I remember when I was in engineering school, I stayed with my grandma for 4 years. She never used to make this dish. I coerced her into learning it. She started cooking it for me. Even though I have been cooking this for more than 6 years now, I don't even come close to her.
This recipe is from my dear sister Smitha, she taught me how to make this .
I love my sister and this post is for her.
Masala Dosa
Ingredients :
For the dosa batter :
1 cup urad dal
3 cups rice (long grain)
1/2 cup chana dal
1 teaspoon methi seeds
1 cup thick poha
Soak the first 4 ingredients in water for around 6 hours. ( I soak them before I go to work).
Then soak the poha in the same water for the last 15 minutes. ( I do it around 7 in the evening)
Grind the mixture into a smooth batter , adding salt and some cooked rice if available.
Ferment this mixture overnight. ( I place it in the oven , with the oven light on for some heat ).
Wake up next morning and the mixture should have 'puffed up' a little.
Make the masala:
Ingredients :
3 white onions (medium) sliced thin
5 potatoes (medium) cooked and cut up in small chunks
6-8 curry leaves
a pinch of asofetida (hing in hindi)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
4 green chillies
4 red chillies
3 tbsp oil
Heat up the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, red and green chillies , and a pinch of hing.
Wait until the mustard seeds start to pop, add the onions to the pan and cook till slightly brown.
Add some turmeric powder to the above, enough to give it a nice yellow color .
Add the cooked potatoes, salt and a little water and cook till properly mixed.
You can garnish it with cilantro.
Chutney recipe:
Ingredients :
2 cups grated coconut
4 green chillies
2 red chillies
1/2 tsp of tamarind paste
salt to taste
one inch piece of ginger root
For the tempering :
2 red chillies
5 curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of hing
Method :
Grind all the ingredients for the chutney in a blender.
Heat up a little oil in a container. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, hing, red chillies. When the mustard seeds pop, remove the mixture and mix in the chutney. Add salt to taste to the chutney.
Making the dosa:
I have an electric griddle that I use at 400 Degrees. If you have a dosa tava or a non stick pan, that will work too.
Take a paper towel and dip it in some water. Squeeze the water out of it and then apply this paper towel on the griddle/tava, taking care to get to all the surface. ( In India, I have seen a few folks use half an onion for the same purpose) Do this step before each dosa. This ensures that the dosa will spread evenly and not break.
Put some oil on the griddle / tava
Take 1/3 cup of dosa batter and gently pour it onto the center of the griddle
Begin to spread the batter in a sweeping circular motion to form a circle as shown below
No worries if it develops tiny holes as you spread the batter. This is normal.
Put some oil on the sides of the dosa with an oil spray ( for those of you in the states, I recommend MISTO . Readily available in Bed bath and you can use your own olive oil in it )
Cook the dosa for a few minutes. I only cook on one side. Some folks flip it, but I do not.
When the dosa is about done as below, put some masala on it, scoop it up on a plate and serve with chutney on the side.
I used to be able to eat 6 of these. Now all I can manage is 2 or 3. Life is catching up. :)
Enjoy
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