Lest it be said that I left any grain untried when it came to the dosa … kañiwa is the latest grain, to be soaked, and ground into dosa batter. I have actually had the grain on the shelf for a while, thanks to my friend Lisa. One fine day she just asked if I could use it … presumably she had bought it but never got around to using it. A similar fate was to befall me, until yesterday.

I decided to pour the entire packet – only one pound, after all – into a bowl to soak for dosas. Just before adding water curiosity got the better of me and I scooped out half a cup to cook like rice. As expected, it cooked just like rice and tasted good too. I am not sure I managed to chew every grain though. Kañiwa is tiny! Half the size of quinoa, according to nuts.com. “Both quinoa and kañiwa have a delicious nutty flavor, although kañiwa is slightly sweeter than quinoa. Additionally, kañiwa has a slightly crunchy texture, while quinoa is fluffy and soft.” (Tilde added for consistency (and coolness.)) I didn’t detect any crunch after cooking.

I added an equal amount of minapappu aka urad dal or black gram and soaked it overnight. I forgot until the next evening but the upside of this sudden fall weather is that it is cold enough that the extra long soak was ok. I ground in the evening. The next morning it had risen impressively in spite of the cold weather. Wow!

On the pan, the kañiwa dosa fluffed up and even bubbled. Now I realize I should have taken photos of the finished dosa. Too late as they are all finished as in eaten up. Perhaps I will be back with pictures next time I make them. Not sure when or if I will come across kañiwa again, but when that day comes I will snap it up and whip it into dosas without delay!

Here is what it looks like in the field. Image source: Wholesome Harvest.