Barley Dosa -How to make Barley Dosai?

Barley dosa is a healthy, south Indian style crepe. Barley is a nutritious whole grain that is rich in fiber. I hooked on to this wonderful grain during my days in Baroda. While barley water is a very common drink during summers, I m always looking for new recipes to include barley in our diet.

Ingredients

This dosa uses no rice. Yep. We are just going to be using regular pearl barley, fenugreek and urad dal to make our batter. If you are a bit skeptical about making this recipe using only barley, you can reduce the barley by 1 c and use 1 c idli rice in its place. 

While choosing barley, make sure you choose the tanner varieties. White pearl barley works well but it undergoes a polishing process and they tend to remove the bran fully. Hence the slightly tanner variety of pearly barley is healthier.

Read the benefits of barley here.

Shelf life and storage

This dosa batter works like our regular dosa batter only. After grinding the batter and fermenting it, store in clean air tight container in the fridge. Barley dosa batter keeps well for up to 3 days.

Recipe Notes

1. This recipe can easily be halved for making a small batch. If you want to make a smaller batch, use 1.5 c barley and 1/2 c urad dal along with 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds.
2. In case you are making a small batch, I recommend using the blender to grind the batter. 
3. Fermenting the batter may take longer if you live in a cold place. Use your Instant pot Yogurt setting to ferment the batter in this case. Or leave the batter in the oven with the light turned on for 6 to 7 hours.
4. If you are using your Instant pot for fermenting, do not use the Instant pot lid. Use a glass lid to cover the pot. This is because there is always the chance of batter overflowing. When this happens, the lid may get locked. It is also easier to keep an eye on the batter if you use a glass lid.

Method

Soaking 

Wash the barley under running water twice. Similarly, combine urad dal and fenugreek seeds. Wash this well under running water twice. Drain all water used for washing. Combine barley with 8 c water and set aside for soaking. Similarly, add 3 to 4 c water to the Urad dal and fenugreek seeds and set aside for soaking. Let the barley and urad dal soak for 4 to 5 hours.

Grinding barley dosa batter in a wet grinder

Once soaked completely, drain the water from the both.
In a wet grinder, add the drained soaked urad dal and fenugreek seeds.
Add 1/4 c water and grind the urad dal till soft and fluffy.
Make sure to stop in between, scrape down the sides and add another 1/4 c water while grinding urad dal. Urad dal takes about 15 mins to grind to a fluffy consistency.
To check if it has ground to the correct consistency, drop a small blob of the batter in a bowl of cold water. If it floats without disintergating, it means urad dal batter is ready. Transfer the ground urad dal to a large container.

Add the drained barley next along with 1/2 c water. Grind to a smooth batter. Again, stop every once in a while and scrape down the sides. Add 1/4 to 1/2 c water for grinding barley midway.
It takes roughly 20 mins for the barley to be ground to a smooth paste.
Barley unlike rice remains a lil grainy even after you grind it very smoothly. Once the barley is ground,add this to the ground urad dal. Add salt and mix well. Leave for about 6 to 8 hours to ferment. This may take longer in case you live in cold places.
After about 8 hours or after the batter has fermented, mix well again.

Making barley dosa

Heat an iron skillet or girdle.
Pour a ladle full of the batter and spread into a thin circle starting from inwards and going outwards just like how you do for normal dosa.
Drizzle oil on the sides and cook till golden brown on one side.
Flip to the other side and cook for 30 secs more.
When done, flip, fold the dosa in half and serve hot.

To grind barley dosa batter in a blender:

Soaking

Wash the barley under running water twice. Similarly, combine urad dal and fenugreek seeds. Wash this well under running water twice. Drain all water used for washing. Combine barley with 8 c water and set aside for soaking. Similarly, add 3 to 4 c water to the Urad dal and fenugreek seeds and set them aside for soaking.

Let the barley and urad dal soak for 4 to 5 hours. Refrigerate the urad dal and barley while it soaks. Once soaked completely, drain the water from both.

Grinding

Use cold water to grind the batter in a blender. If you are using a blender like Blendtec or Ninja, the smoothie mode works perfectly well.

 Grind the urad dal to a smooth consistency using a blender adding about 1/8 cup of water gradually. The urad dal must be ground just like grinding for idli or dosa. Transfer the ground urad dal to a large container. Now, grind the barley next in 3 batches adding about 1/4 cup of water in parts gradually. The barley must be ground smoothly and it took me about 4 mins for each batch. Barley unlike rice remains a lil grainy even after you grind it very smoothly.

Once the barley is ground,add this to the ground urad dal. Add salt and mix well.
Leave for about 6 to 8 hours to ferment. This may take longer in case you live in cold places.
After about 8 hours or after the batter has fermented, mix well again. Proceed to make dosas.

Explore more dosa recipes

Accompaniments 

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Barley Dosa

South Indian style crepes made with whole barley grains and urad dal

Prep Time5 hours hrs

Cook Time2 minutes mins

Fermenting time6 hours hrs

Total Time11 hours hrs 2 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Breakfast/ Brunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Indian- South, South Indian

Servings: 20 dosas

Ingredients

For soaking

• 3 c whole Pearl Barley
• 7 to 8 c water
• 1 c Whole white urad dal
• 3 to 4 c water
• 1.5 tsp Fenugreek seeds
• Salt to taste

For grinding the batter

• 2 to 3 c water
• For making Barley dosa
• 1 tsp Cold pressed peanut oil or sesame oil for each dosa

Instructions

• Wash the barley under running water twice. Similarly, combine urad dal and fenugreek seeds. Wash this well under running water twice. Drain all water used for washing.
• Combine barley with 8 c water and set aside for soaking.
• Similarly, add 3 to 4 c water to the Urad dal and fenugreek seeds and set aside for soaking.
• Let the barley and urad dal soak for 4 to 5 hours.
• Once soaked completely, drain the water from the both.
• In a wet grinder, add the drained soaked urad dal and fenugreek seeds.
• Add 1/4 c water and grind the urad dal till soft and fluffy.
• Make sure to stop in between, scrape down the sides and add another 1/4 c water while grinding urad dal.
• Urad dal takes about 15 mins to grind to a fluffy consistency.
• To check if it has ground to the correct consistency, drop a small blob of the batter in a bowl of cold water.
• If it floats without disintergating, it means urad dal batter is ready.
• Transfer the ground urad dal to a large container.
• Add the drained barley next along with 1/2 c water.
• Grind to a smooth batter.
• Again, stop every once in a while and scrape down the sides.
• Add 1/4 to 1/2 c water for grinding barley midway.
• It takes roughly 20 mins for the barley to be ground to a smooth paste.
• Barley unlike rice remains a lil grainy even after you grind it very smoothly.
• Once the barley is ground,add this to the ground urad dal.
• Add salt and mix well.
• Leave for about 6 to 8 hours to ferment.
• This may take longer in case you live in cold places.
• After about 8 hours or after the batter has fermented, mix well again.

Making Barley dosa

• Heat an iron skillet or girdle.
• Pour a ladle full of the batter and spread into a thin circle starting from inwards and going outwards just like how you do for normal dosa.
• Drizzle oil on the sides and cook till golden brown on one side.
• Flip to the other side and cook for 30 secs more.
• When done, flip, fold the dosa in half and serve hot.

To grind this in a blender:

• Wash and soak the barley and the urad dal separately for about 4 to 5 hours. Add the fenugreek seeds to the urad dal while soaking.
• Refrigerate the urad dal and barley while it soaks.
• Once soaked completely, drain the water from the both.
• Use cold water to grind the batter in a blender.
• If you are using a blender like Blendtec or Ninja, the smoothie mode works perfectly well.
• Now, grind the urad dal to a smooth consistency using a blender adding about 1/8 cup of water gradually. The urad dal must be ground just like grinding for idli or dosa.
• Transfer the ground urad dal to a large container.
• Now, grind the barley next in 3 batches adding about 1/4 cup of water in parts gradually. The barley must be ground smoothly and it took me about 4 mins for each batch.
• Barley unlike rice remains a lil grainy even after you grind it very smoothly.
• Once the barley is ground,add this to the ground urad dal. Add salt and mix well.
• Leave for about 6 to 8 hours to ferment. This may take longer in case you live in cold places.
• After about 8 hours or after the batter has fermented, mix well again.
• Proceed to make dosas

For Instant Pot & Air Fryer Recipes

Instant Pot timings may vary based on your geographic location. Air fryer settings and timings may vary based on the capacity and the model of the Air fryer.

Disclaimer

Nutrition values are provided here as a courtesy and are only a rough guide. Please consult a health care provider if you have any concerns.

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This post was originally published in Jan 2013. This has been updated with process shots, fresh pics and recipe card.