dosa and cover it with a lid.
10. Turning over is not necessary.
11. The dosa will look like a honeycomb with its numerous holes when cooked.
Enjoy with sambar or chutney or molaga podi or a vegetable korma. Kids love it drizzled with honey. Do not forget to top it with a fresh blob of butter.

Comments

Dibs,

Its as if you had read my mind. When I posted vendhaya dosai, my sister asked me to post avil dosai that my amma used to make. I told her next week and here I see pichu patti's recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Usha said…
I have always wanted to try aval dosai..this sounds like it will be soft and tasty...looks fantastic...
anudivya said…
Dibs, that looks so pretty, so white and fluffy!
I guess we all have a Pichu patti each at home... I dont know how they manage to be so efficient. I never inherited any of that! LOL
YOSEE said…
Glory be to the Picchu Paatis of the world ! The aval-dosais look good enough to be munched off the page !
Dibs said…
Hi Srimathi - I saw the vendhaya dosai post! Do post avil dosai as well ...its always interesting to see how different homes make it differently!

Hi Usha - Pati is a pro! Do try and let us know how it came out.

Divya - So true!

Yosee - yes. This post of ammas reminds me of meenakshi mamis, sampoornam mamis, kunchalon mamis :-)) But Picchu pati seems too terrific !
jayasree said…
Dosai looks so soft and fluffy. Love the honeycomb structure. I assume it is raw rice since soaking time mentioned is only half an hour.
Lakshmi said…
lovely dose, I can already imagine that picnic picture....
Indian Khana said…
Looks yum...was looking for avil y'day to add in he batter but didnt had any at home ...:( ..this one looks gud
Lakshmi said…
I made these dose today and the fragrance was fantastic :) Thanks amma and Dibs
Lakshmi said…
I just posted the dosa pic I made here http://testtasteofmysore.blogspot.com/2008/09/avval-dosabeaten-rice-pancakestried-and.html

Tried tengapal rasam too..it was slurrp..thanks again.
Shreya said…
Aval dosa is new to me, though I use a little bit of aval in idli, and make upma and puttu too. will try:-)
Anonymous said…
I had tasted aval Dosai long ago and had since been seeking for the recipe - am so glad to have got it on your site - thank you!
Rajini
raji said…
Hi is it raw rice or idli rice???

Dear Raji,

I used raw rice for Aval Dosai.