Friday, June 21, 2013

Masala Dosa

The greatest mistake is to continue to practice a mistake - Bobby Bowden


I can't believe I'm putting up a post on making dosa. I must have tried a million different tips for making dosa. And it took me like forever to finally get it right!
As usual I got my perfect recipe when I was browsing thru the net.

 


There are some lucky people who get it right in the second or third try... but I wasn't one of them. I tried and tried... got fed up of the rubbery idlis and dosas. The reason I still went on to find the ultimate recipe which might help is coz I love dosas so much. I love crispy dosas with coconut-coriander chutney. And, Alhamdulillah, I got it from this site, http://www.veggiebelly.com/

This is what you'll need:
- 1 cup of ponni rice (or any such similar medium grained rice)
- 1 cup idli rice
- 1 cup urud daal
- 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (uluva)
- 1 teaspoon salt

The ratio of rice to urud daal is always 2:1.
With the above measurements u can get dosas for about 8 servings.

Wash both the rice and place them in a large bowl. Fill the bowl with water so that the water is about 2 inches above the rice. Let it soak for about 8-9 hours. Do the same with the daal and fenugreek and place in a separate bowl.

After the required hours of soaking you will notice the daal has swelled up and the rice will be easy to break with your fingers...

Grinding:
You should grind the daal first and then the rice.
Put the daal+ fenugreek into a grinder and grind into a smooth, fluffy paste.  If u can't grind it all in one go, then divide into small portions and grind. Add more water as and when needed. The final result should be a fluffy smooth but thick paste. Pour it into a large bowl.

Now grind the rice the same way. The rice should be ground to a smooth but slightly gritty batter. And pour that also into the large bowl. Mix the two. Cover the bowl loosely. It should not be air tight.

Now this is the part which you have to get right. The fermentation. If the batter does not ferment properly then the dosa/idli won't come out well. This is what went wrong for me.

This is what I learnt from veggiebelly.com:

"If you live in a warm climate leave the batter over night in a warm place (about 8 hours) to ferment. Ideal dosa idli batter fermentation temperature is around 90f or 32c.
If you live in a cold climate, turn on the pilot light of your oven. (do not turn on your oven!). Place the batter bowl on the lowest rack, farthest away from the light. The light will give the batter enough warmth to ferment. Leave the bowl in the oven for about 10 hours for dosa batter to ferment. Sometimes, the batter may take up to 18 hours to ferment in colder climates.
The fermented batter should be frothy, and almost doubled in volume. "
This info was just what I wanted! May God bless her! :)




If  the fermented batter is too thick, add a little water. For dosas, the batter must be of pouring consistency, but not too runny.

Add salt to the batter and we're ready to make our dosas..

Heat a 9 inch non-stick skillet on high heat. Pour a ladle (1/4 cup) of batter on the pan. Using very little pressure  swirl the ladle in concentric circle to spread out the batter.
It should not be too hot or else the batter will thicken and stick to the ladle.  I don't add oil before pouring in the batter coz it really is not necessary. The dosas don't stick to it. But u can add if u really need it.

Cook on medium-high heat till the dosa starts turning golden brown.

At this point you can fold the dosa over in half or (for masala dosa) put a little masala in the centre and fold from both sides or roll it into rolls. For extra crispy dosas, flip over and lightly brown the other side.

Taste ur first dosa and adjust salt accordingly.

Now for the masala part: 
I like making the masala with potatoes. Some people add carrot to it too. You can add if u prefer that.


What all you'll need:
- 1 big onion cut into fine cubes
- 4 medium potatoes
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 lemon
- Pepper to taste
- 1 or 2 green chilies finely sliced
- salt to taste
- Vegetable oil

Clean potatoes and put in pressure cooker with a cup of water. On the first whistle reduce flame. And on the second whistle remove from flame. Check whether the potatoes are properly cooked. Peel skin and mash the potatoes. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a frying pan, add cumin seeds. After the cumins are done with their flutterings ( :) ) add the onions and fry until they start turning golden brown. Add green chilies. If you r adding carrots add them now.After that's done cooking add the mashed potatoes. Mix well. Switch off flame. Squeeze in some lemon juice (According to ur taste). Add pepper and salt.
That's about it for the masala part.  Its quite simple.



Plain dosa goes well with coconut-coriander Chutney and Sambar

If you still find that u can't make the perfect dosa, check out this link: http://www.veggiebelly.com/2011/03/perfect-dosa-recipe.html. It has lots of do's and don't and questions answered. Maybe it might help u.

I make this batter for idli and use it the next day for dosa by adding a little water to loosen it. Idlis require thicker batter.

Ok then.. I'm gona put a full stop to this post. It has been long enough as it is :)
Catch u later.
Tata for now... :)

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