Like any South Indian I am a sucker for crispy home-made dosas. This is a delicacy that I grew up with. Mum would always have some batter in the fridge. We would have it for breakfast or as after-school bites or for those in-between times. I follow my mum here and trust me it’s a great thing to have in your fridge for back-up, for those days when you don’t feel like cooking a big meal.
Dosa is a fermented indian pancake made from rice and lentils. There are I guess countless varieties of dosas from super thin ones served plain or filled with masala (made of vegetables or meat), to American pancake like ones called uttappams made with onions. There is also a version made with more lentils than rice called adai and ones made with just flours like chickpea or plain flour. For a quick dosa you could buy the ready to make mix that is found in any Asian grocers. Dosa’s are rich in carbs, has no saturated fats (unless drenched in ghee) when made from rice and lentils mean that it is gluten-free and contains protein. It's also a recipe under fiver for two.
For green chutney recipe click here.
It’s not really rocket science to make them. Just need to get the batter right & then thin layer of the batter is ladled onto a hot griddle, drizzled with oil or ghee & spread out evenly like a crepe, & cooked on both sides until crispy and done.
Over the years, I’ve perfected the art of making awesome dosas. I remember it was one of the recipes I scribbled onto my ‘cant-do-without-recipes book’ when I left home. A true blue Rebel that I am) I can never follow a recipe to the T, even if it’s traditional & perfect (not entirely because I wanted to change the recipe, but because not always I found the ingredients required. I do like to add my own spin. So below is a perfect recipe for dosa that you are most welcome to tweak, but do let me know how you’ve changed it!
Mum’s Versatile Idli/Dosa Batter Recipe
3-4 cups Idli Rice
1 cup Urad Dal/Ultham Paruppu/White Lentils
1tsp Methi seeds/Vendyam/Fenugreek seeds
Salt
Method:
Wash rice & dals & soak in enough water for at least 3-4 hours, separately. Grind the dal first into a smooth paste using as little water as possible & then grind the rice to a slightly coarser textured paste. Transfer to a big bowl & add salt. Leave the bowl in a warm place to ferment overnight or for 12-15 hrs.
You can make idli out of the batter for the first 2 days and then make dosas, once the dough had fermented enough.
Note:I use Basmati rice as I find idli rice ridiculously expensive in UK. I also add a fistful of poha. If you find idli rice then there is no need to use poha in the recipe.
My Recipe for Dosa Batter:
2 cups Basmati Rice
¾ cup Urad Dal/Ultham Paruppu/White Lentils
2tbsp Channa Dal/Kadla Paruppu/Split Chickpeas
2tbsp Tuvar dal/Tuvaram Paruppu/Pigeonpea
1 tsp Methi/Vendyam/Fenugreek seeds
Handful of Poha/Aval/Flattened Rice
Salt
Method:
Wash rice & dals & soak in enough water for at least 3-4 hours, separately. Grind the dal first into a smooth paste using as little water as possible & then grind the rice to a slightly coarser textured paste. Transfer to a big bowl & add salt. Leave the bowl in a warm place to ferment overnight or for 12-15 hrs.
Making Dosas:
Mix the fermented dough with water to make a smooth runny batter. Heat a flat griddle over medium-high heat and ladle out about half a cup worth of batter & spread out into a thin circle. It’s best to use the back of the ladle to do this. Drizzle ghee or oil onto the sides & dollop on the centre. Once the edges are brown, lift off using a spatula under the dosa and flip it over to cook on the other side. Cook on either side for about 1-2 minutes. Serve hot with chutney or Sambhar. You could make a hearty wrap by filling it up with potato curry or any filling of your choice. Note: In colder places like where I live, its best to pre-heat the oven to 30-40C. Turn-off the oven and place the batter in there. On extreme cold days, I add a pinch of yeast before I put it in a warm place. It ferments beautifully.
