If you ask me about my favorite snack or tiffin then I will take only one name-Masala dosa !! Though there are so many popular snacks and tiffin variety from Southern India but the crisp and spicy Masala dosa tops the list ,undoubtedly the most popular snack from South Indian Cuisine.Now it is not limited in India but is popular world wide.
Their are many snacks from South India which are healthy,easy to prepare and taste wonderful.from this same dosa batter we can also makeIdlis which are steamed and are very healthy.The crisp and potato masala stuffed dosas are hot favorite of people of all age groups. Dosas are crisp pan cakes made by a fermented rice and lentil batter.A mix of regular rice and par boiled rice, white lentil /urad daal and little fenugreek seeds are used to make the batter.
For making dosa you have to do some pre- preparation.The rice and lentil are soaked separately then both are ground to make a smooth paste and then left to ferment for minimum 5- 8 hours, the fermentation time totally depends on the heat of the climate.Then a stuffing is made with boiled potato,tomato,green chili and few spices .Poha /beaten rice,chana daal and tuvar daal is also added to add crispness and to give a nice golden color to dosa,but this is optional you can add or just skip this.
Dosa is usally served with few accompaniments- Sambhar , Mysore rasam , tomato chutney and coconut chutney.
Prep time-20 min
Cooking time-15 min
Difficulty level-medium
Spice level-medium
Cuisine-south Indian
Type-snack,main
INGREDIENTS-
- Normal Raw rice /chawal -2 cup *
- Parboiled rice /ukda chawal -1
- White lentil /urad daal -3/4 cup
- Bengal gram /chana daal -3 tbsp
- Pigeon pea / tuvar dal -3 tbsp
- Beaten rice / poha - 1/4 cup
- fenugreek seeds /methi dana -1/2 tsp
- Salt /namak- to taste
- Boiled potatoes /aloo - 4 (300 gms)
- Tomato/tamatar ,chopped - 1/2 cup
- Green chilies /hari mirch, chopped - 1.5 tsp
- Ginger /adrak, chopped - 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder /haldi - 1/2 tsp
- Chili powder /lal mirch- 1 tsp
- Lemon juice /nimbu ka ras - 2 tsp
- Fresh coriander /hara dhaniya- 2 tbsp
- Salt /namak - to taste
- Cooking oil /tel - 4 tbsp
- Mustard seeds /rai - 3/4 tsp
- Cumin seeds /jeera - 1/4 tsp
- White lentil /urad daal - 1tsp
- Bengal gram /chana daal - 1 tsp
- Asafoetida /hing - 1/4 tsp
- Curry leaves /kadi patta -8
PROCEDURE-
To make the dosa batter-
- Wash rice and dal and then soak both rice together and all the lentil and fenugreek seeds in a separate container for about 5-7 hours.
- Then reserve some water in which you have soaked urad daal as we will use this while grinding it.
- Drain the remaining water and wash the soaked dal and rice with clean tap water.
- Now grind the soaked daal with some water and make a smooth and fluffy paste of pouring consistency.
- Remove the ground daal paste into a big container.
- Now add soaked rice in the mixer jaar, add some water and grind to make a smooth paste.
- Add the ground rice paste in the same container.
- Add salt and mix it well.
- Cover the container with a loose lid and keep it in a warm and dark place.
- The batter will take about 8-12 hours to ferment and in winters it may take some more time.
- When it become almost double and you see bubbles on the surface then its ready to use.
- Peel the boiled potatoes and mash them into small pieces.
- Heat oil in a pan and add the urad daal,chana daal,mustard and cumin seeds.
- When cumin start to crackle then add curry leaves asafoetida and chopped green chilies.
- Stir fry for few seconds.
- Now add chopped tomato and salt and stir.
- When tomato become little soft then add turmeric and mashed potatoes.
- Add all the spices, 1.5 tbsp of water and saute to mix all.
- Add chopped coriander and lemon juice and mix.
- Remove in a bowl and keep aside.
- Take the fermented batter in a bowl and mix well.
- Add some water if the batter is too thick,as it should be of pouring consistency.
- Take a non stick or heavy iron griddle /pan.
- Apply few drops of oil over the pan and wipe with a moist cloth or paper napkin.
- Pour a laddle ful of batter on the medium hot griddle and spread it on the tawa in a thin round circle.
- Let it cook for few seconds till it change its color and become light golden in color.
- Spread a tsp of oil around the dosa and 1 tsp over the dosa.
- Flip the dosa and cook from other side for few seconds.(this step is optional)
- Flip it again and put about 3-4 tbsp of potato masala in the center and fold it from both the sides.
- Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambhar.
- You can also add boiled green peas and broken cashew pieces in potato masala at step-3.
- Instead of using oil you can use ghee or butter to roast the dosa, it will enhance the taste.
- Use a big container to keep the batter as it will increase twice or thrice in volume after fermentation and may spill over from a small container.
- The batter should not be very thick or thin ,it should be of pouring consistency ,the crispiness also depends on the right consistency of the batter.
- Normal raw rice - use the rice which you use on daily basis,it need not be basmati rice, any short grain, medium grain or broken rice can be used and if you don't have par boiled rice then can use normal rice only.
- The left over batter can be easily stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days .
- The fermentation time depends on the heat in the climate ,it will ferment sooner in summers but in winters it may take quite some time to ferment .
- Chana daal and tuvar daal gives a nice golden color to the dosa.
- Addition of poha makes the dosa crisper but this is optional.
- I prefer to use a heavy iron skillet /tawa to make dosa but you can also use hard anodized skillet or a non stick pan to make dosa, all works well , but grease the iron skillet/tawa well before using.
- Keep sprinkling few drops of water on the tawa or wipe the griddle with a damp cloth after making each dosa to bring down the temperature else the dosa will stick to the pan and become difficult to spread properly .
