Baghara Chakuli

 Lately, I have been making my own dosa batter at home. It is easy since we are at home due to the pandemic & we have time & energy. Also, we are trying to use less store bought ready-made food items just for the heck of it. 

This dosa batter is super simple & is what mother used to make at home (Odisha). The texture is a little bit grainy but you can go as gritty or as smooth as you'd like based on your taste buds. There are no such rules.

Also, I do not ferment my dosa batter in an oven or Instant-Pot. It did not work for me & created a layer of batter on top which was yucky. So I don't use it but if you have seen other people use it successfully then please by all means.. go ahead & try that. The best part of this recipe is that even if the batter is not super fermented, you can still make a super yummy "Chakuli" (Chakuli : Crepes made out of batter usually similar to dosa batter made out of rice + urad dal mix)

For the dosa batter

• Soak for at least 8 hours
• 1 cup of split & skin-less Urad daal
• 3 cups of any white rice (I used Basmati rice)
• After 8 hours, grind them together with wee bit water into a fine paste/batter like consistency
• Give everything a very good mix --> Cover & keep outside in room temp. for another 8 hours or so (I kept it overnight)

My timeline kind of looked like this...

Soaked Dal + Rice @ 7am -----> 8 hours 

Ground the batter @ 4pm ---> Cover & let the batter ferment Overnight

Used the batter in making this "Baghara Chakuli" the next morning @ 8am

The word "Baghara" means tempering in Odiya. This Baghara Chakuli is just that. It is a simple chakuli which has the batter + some tempering. For this particular recipe, I used 

• Cumin seeds (about 1 tsp)
• 1/4 cups red onions finely chopped
• 6-7 curry leaves finely chopped
• wee bit salt

Process

• Take about 6 ladle full of the dosa batter in a separate bowl & add salt to taste.
• In a separate pan --> Heat some mustard oil (about 2 tsp) --> When oil is hot add the cumin seeds & let them splutter --> Next add the onions + curry leaves + wee bit salt.
• Fry on medium heat until onions are translucent.
• Turn off the heat & add the tempering to the dosa batter
• Mix everything very well --> Your Baghara Chakuli batter is ready... Simple right??
• Next step is to actually make the chakuli which is simple enough as well. 
• I use a cast iron Tava to make dosa & chakuli. The even heat distribution helps to cook the chakuli perfectly & evenly from all sides. You can easily use any non-stick pan. Just stay away from stainless-steel I'd say. 
• Heat the lava on medium heat --> Wipe with a small kitchen tissue dipper in water --> Add a ladle full of the chakuli batter --> Spread in round motions --> Don't worry if it is not the perfect circle like a simple dosa because it won't be due to the presence of onions & cumin seeds

• Sprinkle oil all over
• Wait for the chakuli to change color on one side --> Then flip over & cook the other side (Each side will take 45 seconds to 1 min)

• Once cooked, take the chakuli out & serve with curry or chutney of your choice.
• Mine was served with Rice Kheer but I ate it with some spicy mixture (Weird combo, I know.. but I love it)