Rava Dosa with Pudina Chutney | Savory Semolina Pancakes with Mint Chutney

Let's talk about the best days of the week. Yes, you guessed it right! Weekends are always about relaxing. And, heralding every weekend is a hearty breakfast that follows a late night of Friday fun with friends and family or all by yourself watching a flick - Your pick! But, wait a minute! Did I just hear you say - "What do I make for breakfast?". And, you dare not answer yourself with something as mundane as cereal with milk, or worse a store-bought slice of bread or a bagel thrown under a dollop of self-proclaimed low-fat, imitation butter. 

Of course, all these are quick fix breakfast solutions for on-the-run weekdays. In fact, I  myself gorge these down as if the world is coming to a close every morning. But, what if one day the cereal and bread aisles in the supermarket vanished. Zap!

Ok, let's not make it sound that bad. But here's what - I always make sure I make something elaborate for breakfast on weekends imagining there's no bread. Oh and yes, no frozen breakfasts, too! That way you are not only satisfying your taste-buds with some fresh, home-made food but can also go light on lunch and dinner. Isn't that just what more researchers say? See, I wasn't wrong anyway. Ok, ok. So much for my justification. But, here's my point - Make Rava dosa with pudina chutney. I can see you salivating. Go grab the ingredients. Even if its not the weekend, just go!

Ingredients for Rava Dosa (Savory Semolina Pancakes)

3/4 Cup Rava/Semolina (Coarse or fine, not roasted)

1/2 Cup Rice Flour

1/4 Cup Maida/All-purpose flour

2-3 Green chillies, finely chopped
2 sprigs of fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin seeds
1 tbsp Dry coconut flakes, finely chopped (Optional)
And, of course, some salt to taste!

Method
- In the blender, combine the rava, rice flour and maida with about 3 cups of water and run on medium speed until you have a thin, runny batter. It should be almost watery, something  to the effect of a thin, yet smooth textured sauce.
- In a bowl, toss in the green chillies, coriander, cumin seeds, coconut flakes and salt
- Pour the ground batter in the bowl and stir
- Heat a non-stick skillet, and pour a teaspoon of oil and swirl it around to evenly coat the skillet
- Using a round ladle splatter the batter (rhymes!) on the surface of the skillet to cover it completely. Most rava dosas are never round, so don't worry too much about the shape. Just make sure you have thin later of batter all over the skillet
- Turn flame to medium-high and add another dash of oil and allow to cook/lightly brown on one side
- Flip to cook on the other side
- Serve hot with Pudina Chutney (Recipe follows)

NOTE - If you are planning on storing the batter (which keeps for about 2-3 days in the refrigerator), add more water before using if it has thickened due to the presence of the rava/semolina.

Ingredients for Pudina Chutney (Mint Chutney)
1 Handful Mint Leaves, washed
2-3 Sprigs of Coriander, washed
3 Cloves of Garlic, peeled
3 Green chillies
1/2 tbsp Tamarind pulp
1/2 inch piece of Ginger, peeled
1/4 Cup onion, cubed
1/2 Cup grated coconut
1/2 Cup Chana Dalia/Phutane
And, of course, some salt to taste!

For Seasoning
1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
4-5 Curry leaves
A dash of Hing/Asafoetida

Method
- Grind all the ingredients together with minimum water in the mixer until smooth
- Pour into serving dish
- To season, heat oil and toss in mustard seeds
- Once they splutter add the curry leaves and hing and stir for a few seconds and add over prepared chutney

SERVES - 3 to 4