Watermelon Rind Surnali

Surnali means fermented dosa. Some call this Surnoli. The name is derived from a combination of Sooru(Ferment) and Poli(Dosa). GSB Konkanis are pioneers in making these wonderful fluffy pan cakes to perfection. Plain Surnali has no added vegetable or fruit fiber in it but we had watermelon at home, white rind of which blends well with the dosa.

Hence watermelon rind surnali. The subtle flavour of watermelon rind makes these surnalis more tasty. Plain surnali is a signature snack made on Tulsi Pooja day at GSB homes. Surnali tastes heavenly with fresh butter. My mother painstalkingly made them on cast iron tawa on which these pan cakes stick and get charred sometimes, in spite of adding generous drizzle of ghee or oil. That's because surnalis have added jaggery in them that get caramalised quickly. Today, nonstick tawa has made our job easier and surnalis are less oily.

You can make these surnalis for breakfast or as tea time snack. Traditionally we make some Rulanv or Phova Upkari with this, so that after eating these sweet pan cakes, tea/coffee tastes good.

Ingredients:
Raw white rice - 1 cup
Buttermilk or curd - 2-3 cups or QS.
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup(About 4 Tbsp)
Watermelon white rind - 1/2 cup ground
Methi seeds(Optional) - 1 Tsp
Grated/powdered jaggery - 1/2 cup
Thin Phova(Beaten Rice) - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 Tsp
Salt - To taste
Cooking soda(Optional) - A pinch

Method:
Wash and soak rice and methi seeds for 2-3 hours at room temperature.
Wash phova in a colander with running water and squeeze drain.
Grind soaked rice and methi seeds with grated coconut, phova and jaggery.
use only buttermilk or curd for grinding the ingredients to a thick batter.
Allow to stand for 8-12 hours at room temperature to ferment.
Add salt to taste, turmeric powder, optional cooking soda, ground watermelon rind and beat well.
Heat a nonstick tawa and drizzle a spoonful of ghee.
Spread the dosa batter evenly into 5-6 mm thick dosas.
Cover with a dome lid.
When the surface of the dosa is dry and the dosa starts to get browned, drizzle 1/2 tsp ghee and flip over.
Roast on the other side and serve hot with a knob of fresh butter.

Note: You can also add rind of ash gourd or pumpkin, pulpy center part of chinese cucumber(Magge/Soutekaayi), raw papaya or even cucumber instead of watermelon rind.