Quinoa Adai Dosa - No Rice Protein Rich Dosa Recipe

Quinoa Adai Dosa is a protein rich, No Rice, South Indian Breakfast recipe. Easy, healthy, vegetarian breakfast recipe that contains a mix of lentils, legumes and quinoa.

Adai Dosa doesn't require fermentation. The ingredients require soaking and once they are ground, the dosa can be made immediately. They are thicker than a dosa so couple of adai's are quite filling.

While there are many fans of Dosa, Adai is one of the healthiest variety of dosa one should definitely try. I have a traditional Adai Dosa Recipe on the blog that uses rice along with lentils, onions and curry leaves. The recipe also suggests 10 variations with 1 batter.

Adai makes a filling breakfast or a hearty brunch. This can be eaten with a side of chutney, podi and any leftover kuzhambu or curry.

Traditionally Adai Dosa is served with Avial (Mixed Vegetables with Coconut). One shouldn't miss eating Adai with butter and Vellam (jaggery) combination. Traditionally, white butter or vennai is served but I had none in my refrigerator so had to make do with the salted butter.

Quinoa Adai Dosa Ingredients

Quinoa - I replaced Rice with Quinoa. If you prefer crispy adai dosa, please include 1/2 cup of rice to the recipe and reduce the quantity of Quinoa by half a cup.

Whole Green Moong and Split Yellow Moong Dal - For this recipe, I have used two varieties of Moong Dal. Moong Dal is lighter on the stomach.

Horsegram or Kollu - I don't need any reasons to include this superfood in our diet.

Chana Dal (Kadala Paruppu or Bengal Gram Dal) - Adai is incomplete without Kadalai Paruppu.

Urad Dal or Split Black Lentils - I have used the Black Urad Dal (Karupu Ulundhu) here or the black lentils with skin. The health benefits of black urad dal are numerous. You can use gota urad dal or white urad dal too.

Whole dry red chillies - I have used Pandi Chillies for the spice. If you need colour, add kashmiri red chillies. These required to be soaked with the lentils and quinoa for easy grinding. Adjust the quantity of the red chillies according to your preference.

Hing - Since we are using so many varieties of lentils, using hing or asafoetida is mandatory to avoid flatulence and enable easy digestion. If you are gluten sensitive, avoid this.

Please note that while the other ingredients take couple of hours to soak, whole green moong takes more than 5 hours of soaking time.

You can soak the ingredients overnight and grind it the next morning and prepare breakfast immediately because this dosa doesn't require fermentation. I soak this overnight usually because its convenient.

Please also note that this is a basic batter for the Quinoa Adai Dosa. You can add chopped onions, leafy vegetables, vegetable puree and chopped vegetables too to the batter depending upon your family's preference.

I am suggesting some side dish recipes for this dosa below. A spicy chutney and Sambar makes it a filling brunch during weekends. We personally prefer Adai as our weekend brunch and wash it down with some Neer Mor (buttermilk).

Side Dish for Quinoa Adai Dosa

• Murungakkai Sambar - Drumstick Sambar
• Sutta Kathirikkai chutney - Roasted Eggplant Chutney
• Kothamalli Chutney (Coriander coconut chutney) as seen in the pic. Note - I have also added some mint leaves to it.

The batter stays fresh for 3 to 4 days under refrigeration. If you like adding onions to adai batter, I would recommend removing some part of the batter in a separate vessel or container and adding onions to it.

The Quinoa Adai Recipe is Vegan but I would suggest making the dosa with ghee or clarified butter, especially for kids for a wholesome and healthy meal. Use Organic ghee for best results.

This recipe is ideal for vegetarians who often look to include protein in their diet, especially plant-based protein.

The best part about this recipe is that you can always substitute ingredients with what is available in your pantry. Lentils like Toor Dal or Arhar Dal, Masoor Dal or Red Lentils can also be included. I say, the more the merrier.

Step-wise Quinoa Adai Dosa Recipe

In a broad steel vessel, measure and add all the ingredients for Quinoa Adai Dosa.

Wash all the ingredients couple of times and soak them with some dry whole red chillies. I have soaked the ingredients overnight but you can soak them for atleast 5 to 6 hours until the lentils are soft.

Drain all the water used for soaking and add them to a mixer grinder jar. Grind it using some fresh water into a thick paste. Keep the batter texture as slightly coarse.

Note - Always place the red chillies at the bottom (near the blade) so that it grinds well.

The ground batter should like like this.

Now add salt and hing or asafoetida. Mix well and get ready to make dosa. Note - The consistency of the batter depends on you so add water accordingly.

Heat a tava or griddle, season it with few drops of oil and then pour the batter.

Note - The hole you see in the middle of the dosa is usually how South Indian's make Adai. Since Adai is thicker in comparison to a dosa, it needs few drops of oil in the centre to cook evenly. Use your wooden spatula to make a tiny hole once the batter is poured and spread. This is however, not a mandatory step.

Flip the dosa once one side has cooked and pour oil on all sides and in the centre. Serve hot dosa with sambar and a chutney of your choice.

Recipe Notes -

• This dosa doesn't require fermentation. It can be made instantly after grinding. If you plan to ferment, please use it within 24 to 48 hours because the batter turns very sour or "khatta". However, traditionally Adai Dosa batter is never fermented.
• Adai takes a while to cook in comparison to dosa so ensure the gas flame is "medium" and allow it to completely cook on one side before flipping.
• I have used sesame oil or gingelly oil for cooking the dosa. You can use melted ghee or clarified butter too.
• This batter quantity yielded me around 20 dosas. Quantity would depend on the size of the dosa. If you make smaller ones, you can make more dosa using the batter.
• This batter can be used to make paniyaram or appe. For non-sticky appe or paniyaram, please add couple of tbsp of rice flour and/or semolina to give it a crispy exterior and soft centre.

Other Healthy Protein Rich Breakfast Recipes

Horsegram Idli or Kollu Idli

Sattu Vegetable Pancakes

Sprouts Chilla

Taking this recipe to the A to Z challenge this month wherein we choose to cook with key ingredients Alphabetically. This month it was time for Alphabet ‘Q’. I chose my key ingredient ‘Quinoa’ to make this delicious South Indian Breakfast Recipe.

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We will be back again with yet another exciting recipe .. Until then, stay healthy and happy!

Vidya Narayan