Dosa
Dosa is a very famous South Indian food that is a must-try. This dish has made it to the top 50 list of most popular food in the world. Dosa is a very thin and crispy crepe prepared from rice and lentils, soaked for 8 hours. It is ground into a batter with water and fermented for 8 hours.
Why try making these at home?
Even though we get great dosa’s in the restaurant, homemade ones are much healthier with having total control of the amount of oil that goes on them. The concept is similar to sourdough bread. I will go over the tips and tricks to get the dosa batter to the right consistency.
Dosa batter is fermented liquid dough that mainly consists of rice and lentils. Dosa originated in the Southern part of India. All the South Indian States have their version of dosa which is unique to each place. Dosas are a popular breakfast menu in South Indian homes. Dosas are very healthy. Lentils are high in protein and make a great start to the day by having a protein-filled breakfast.
Dosa is sure a long process to make, but it is worth the time. The dosa batter is good to store in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days. Dosa batter consists of rice, lentils, fenugreek seeds, and flattened rice. The proportion of each ingredient has to be the right proportion for this recipe.
The basic rule of thumb is to use 1/4 of urad dhal (split and skinned black lentils) 1/4 cup of channa dhal (split Bengal gram), four Tbsp of flattened rice, or poha, 1 tsp of methi/fenugreek seeds for 1 cup of rice. Rice used must be white. Either plain basmati or a mix of basmati and idli rice.
In this recipe, I have doubled the quantity of rice, lentils, and all the ingredients.
Blending/Grinding the dosa batter: In this recipe, I have used a traditional dosa grinder. But, I have made this several times with a regular blender, and it works perfectly fine. The trick to getting the batter right is not using too much water while grinding. Water is easy to adjust at the end. The batter should be smooth, flowy consistency, and not too runny.
Fermenting the dosa batter: I keep the dosa batter in the warmest place of the house to ferment. It is easy to ferment the batter in the summers. Just leaving it out on the kitchen counters does the job.
We need salt and baking soda to ferment the batter. Baking soda to be added to the batter before the fermentation process begins.
One important trick that I use in the winter is adding salt to the batter before the fermenting process. However, in the summers, I save the salt to add after the batter is fermented as just the baking soda alone will do the job of fermenting. The salt helps with the fermentation process along with baking soda in winters or cold weather. It is good to get the batter fermented within 8 to 10 hours of time frame. If it takes a longer time than this to ferment, the batter might turn smelly and frothy.
Dosa
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings
Description
Dosa is a very famous South Indian food that is a must-try. This dish has made it to the top 50 list of most popular food in the world. Dosa is a very thin and crispy crepe prepared from rice and lentils, soaked for 8 hours. It is ground into a batter with water and fermented for 8 hours.
Ingredients
Rice- 2 cups
Split black gram/urad dhal- 1/2 cup
Split Bengal gram/ Channa dhal- 1/4 cup
Fenugreek seeds/ Methi- 1 tsp
Flattened rice/ Poha- 1/4 cup (optional)
Baking Soda- 3/4 tsp
Salt- 1 1/2 tsp
Oil- For dosa
Cut onion to grease the pan
Water- As needed to soak all the ingredients
Instructions
1. Soak 2 cups of rice in the water (around 4 cups of water).
2. In another bowl, soak 1/2 cup of urad dhal, 1/ cup of channa dhal, 1 tsp of fenugreek seeds/methi with water.
3. Soak everything for at least 8 hours or overnight. If using flattened rice/poha, soak that for 2 hours in a separate bowl.
4. Transfer all the ingredients to a blender or grinder. Grind the soaked rice at the end.
5. Blend everything into a smooth batter. Add 3/4 tsp of baking soda and 1 1/2 tsp of salt. Mix well and set in a warm place for at least 8 hours.
6. Preheat a cast-iron pan and put in some oil. I have used a cut onion to grease the pan. Onion helps the dosa not to stick to the pan.
7. Pour a big scoop of dosa batter onto the center of the pan. Spread the batter in circles so that it is thinner at the edges. Put some oil on the top and cook on both sides for about one to two minutes.
8. Repeat the process for the rest of the dosa. Fold it over. You can use potato masala and chutney to fill in the dosa or fold it plain.
Notes
Soaking the lentils and rice for at least 8 hours is a must. It helps it to become soft to make a smooth batter.
The fermenting process takes 8 to 10 hours in a warm place. The longer the time it takes to ferment, the batter turns sour, frothy, and smelly.
If you do not have poha/flattened rice and methi/fenugreek seeds, it is okay to skip these two ingredients. Methi helps to make dosa crispier.
Dosa batter is good to store in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days. It can last for a longer time in the winter.
Dosa tastes the best when it straight from the pan. So it is not a good idea to prepare the dosa ahead of time and keep.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Vegetarian Entrees
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 Dosas
- Calories: 193 kcal
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 3 mg
- Fat: 2.89 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.337 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.816 g
- Trans Fat: 0.637 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.32 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 5.97 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: dosa, masala dosa, easy dosa recipe, chutney, potato masala and dosa, restaurant style dosa recipe.
