Masala Dosa Recipes

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:

• For the dosa batter: Soak urad dal in water for 8 to 12 hours. Wash the soaked lentils and blend in a high-powered blender with 3/4 cup water to a smooth paste. Add rice flour, sugar, salt and 1 1/2 cups water to blend to a smooth paste consistency. Let batter ferment at room temperature 8 to 10 hours.
• For the onion masala: Heat the rice bran oil in big saute pan until hot, then add cashews, chana dal, mustard seeds, turmeric powder, red chiles, curry leaves and onions and cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat, until caramelized, about 30 minutes.
• Potato masala and tempering: Heat oil in a saute pan until hot, then add mustard seeds. Cook until you hear the crackle, then add cilantro, asafoetida, chiles, potatoes, curry leaves, salt and 1 1/2 cups onion masala.
• For the coconut chutney: Add coconut, chana dal, coconut powder, chiles, tamarind seeds, cilantro and salt to a high-powdered blender with water and blend to a smooth paste consistency. Finish by adding a tablespoon of tempering to the coconut chutney.
• Heat a cast-iron or nonstick pan over medium heat and season with oil. Once it is hot, take one ladle of dosa batter and spread it from the middle to outer edge of the pan, making sure it is thin. Cook until cooked completely, about 1 minute. Put ghee on top of dosa. Serve with potato masala and coconut chutney. Repeat with remaining batter.

Steps:

• For the dosa: Soak the parboiled and uncooked rice together in water.
• Separately, soak the dal and fenugreek seeds together in water.
• After 3-4 hours, drain and reserve the water and grind both separately in a blender to a fine paste, adding some the reserved water as needed (if the grinder/blender seizes up) until the mixture is of batter consistency.
• Add the salt, some water if necessary, and mix both together thoroughly; keep overnight to ferment.
• The next day, check the batter; if too thick, add some water and mix so that it is of a pouring consistency.
• Heat a skillet and grease with some oil.
• Pour a ladleful of batter and spread as quickly as possible into a thin circle.
• Pour a little oil (about 1/2 teaspoon) all around the crepe and on the centre as well.
• Cook until the dosa is done, then turn over and cook the other side until crisp.
• Set the dosas aside.
• Note: If parboiled rice is not available, soak 2 1/4 cups of uncooked rice.
• For the potato curry: Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil.
• Season with the mustard and gram dals.
• When done, add the chopped onions, green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, chili powder, and turmeric powder.
• When the onions are browned, add the potatoes and salt, and mix thoroughly.
• Add the coriander leaves and lemon juice, if desired, and mix well.
• For the chutney: Heat the oil, add the asafoetida, red chilies, and then the dal.
• Fry until the dal turns brownish.
• Remove from flame.
• Grind this mixture with the grated coconut, salt and tamarind to a slightly rough paste.
• Add a little water to make the chutney of a spreadable consistency.
• To make the masala dosas (the final product!): When required, reverse the prepared dosa and place on a skillet.
• Spread approximately 1 tablespoon of chutney evenly all over the dosa.
• Carefully place 2 tablespoons of potato curry in the centre, fold the the left a third over the centre, and then the right side over the left (or, just fold it any way you like!).
• Sprinkle a little ghee or butter.
• Roast for a minute or two.
• Remove from flame and serve immediately.
• Alternatively, stuff the dosa with the potato curry only, and serve the chutney as a dip.

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:

• For the best flavour and texture, the dosa pancake batter is best made at least 24 hrs ahead. Measure the flours into a large bowl, add the milk, season with salt and add 300ml water. Whisk to a smooth batter, then cover with cling film and chill for 24 hrs or up to 5 days.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Toss the sweet potato in a drizzle of the oil and spread out on a large baking tray. Cook for 20 mins, stirring on the tray once or twice during cooking, until soft and starting to caramelise. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large pan and fry the mustard, fennel and cumin seeds for 30 secs or so until fragrant. Stir in the chilli, onion, garlic, ginger, coriander stalks and curry leaves, and cook over a low heat for 10 mins until the onion is really soft. Stir in the ground spices for 15 secs, then add 100ml water and bubble to bring all the flavours together.
• Stir the sweet potato into the pan and season well. Use the back of your spoon to crush some of the sweet potato, leaving some pieces chunkier - the mixture should resemble very chunky mash. Keep the mixture warm until the pancakes are ready (or leave it to cool, then chill for up to 2 days - gently reheat in the pan or microwave before continuing).
• To make the raita, put the grated coconut in a bowl, stir in the coconut yogurt, coriander, lime zest and juice, and a pinch of salt. If the yogurt is very thick, loosen it with 1-2 tbsp water. Chill until ready to serve (you can make this up to 2 days ahead too, but stir in the coriander just before serving).
• Heat the oven to its lowest setting and put a plate inside ready to keep the dosas warm once you've cooked them. If the dosa batter has thickened in the fridge, thin it with a splash of water - it should be the consistency of double cream. Use a little oil to grease your largest frying or crêpe pan, wiping out the excess oil with some kitchen paper. Pour a ladleful of batter into the centre of the pan and quickly swirl it around to fill the surface, getting the pancakes as thin as you can. When the surface of the pancake looks almost dry, spoon a quarter of the filling down the centre. When the pancake is deep golden-brown and crisp on the underside, roll it up in the pan to encase the filling, cook for 1 min more, then transfer to the oven to keep warm while you continue cooking the remaining dosas.
• Any leftover batter will keep well in the fridge for 4 days (if the batter was made the day before, don't keep for longer than 5 days in total). Serve the dosas with the coconut raita, lime wedges and remaining coriander leaves, with your favourite Indian chutneys and pickles on the side.