Crisp, golden Davanagere benne paddu, served with groundnut chutney
Ingredients
For Batter
2 Cups/Measures idli rice or thick grained rice
⅔ Cup/Measure urad dal/uddina bele
½ Tbsp gram dal/kadale bele/chana dal
1 Cup/Measure thick or medium avalakki/rice flakes/poha
10-12 methi seeds/fenugreek
Salt to taste
To Make Paddus
2 Tbsp yogurt
1 Tsp jeera
2 finely chopped onions
8-10 torn curry leaves
2 minced green chillies
1-2 Tbsp finely chopped coriander
Method
Wash and drain urad dal and rice separately
To urad dal, add avalakki/poha, methi seeds, chana dal. Add water to soak both rice and dal mixtures. Set it aside to soak for 8 hours or overnight
Drain water from both rice and dal, add to a mixie jar/grinder add salt and grind into a smooth batter (thick) with water as required. Set aside to ferment 12-15 hours or overnight
It fluffs up when it is fermented. Mix well and add jeera
Add yogurt and mix well
Add chopped onions, minced green chillies, curry leaves, coriander. Mix well
To make paddus, heat up the paddu pan. Oil the pan well. Pour in ladlefuls of paddu batter into paddu holes
Add some oil on top, cover and cook till light golden
Flip and let it roast on the other side
Serve them hot with butter/benne and shenga chutney. They can be even served as a starter dish if you are making South Indian food for a party or get-together
Notes
Adding chana dal/kadalebele gives nice crispness but do not add more or the paddus will become hard
Use a paddu pan which is non stick or cast iron old style heavy paddu pan. You can get them in most kitchen utensils shops
Adding yogurt gives softness and fluffiness to the paddus
If the temperature is very high, add salt after it ferments just before making paddus so that the batter does not over-ferment and become sour
Add a few drops of oil on top when the paddus are roasting
Recipe by Food Of Interest at https://foodofinterest.com/davanagere-benne-paddu/