Fenugreek Leaves Mini Dosa (Methey Sanna Pole/ Methe Sanna Polo)

In my house, Mini Dosa's or Sanna Pole's are quite a common sight to see. So what is this Mini Dosa or Sanna Pole all about? These are mini tiny Dosa's made of Rice and Red Chillies with little coconut. This is a quintessential Konkani dish. I relish all my afternoon lunches with these tiny spicy and crisply fried rice pancakes. I recall long elaborate conversations with mom, aunts, granny and host of other relatives on the daily tit-bits and trivia's of life shared over these tiny cute things. These should not be confused wih the Goan Sanna's as they are a different entity all together. The batter (Peet) of this Dosa is very tasty and little bit on the spicier side. The only chore for this dish is the rice has to be soaked for good hours before the plumpy grains can comfortably break down in the blender. Some add lentils (Toor Daal) along with rice, I prefer the dosa with rice alone.

During the olden days when produce was scarce and commute was a big problem, this recipe was a big relief. Some smear the batter with the palm to make Mini dosa's on a hot frying pan giving it a perfect round shape. I use my trusted long wooden spreading spoon. Grind rice with red chillies, throw in a some spice, mix in chopped vegetables and voila! You are done with the dish! During my great grandmother's era, everyone had a cowdung smeared stove top for cooking. The ladies had a hollow rod which was used to ignite the spark and enable the wood to catch the flame to provide heat. Times have changes so much with lot of ease and convenience introduced into our kitchens.

Batter remains the same, change the vegetables to make Cabbage Dosa, Fenugreek Leaves Dosa, Drumstick leaves Dosa, Onion Dosa or mix all of these vegetables together as per your choice. These dosa's go well as side dish and make a crispy tasty fare with less oil. I personally prefer this tiny dosa's with Soupy Brown Rice or Paej as its called in Konkani. The batter should be used in 2 days max and once done stored in the refrigerator.

Yield: 6 Mini Dosa's

Preparation time: 240 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

Fenugreek or Methi leaves (washed and chopped finely) - 2 - 2 1/2 cups

Dosa Rice (Sona Masoori variety) - 1/2 cup

Red Chillies (Byadgi variety preferred) - 5-6

Tamarind Juice - 1 teaspoon

Salt - As per taste

Grated coconut (fresh or frozen) - 2-3 tablespoons

Asafoetida - Just a pinch

Turmeric powder - Just a pinch

Oil - For frying

Method:

Wash rice till clear and pre-soak rice in water for 4-5 hours. Roast red chillies in a teaspoon of oil and mildly sweat them in oil till they are partially roasted for 2-3 minutes. Allow to cool. Grind along with Rice, Red Chillies, Tamarind, Turmeric powder, Salt and grated coconut to a coarse paste with very little water.

Mix the batter with chopped vegetable. Adjust salt and spice levels. Heat a shallow frying pan, take a spoonful of the batter mix and spread on the pan. Spread mini dosa batter as per capacity. Drizzle oil on the sides. Once cooked on sides, flip them over to other side and fry evenly on both the sides. The dosa's taste better if crunchy and little bit charred. Serve hot as a side dish along with rice and curry.