Dosa Recipes

Steps:

• Wash all the ingredients, except for the oil, three or four times, then drain. Leave to soak in cold water in a bowl overnight.
• Drain the water from the ingredients, but keep it and set aside. Transfer the soaked ingredients to a food processor and grind to make a smooth paste. Make sure the batter doesn't look grainy - you can use a little of the soaking water if you need to. It should be like a thick, smooth pancake batter and should coat the back of a spoon. Empty into a large bowl and cover. Keep it in a warm place overnight to allow the batter to ferment (see tip, below). It will have doubled in quantity and look bubbly. If you're not using the batter straight away, chill for later. It will keep for up to five days.
• Very gently stir the batter. It will have thickened in consistency, so you can add a little water to give it a thick but pourable consistency.
• Heat a non-stick frying pan on a low to medium heat for 5 mins. Drizzle over a few drops of oil, then wipe the pan with kitchen paper to get rid of any excess oil.
• Sprinkle a handful of water on the hot pan to cool it, then dry with some kitchen paper. Pour one ladle of the dosa batter in the middle of the pan. Using the bottom of the ladle, quickly move it in a circular motion, allowing the batter to spread outwards from the middle towards the edge of the pan, to form a round, thin pancake.
• Drizzle a few drops of oil all over the dosa and increase the temperature to a high heat. When it turns slightly golden and the edges begin to lift, add any stuffing (like dosa masala potato stuffing) to the middle. Continue to cook until the underside looks completely golden and crisp. Use a flat spatula to loosen the edges, then roll over the potato stuffing and lift onto a plate.
• Before you make the next dosa, decrease the temperature of the pan back to a medium heat and repeat the above steps.

Steps:

• Rinse the lentils well in cold water and drain. Transfer them to a large mixing bowl, add the fenugreek seeds and 2 cups water and let soak at room temperature for a minimum of 4 hours and up to 8 hours.
• Drain the mixture and add to a blender with 3/4 cup fresh water. Blend until creamy with an ever-so-slight grittiness.
• Pour this mixture back into the large mixing bowl and add the rice flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and enough water so it is the consistency of pancake batter. Mix well until evenly mixed and no lumps are remaining. Cover and let ferment until the batter has tiny bubbles, is frothy and has increased in volume, 12 to 36 hours (depending on the weather; see Cook's Note).
• Add another 1/2 teaspoon salt to the batter and mix well. The final batter should not be too thin or thick; if it's too thick, add a little water, just enough to make the batter spreadable. A very runny batter will not result in crisp dosas, but a very thick batter will not be easy to spread. If the batter is very thin, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of rice flour to thicken. Transfer to an airtight quart container. This mixture will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.
• To make dosas: Heat a nonstick pan or well-seasoned cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. (If your pan is not nonstick, rub a little oil into it. A nice traditional way of doing this is by using the flat side of half an onion.)
• Pour about 1/4 cup batter in the center of the pan and with the back of the ladle or the back of a small heatproof bowl or katori, spread it from the center outwards in concentric circles by applying a gentle pressure. Don't worry if the batter does not spread very evenly. I prefer a little unevenness as that way parts of the dosa are crisp and parts are soft. Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of ghee or oil around the rim of the dosa and let the dosa cook until it becomes crisp on the thin parts and you can see it turning light brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the filling of your choice (if filling) to half of the dosa. With a metal or non-stick turner, flip the other half over and transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter. Dosas are best eaten right away. Serve with Easy Tomato Chutney, if desired.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot and shimmering, add the mustard seeds. They should pop immediately. Lower the heat to medium and add the lentils, red pepper flakes and curry leaves if using. Be careful, as the curry leaves will sputter. Cook, stirring often, until the lentils turn golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook until it just starts sizzling; you do not want it to brown. Add the tomatoes, turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Increase the heat to medium high, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes.
• Add the jaggery or raw sugar and tamarind paste and cook until well mixed and the sugar has melted, 4 to 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. Remove from the heat and add the roasted sesame oil to finish, if using.
• Once cool, transfer the chutney to an airtight container and refrigerate. This chutney will keep for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Make the dosa batter: Put rice in a bowl, rinse well and cover with 4 cups cold water. Put urad dal and fenugreek seeds in a small bowl, rinse well and add cold water to cover. Leave both to soak for 4 to 6 hours.
• Drain rice and dal-fenugreek mixture in separate colanders. Put rice in a food processor, blender or wet-dry grinder. Add 1 cup cold water and grind to a smooth paste. It will take about 10 minutes, and it may be necessary to work in batches. Repeat the process with the dal-fenugreek mixture.
• Combine the two pastes in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk together, adding enough water to obtain a medium-thick batter. You should have about 6 cups. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and set in a warm place. Let ferment until the surface is bubbly, about 8 hours. Stir in the salt. Use the batter straight away or refrigerate for later use. (Batter will keep for up to a week, refrigerated. Thin with water if necessary before proceeding.)
• Make the potato filling: Put ghee in a wide skillet over medium heat. When oil is wavy, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Wait for seeds to pop, about 1 minute, then add red peppers and onion. Cook, stirring until onions have softened, about 5 minutes. Season lightly with salt. Add turmeric, asafetida, ginger, curry leaves, garlic and green chile. Stir to coat and let sizzle for 1 minute.
• Add potatoes and 1/2 cup water. Cook, stirring well to combine, until liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Mash potatoes a bit with the back of a wooden spoon. Season well with salt, add cilantro, then set aside at room temperature. (Potato filling may be prepared up to a day in advance.)
• To make dosas, set a griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Brush with about 1 teaspoon vegetable oil. Ladle 1/4 cup batter in the center of griddle. Using bottom of ladle, quickly spread batter outward in a circular motion to a diameter of about 7 inches. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon oil over the top. Leave dosa batter to brown gradually until outer edges begin to look dry, about 2 minutes, cooking on one side only. With a spatula, carefully loosen dosa from griddle. Bottom should be crisp and beautifully browned. Spoon 1/2 cup potato filling onto top of dosa, centering it as a strip in the middle of the round dosa. Flatten the potato mixture slightly. Using the spatula, fold the sides of the dosa around the filling to make a cylindrical shape. Serve immediately. Continue making dosas one at a time.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix the rice, dal and fenugreek. Rinse a few times with water, then fill the bowl with water and leave to soak for 4 to 8 hours. Drain the mixture and mix at high speed in a blender, gradually adding 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, until very smooth and pale. Add the yeast and 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix again.
• Scrape batter into a large bowl and cover. Let ferment at room temperature until the batter has mushroomed and nearly doubled in size, and is foamy all the way through, 8 to 12 hours.
• Gently stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, which will cause the batter to deflate slightly. The batter should make ribbons when ladled back onto itself; add 1 tablespoon of water at a time, if needed, to thin it out.
• Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium. When hot, lower the heat to medium-low, then lightly grease the inside of the skillet with ghee. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter into the center of the pan. Using the bottom of the ladle, gently smooth the batter in an outward spiral to form a 6-inch disk. Drizzle the top of the dosa with 1 teaspoon ghee.
• When the top turns white and spongy, and the edges of the dosa turn golden and start to release from the pan, in 3 to 4 minutes, loosen the dosa from the pan using an offset spatula. Peek to check the bottom of the dosa: If the bottom is brown, flip the dosa. Otherwise, let it cook a little longer, then loosen it all the way and flip. Let cook on the second side for about 30 seconds, then transfer it to a plate.
• Repeat with remaining batter, adding more ghee as needed.

Steps:

• Mix the urad dal flour and rice flour.
• Slowly add in buttermilk until it drops from the spoon smoothly. A blender will ease this process.
• Add salt and fenugreek seeds to taste.
• Refrigerate batter overnight in an air-tight container.
• Heat oil in pan. Pour the dosa into the pan quickly. Use the bottom of a ladle to spread it thin and GENTLY smooth it out in a circle motion. Too hard and you will tear the dosa.