Saturday, November 19, 2005

Masala Dosa (sourdough crepe wrapped round potato curry)-South Indian Tiffin/Snack


Masala dosa is a South Indian snack/tiffin made with a fermented rice and dal(lentil) batter.If you want to eat dosas on a Sunday morning then you need to start the preparation process for the dosa batter on Saturday morning.

Soak 1 cup urad dal(black gram lentil),2 cups rice and 1 tsp methi seeds(fenugreek)for 5-6 hours.Grind to a fine paste adding water.Let it sit overnight with lid for fermentation.Next day mix the batter well adding salt.The batter(which is similar to pancake batter consistency)is ready for making dosas.

Potato Curry (for the filling)


3 big potatos, peeled and cooked
½ cup of boiled green peas (fresh or frozen)(optional)
1 carrot boiled and cubed(optional)
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
3 green chillis slit lengthwise
2 big onions finely sliced
¼ tsp turmeric pwd
salt
2 tbsp oil
1/4 cup water



For tempering/tadka/taalimpu:

1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds(jeera)
1 tsp urad dal (black gram)
1 tsp chana dal(Bengal gram)
10 curry leaves

Mash potatoes roughly into lumps with hand.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a cooking vessel.Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.Lower heat and add cumin seeds, urad dal,channa dal,curry leaves and fry till light brown.Approx 15 seconds.The tempering should not burn.
Add curry leaves,chopped green chillis and minced ginger.Mix and immediately add the sliced onions.
Fry till transparent,add turmeric and salt.Now add the mashed potato lumps,boiled peas and carrots.Mix and sprinkle 3 tbsp of water and let it cook with lid on medium heat for 3 minutes.Turn off heat and adjust salt.



Heat a griddle(you can use a non-stick pan).Grease the griddle with peanut oil or any other oil. Pour one ladle full of batter over the griddle.



Spread the batter from the bottom of the ladle evenly making circles. Drizzle oil or butter around the edges of dosa and let it cook on medium heat.The dosa should turn light brown.The dosa generally takes 4-5 minutes to cook on medium heat.Take care not to burn it.



Spread some butter over the dosa and then spread potato curry filling in the center of the dosa and fold it towards the center such that it covers the potato curry.





Similarly fold the other side also such that it covers the potato curry.



Your dosa is ready to eat.Dosas can also be served with any chutney , poodi or sambar.Here is the link to my personal collection of chutneys and poodis
It is best to eat the dosa the moment its off the griddle..hot.I have tried to take some amateur pictures of the dosa batter spreading on the griddle....but hey, it tastes good and thats what matters:):):)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Step by step photos are great, Sailu.
Masala Dosa with all trappings looks mouth watering.

First time commenting here, Great concept you have here. Looking forward to reading and trying out your healthy recipes. May I ask, where are you publishing this blog from, in Andhra?

sailu said...

Thanks Indira!Glad you stopped by..Mahanandi is such an inspiration and reflects the true spirit of Andhra..Great Blog!
I am publishing this blog from Vizag..the sea coast with lovely beaches..:):) will post some good pics of vizag beach sometime..
Will try your recipes too and post the pics as well..:)

Anonymous said...

I am a nove Indian recipe chef and tried making dosas for the first time yesterday but had a bit of trouble.

Using recipes for a basic (unfilled) dosa I saw all over the net, I mixxed batter Thursday night, let it sit overnight, refrigerated Friday and tried to cook it Friday night.

The dough stuck to the greased and non-stick pan. Not just stuck - adhered and gripped with claws of iron. Turning it - not even close to burned - was impossible. We could only sort of chip it off with a spatula into a big half-cooked, half moist lump.

Any ideas what I did wrong?

- Patrick O'Donnell
Cleveland Heights, OH

PS - Cool site. Love the pictures.

sailu said...

Hi Patrick,
Thanks for dropping by.

Its always best to pre-heat the griddle first.Bring it to high heat and then to simmer,now sprinkle very very little water and it sizzles up.If the water droplets dont dance and take time to evaporate,it means the griddle or non-stick is not hot enough.At the same time you must ensure it shouldnt be too hot.
Once the water evaporates spray some oil and rub a sliced onion all over spreading the oil in a circular motion.
Then pour the dosa batter and spread it.Once you spread it,pour some oil(1 tsp) along the edge of the dosa and in the center).Let it cook on medium heat .
If you follow this procedure,I dont think you should have a problem.
Another thing,sometimes old griddles give this problem and it could mean the time has come to buy a new one..:)

Hope this helps.

ammani said...

The photos look soooo good. I can feel the crispy masala dosai melting in my mouth. Love it!

Anonymous said...

Hi Sailu,

The potato curry for dosa is great - thanks! Made it last night and my wife loved it (I get home from work before she does, and so do most of the cooking these days). I also love the tomato pachadi (an older recipe) and made that also to go with the dosa. I'm in the U.S. but travel to Andhra once a year. I usually have a wonderful coconut pachadi with dosa for breakfast while I'm there. Would you have a recipe for something like that, by any chance? Keep up the good work!

Paul Butler, Baltimore Maryland