Quinoa, Millet, Barley, Soybean Dosai

I grew up with a steady dose of Dosai-- the versatile anytime crepe-like flatbread made from hearty urad dal and rice. I didn't think about it much, it was a staple and therefore taken for granted. I didn't bother to analyze its nutritional value when I was young, I didn't care to know much about it, except that the batter was always handy and my mom would make this simple dish without a second thought and serve it with any handy chutneys or leftover sambaror kozhambu.

Now that I am trying to feed my own kids, I find that this unassuming protein-packed Dosai is my best friend-- the kind I can take liberties with and not fall out. The kids love it with or without chutneys and dips on the side. And, these are second-gen enhanced non-traditional Dosai that tradition-loving puritans would probably frown at.

There is the 'ordinary' dosai that was favored by the kids when they were toddlers. A slight variation of it is the Brown Rice Dosai that always satisfies. And then, there is the Soy Bean Dosai which comes from a multipurpose batter that doubles as Idlee batter for steaming. On and off, I make the batter with a mix of barley and pearl millet with brown rice and urad dal which gives a wholesome Barley-Millet Dosai.

It helps to plan ahead: I typically soak the ingredients overnight on a Thursday evening, grind it Friday night, then allow it to ferment all weekend thanks to natural wild yeast in the air. In winter, I help it along by warming up the oven a bit, turning off the oven, and leaving the batter inside the oven to stay warm and ferment better. The batter is ready when it bubbles a bit when stirred and emits a pleasant sour odor.

The batter, once fermented, can be stored in the fridge for a week. I take out a little at a time to make a few dosais as needed for breakfast or dinner, as they taste best fresh off the griddle.

Anyway, there are umpteen variations for the batter - just add whatever grams and pulses are handy and see how it turns out. Sometimes, the texture is off and the batter tends to stick to the griddle making it tough to cook if the combination is not right, but over time, it is easy enough to gauge the outcome while measuring and soaking the ingredients.

This Quinoa-Millet-Barley-Soybean Dosai is one such combination that turned out fine and was much relished by the family

Ingredients for the batter:
1 cup urad dal
1 cup quinoa
1 cup millet
1 cup barley
1 cup soy beans
2 cups brown rice

Preparation

1. Soak the ingredients for the batter overnight
2. Grind using a heavy-duty blender or wet grinder to a smooth batter with the consistency of pancake batter
3. Leave it in a warm place to ferment and rise - preferably cover with a cheese cloth or any breathable towel - anywhere from 24 to 48 hours
4. Add some salt and a little water if needed to make the batter spreadable on the griddle to make the crepes.
5. Cook much like pancakes-- brown one side, flip and cook the other side

Mint Thuvaiyal:

Here, I serve the dosais with red-chili chutney and home-made Mint Thuvaiyal- a pesto-like South Indian concoction. Mint is getting wild in the backyard, their runner roots taking over a small patch thanks to recent rains and warm weather.

Fresh mint leaves from the garden sauteed with toasted urad dal and chana dal, plus grated coconut, chilies, and tamarind paste come together to make this quick thick chutney-like blend referred to as Thuvaiyal/Thogayal in Tamil.

Chickpea, Wheat Berry, Pearl barley, Ptitim Salad

Periodically, I soak and cook some wheat berries and barley and keep them handy to sprinkle on top of leafy green salads. 1 cup wheat berry/barley with 2 cups stock works perfectly in rice cooker to yield cooked-but-not-mushy grains for this recipe.

The chewy texture of wheat berry and barley when combined with meaty texture of Ptitim (Israeli Couscous) and firmly-cooked chickpeas makes for a satisfyingly wholesome base for a quick summer salad. Although it is not summer here yet, some days are blazing hot already.

Chopped purple cabbage, diced zucchini, diced green mango, finely diced red onions, diced tomatoes, corn kernels, diced sweet orange and red bell peppers tossed together boost this earthy dish with colors and flavors.

A splash of lemon juice and some olive oil is all the dressing the salad needs. Any handy herbs would be fine. I used some parsley and mint from the garden.

Beets and Purple Carrot with Brown Rice, Barley, Mung Bean Cutlets

What to do with leftovers might be a troublesome prospect for some. It happens to be quite an exciting enterprise for me.

About 1½ cups of stuffing for the Stuffed Kohlrabi in Coconut Sauce was leftover (on purpose). Also, some purple carrots and beets and red cabbage were handy. That's how these loaded Beets and Purple Carrot with Brown Rice, Barley, Mung Bean Cutlets came about.

Ingredients
1½ cups Barley, Brown Rice, Mung Bean prepared as shared in Stuffed Kohlrabi recipe
1½ cups combined grated purple carrots, beets, red cabbage, lightly sauteed with salt
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup fine corn meal
Up to 1 cup all purpose flour (a little at a time, as needed)
salt to taste
oil as needed

2 to 3 cups of Panko seasoned bread crumbs

Preparation

1. Combine the sauteed purple carrots, red cabbage and beets with the brown rice+barley+mung-bean filling
2. Add the corn meal and coconut flour and stir till incorporated
3. Add some all purpose flour, a little at a time, to make a thick dough-like batter that can be shaped into golf ball sized spheres
4. Have the Panko breadcrumbs hand on a plate
5. Heat a pan to medium high
6. Press each dough ball into the breadcrumbs and flatten a little; also, press in breadcrumbs to the topside so that both surfaces are coated
7. Place gently on the hot pan and cook; flip and cook both sides till breadcrumbs get crisp and golden and the cutlets hold together
8. Serve warm with favorite chutneys, including Green Papaya, Green Mango, Kohlrabi Chutney

Brown Lentils, Pearl Barley, and Pearl Millet Dosai

What's not to love about flatbreads, right? It is a perfect universal food - for soaking up delicious dips and curries and chutneys; for loading up with veggies and wrapping up for easy consumption; for relishing the simple earthy goodness.

Dosai, a south Indian flat bread, is traditionally made from rice and urad dal. I have taken liberties with it making variations such as Brown Rice Dosai, Soy Bean Dosai, Adai Dosai Waffles, while relishing the simple and sumptuous traditional Mysore Masala Dosai, Adai Dosai, and Onion Rava.

Of course, there's the Ragi Dosai, (ragi is finger millet), which by itself is lovely for its rich color and flavor. But, this time, I went with a combination of brown lentils, pearl barley and pearl millet to make the dosai batter.

Dosai batter is typically allowed to naturally ferment before it is ready for cooking in the griddle into flat breads, crispy or spongy. To help it along, I add a dollop of home-fed, home-grown starter.

Grape Starter: A few grapes from the garden tossed into a mix of flour and water has been doing the magic for us. Wild yeast abounds in late summer early fall and it seemed like a great way to keep a bit of it to last us through the winter. So, since late summer this year, we have fed the starter and kept it going, in between periods of leaving it dormant in the fridge.

Using this grape sour dough starter to ferment the dosai, idli, injera batters adds a pleasantly sour taste and surprisingly quick results for fermentation.

Ingredients
¼ cup pearl millet
½ cup pearl barley
¼ cup brown lentils
¼ cup moong dal
¼ cup urad dal
1½ cups short grain brown rice
1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon grape sour dough starter

Combine all the ingredients except for the starter; soak overnight; grind to a smooth fine batter; add in the starter, cover and leave in a warm place for a few hours, or overnight. Stir every few hours to see if it is fermented to your liking. I like it bubbly and sour.

Salt the batter before making crepe or pancake like dosai on the griddle. Add finely diced onions, grated carrots, chopped chilies, chopped cilantro, even chopped kale to boost the dosai.

Enjoy with chutneys, sambar, curries.

Wheat Berries, Brown Lentils, Golden Beets, Squash Salad

One part wheat berries to 3 parts stock in a rice cooker is my preferred way of cooking wheat berries. The crunchy chewy texture from cooking in the rice cooker is perfect for this salad.

Roasted winter squashes, turnip, rutabaga, golden beets, sweet potatoes are all wonderful additions. Cooked brown lentils bring some more texture and protein. Toss with favorite vinaigrette and serve warm or cold.

Pearl Barley, Kale, Lentil Salad

Now that summer is here, (sort of), meals are getting easier and lazier. Chilled or room temperature salads, fresh vegetables and fruits, quick smoothies, and no-fuss sandwiches are becoming the staples. Not much baking or slaving over the stove most days.

This quick salad just feels so nutritious, even if I am no nutritionist or an expert of any sort. My favorite way to serve/eat this is on a "bowl" of Boston Lettuce leaf: scoop some into a crisp Boston lettuce leaf, either roll it up for easy no-spillage eating, or gather up the edges like a taco and munch on.

Of course, any combination of salad ingredients like carrot sticks, olives, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, feta, bell peppers taste wonderful when served on a leaf of lettuce.

Ingredients
Pearl barley cooked al dente
Green or brown lentil, cooked al dente
Kale, chopped, and wilted
cooked chick peas
feta
Kalamata olives
sun-dried tomatoes
finely chopped carrots
finely chopped red onion (optional)
toasted pine nuts  and dried cranberries (optional)
Dressing: lemon juice, olive oil, black pepper, plus salt if needed

Combine the salad ingredients, adjust dressing to taste, serve at room temperature or chilled

Barley, Lentil, Chickpea, Spinach Stew

Four simple powerhouse ingredients - chickpea, lentils, barley and spinach, plus some onions, garlic and tomatoes come together for this flavorful, hearty winter stew.

I cook barley in a rice cooker: 1 part barley to about 3 parts water or stock. I like to stock up on dry beans, soak and pressure cook them in batches and freeze them for later use. so, there is usually about 3 or 4 varieties of cooked beans in the freezer, ready to be used.

Brown or green lentils have a full-bodied flavor and don't get too mushy when pressure cooked, which adds to the texture of the stew.

I like the nutty crunch that the cooked barley adds as well.

Sometimes, I use Kale in addition to (or instead of) spinach in this recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup cooked barley
2 cups cooked brown or green lentils
1 cup cooked chick peas
10 oz frozen chopped spinach
3 cups fresh kale, chopped finely
2 cups vegetable stock or water

3 to 4 dry red chilies
1 medium onion diced
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
1 cup tomato sauce
1 Tbsp chopped garlic

2-inch piece of Indian Cinnamon bark
1 black cardamom
2 medium bay leaves

1 tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp paprika powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder (optional)
salt to taste

Preparation

Combine the ingredients in a pressure cooker and cook till first whistle, turn off and allow to cool and release pressure a bit.

Open the lid when safe and simmer the stew in the pressure cooker for a few minutes till desired consistency.

Adjust flavors, garnish and serve with home-made herb dampers or Indian flatbreads.

Lentil Barley Soup

Lentil Barley soup is quite a sumptuous weeknight meal, especially for the rainy autumn nights we've been having lately. Any combination of vegetables and spices will work, for that matter any type of lentils - red, brown, green, even yellow split peas, which is what I use here.

Rather than stove-top, I've come to like cooking barley and split peas in the rice cooker - roughly 1 part barley+split peas to 3 parts water. This way, I can set it and forget it, or even make ahead and store it in the fridge till I am ready to make the soup.

Thaw gently and add to the stock, along with other vegetables and spices. For a chunky stew, I add whatever winter squash is handy.

Ingredients
1 cup cooked split yellow peas
1 cup cooked barley
2 cups chopped turnip greens
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 medium onion sliced
6 cups stock or water
6 to 8 ripe sweet cherry tomatoes
salt to taste

spices:
1 Tablespoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon Madras curry paste (I use Patak's™)
1 Tablespoon canola oil or olive oil
chopped cilantro for garnish
1 cup evaporated milk (optional)

Preparation

1. Heat the oil, sauté the onions, add the barley, split peas, turnip greens, stock, cover and simmer till green are almost done, and barley and split peas are soft
   
2. Add the bell peppers and tomatoes, cook till as soft as preferred, garnish and serve warm
3. For a creamier texture, stir in the evaporated milk
   

Barley Salad

Our garden's first harvest was peas and strawberries, and now, despite the unseasonal chill weather, some plants are gifting us their bounty. Some cauliflower, zucchini and my favorite summer squash - scallop or pattypan squash as they are called - were ready to be picked and I wanted to use them right away for this fairly healthy summer salad with barley and sautéed vegetables.

This is a very simple salad: pan-roasted or sautéed fresh garden veggies, with some cooked barley, flavored with a cool dressing of lemon juice and olive oil, with salt and pepper.

1. Sauté the onions, summer squash and zucchini with some balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper till caramelized on the outside;
2. cook some collard greens in lemon juice & water, with some salt;
3. cook the barley in some vegetable broth (can use chicken broth or even water+bullion cubes if handy) - one part barley with 3 parts liquid.

This can be served hot or cold. I like it cold in summer, so, I tossed them together and let them sit together for a few hours before serving so the flavors develop well.