Dosa

Dosa…Oh.. what can I say about this dish. This is such a cultural icon – it has crossed many borders and is recognized today for its simplicity and the universal appeal. Even though this is traditionally south Indian food, I will not categorize it as that. All Indians like Dosa…many non-Indians like Dosa too. I haven’t come across anyone who has told me that he/she does not like Dosa.

If only I could write something like this about world peace!

All I can say it – I love Dosas too just like you.

Here’s my favorite recipe for dosa batter.

Idli Rice or Long grain rice or basmati (in preferential order) – 2 cups
Urad Daal – 1 cup
Channa Daal – ¼ cup
Vendiyam (Fenugreek Seeds) – 1 tbsp

Adding channa daal might be a suprise for many, but this is used by a lot of restaurants - this is what gives the dosa that nice golden color in the restaurants. Try it once and you'll be hooked to it too.

For the quantity I make, I usually double this proportion above. For bigger parties, triple the proportions.

Wash and soak the daals and the rice separately. The fenugreek seeds can go with the daal. Soak them for about 4-5 hrs.

I use an Ultra Grinder from India to grind this. But a blender would work fine – you might just need to do it for a long time.

Grind the daals first. When the consistency is really soft, remove this from the grinder and then grind the rice till that’s soft. Now, you can put them together and grind it – but for reasons unknown, somehow doing them separate and then mixing them makes better dosas.

Mix both the batters well and add salt to this. You need to air the batter now – for this just use a spatula and just mix up the batter well. Kind of kneading – but since this is in a liquid form, its more of aerating the mixture.

Set this batter out if its summer time. In winters, pre heat the oven, switch off the oven and then set this inside the oven. The fermenting process takes place well when the outside temp is warm. Let this sit for about 8 -10 hrs.


Here you can see how the batter has fermented. It will rise to about double the quantity. When you just turn the batter once, you can see the air pockets. This just means that is has fermented really well.

You can now store this in the fridge until you are ready to make dosas.

For making dosas, take some batter and add a little bit water to it. It should be easy to spread around in a pan. I have added a video link that I uploaded to You tube here on making dosas. For some reasons, Blogger took almost the whole day trying to upload it here directly and still did not work! I tried my best to stay stable in the video considering I had the camera on one hand and the batter on the other. Hopefully, it works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXkPGnUV-MI

Always serve dosas hot from the tawa. Serve with your favorite chutney and sambar. I've served Dosa here along with Pudina Chutney, Sambar and Tomato-Onion side dish. I have recipes for all of these on my blog. Check those out too.

This is a quick variation - chutney roast. When your dosa is done on one side, spread a spoonful of chutney on the top side. Flip it once for a few seconds and then flip back and fold the dosa. Chutney Roast is ready! You can also make Molaga podi (Gun Powder) roast in a similar way.

My daughter loves Dosa too and she always wants her shape dosas – today she wanted a heart and a duck – so here it is. This is a fun way to get kids to eat the good stuff! With my daughter though, I don’t have to try hard – she loves dosa and can eat it everyday!

This recipe is on its way to "Dosa Corner" event hosted by Padma's recipes. Thanks for hosting Padma!