Fasting has been an important part of Indian culture. Every religion, in some way, urges us to observe this ritual by abstaining from regular food while cleansing our bodies and thoughts with it. I’ve grown up seeing my parents fast every Monday and skip one meal. Fruits, milk or chikkis were enough to satiate their appetite. On rare occasions they turned to traditional fasting foods like sabudana and samo rice (also called soma ke chawal or bhagar) .

I’m following their footsteps and fast on Mondays too. However, the foodie and wannabe chef in me refuses to succumb to traditional fare. Sabudana pizza, baked sweet potato crispies or fruit custard are some of the recipes I’ve tried and invented over time. My favourite by far though is Samo Rice Masala Dosa with Chutney. This tastes so good that my kids offer to fast with me for it! (As if they wouldn’t get it otherwise 😉 )

Like in regular Masala Dosa, the right batter is the clincher in this recipe. There are two ways in which you can prepare Samo Rice Masala Dosa batter:

1. Soak samo rice flour (available in market) with buttermilk for 7-8 hours or overnight. Your batter is fermented and ready.
2. Soak whole samo rice with buttermilk for 7-8 hours or overnight. Grind it to a thin paste and keep it aside for 2-3 hours. This method takes longer but the fermentation is good as well.

Note that this batter shouldn’t be thick and have a flowy consistency like Rawa dosa batter.

Ingredients:

For Dosa:

Samo rice batter – 2 cups

Cumin seeds – 2 tsp

Ghee to roast

Sendha Namak (Rock salt) to taste

For Potato Masala:

Boiled potatoes – 2-3

Roasted groundnut powder- 2 tbsp

Green chillies (finely chopped) – 3-4

Ghee – 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Lemon juice – 1 tsp

Coriander leaves (finely chopped) – 2tbsp

Sendha Namak to taste

For Chutney:

Coriander leaves – 1 cup

Roasted groundnuts – 2 tbsp

Curd – 2 tbsp

Green chillies – 2

Lemon juice – 2 tsp

Ginger – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Sendha Namak to taste

Procedure:

For Potato masala:

Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they crackle, add green chillies. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Keep aside.

For Chutney:

Grind all the ingredients together. You can add water to adjust the consistency of your choice.

For Dosa:

Season the dosa batter with sendha namak. Heat a non-stick tawa and pour a ladleful of dosa batter in the centre. Spread it around in concentric circles towards the outside. Sprinkle cumin seeds while the batter is still wet. Be quick but delicate in handling to get an even and perfectly-shaped dosa. Grease it with ghee to give it a crispy brown texture and a lovely taste too. When it leaves the sides, your dosa is done, well halfway.

You can serve it traditionally with the potato masala wrapped on the inside, in which case you spread it on the dosa centre on the tawa itself. However, if you wish to serve it separately, flip the dosa and roast it on the other side too for a few seconds to make it crispier. The chutney completes this awesome combination. Don’t forget to dip into it with every bite! 🙂

Masala Dosa is my bae and I can’t express my love for it enough. Indeed, this Samo Rice Masala Dosa tastes different from the regular version but is an indulgence nevertheless. Why leave your cravings unattended only because you’re fasting, right? Try out this simple recipe and don’t forget to tell me how it went!