DOSAS - TAKE YOUR PICK!

 DOSA 

If you check the popularity of breakfast items in South India, you will probably find our Dosa to be in the highest rank. It is now, of course, common all across India, if not the world ! They can be described as a breakfast crepe usually made with a batter of rice and black gram dal. Typically, dosas are served with sambar and chutney or chutney alone. 

Dosas come in many types and the large variety of dosas we make is truly amazing. Knowing to make different types of dosas comes in handy for the lady of the house! She is required to provide variety in the breakfasts she makes for the family. 

Today, I thought I would share the recipes of 5 types of dosas which my family and friends have enjoyed whenever I make them .

1. Dosa

For those who may not much about Dosas, let's start with the traditional way of making the Dosa starting from making the batter. I have always maintained that the quality of the dosa really depends on the quality of the batter that goes into its making! 

https://www.cookingwithshobana.com/2013/04/dosa.html

2.  Masoor Dal Dosa: 

Masoor Dal Dosa is really delicious and good for health as it is made with Masoor Dal (Red Lentil). You can make them thin and crisp as in the above picture! 

https://www.cookingwithshobana.com/2014/03/masoor-dal-dosa.html

3.  Pancharatna Dosa

This dosa gets it's name from the five different dals (lentils) which are used in making the batter. 

https://www.cookingwithshobana.com/2015/07/pancharatna-dosa.html

4. Southekayi Dosa

It may interest many of you to know that Cucumber is one of the principal ingredients in the dosa. This is very popular in my Home State of Karnataka. 

https://www.cookingwithshobana.com/2020/02/southekayi-dosa.html

5. POHA DOSA

Soft and porous, this dosa is made with a batter of raw rice and beaten rice/flattened rice. It remains one of my favourites. 

https://www.cookingwithshobana.com/2013/10/poha-dosa.html

I hope this post will be of interest and use to many of the readers of this blog. Based on the response to this post, I would be happy to share recipes for more types of dosas at a later date. 

 

BUN DOSA

 BUN DOSA

If you check the popularity of breakfast items in South India, you will probably find our Dosa to be in the highest rank. It is now, of course, common all across India, but at one time Dosas were largely confined to South India. Dosas come in many types and the large variety of dosas we make is truly amazing.

Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for different Dosa varieties, such as:-

• Masoor Dal Dosa
• Moong Dal Dosa
• Davangere Benne Dosa
• Mushti Polo

Today's recipe is for a variety of dosa called Bun Dosa as it is quite soft and fluffy. To get the best dosa, the batter should be properly fermented. However, during cold, winter months fermentation becomes difficult. In such cases, the use of Eno Fruit Salt or Baking Soda helps in the fermentation and makes the dosa soft and fluffy. 

You can use raw rice or boiled rice for making this dosa. I have used boiled rice today. I have also used the thin variety of Poha or Beaten Rice. 

The measurements given below yielded me with 10-12 Bun Dosas. 

We enjoyed this very much, and I am sure you will too! 

Ingredients:-

• Boiled Rice, 1 cup 
• Fenugreek (Methi) Seeds, 1 tsp
• Fresh Coconut Gratings, 1/2 cup
• Beaten Rice (Poha), thin variety- 1/2 cup
• Eno Fruit Salt or Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, as required to make dosas

Method:-

Wash the boiled rice in several changes of water

Soak in adequate water along with the fenugreek seeds for 4-5 hours, then drain away the water

Soak the beaten rice in adequate water for about 5 -10 minutes before you start the grinding 

In a mixer jar, grind together soaked boiled rice, fenugreek seeds, coconut gratings, and soaked beaten rice to a smooth paste adding 1/2 cup of water

Transfer this ground paste to a bowl

Add salt and mix well using your fingers

Cover and keep for fermentation overnight or for 10 hours in a warm place 

Next morning, the batter would have fermented. In case it hasn't fermented adequately, you can add Eno Fruit Salt or Baking Soda and mix gently 

Add some water to get the desired consistency 

The batter should be thick but of flowing consistency. It should not be runny. 

Heat a thick-bottomed pan, add a few drops of oil and pour a ladle full of batter without spreading it

Drizzle oil around the dosa, cover and cook on medium/low flame for about 1 minute or till one side gets done

Then flip the dosa. Cover and cook the other side too on low flame till it gets done

Repeat this process for the rest of the batter

Switch off the gas and transfer to serving plate 

Serve Bun Dosa with chutney of your choice.   

KHARA TELLAVU/MASALA NEER DOSA

 KHARA TELLAVU/MASALA NEER DOSA

Today's recipe is from Mangaluru, in my Home State of Karnataka, home of the Tulu people. Many of us from Konkani GSB families also belong to Mangaluru and adjoining areas like Udupi, Bantwal, Kundapur, Karkala etc.

It is natural, therefore that elsewhere in this blog you will find dishes from our Mangaluru area. Some of them are:-

• Kadale Manoli Sukka
• Mangalorean Channa Sukka
• Maanji Pulimunchi

Today's recipe is for Masala Neer Dosa which is called Khara Tellavu  ( this means Spicy Neer Dosa in the Tulu language). It calls for some practice to make. In my experience, to get good Neer Dosas you need to have the right consistency of the batter; and the right heat of the tawa.  The Khara Tellavu can be served with coconut chutney or sweet accompaniment. 

Do try this out and I am sure you will love it. 

Ingredients:-

• Dosa Rice, 1 and 1/2 cups
• Byadgi Red Chillies, 4
• Coriander Seeds, 2 tsp
• Onion, roughly chopped, 1/2
• Coconut Gratings, 1/4 cup
• Coriander Leaves, finely chopped, 2 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for making dosas

Method:-

Wash the dosa rice and soak in adequate water for 4-5 hours 

Drain away the water

In a mixer jar, first grind together the Byadgi red chillies, coriander seeds, onion and coconut gratings

Once the chillies get crushed, add the soaked rice, salt, and 1/2 cup of water and grind to a smooth paste

Transfer this to a large bowl and add required amount of water to get a runny batter of flowing, water consistency 

Add the finely chopped coriander leaves, mix well and check for salt- add if necessary  

Heat a non-stick tawa

Cut onion into half and pierce with a fork or skewer, dip into oil and grease the tawa using this

On high heat pour a ladle of the batter and swirl it quickly so that it spreads to the whole tawa

Cover gaps if any by adding a little batter

Cover and cook on high heat for about 1 minute, then remove the lid

You will find that pores appear on the dosa 

Once the dosa leaves the sides of the pan, fold into half and again into one more half

There is no need to flip the dosa 

Transfer to serving plate

Repeat this process with the rest of the batter, make sure that you mix the batter well before making each of the dosas

Serve Khara Tellavu or Masala Neer Dosa with chutney or curry of your choice

 

PUFFED RICE DOSA

 PUFFED RICE DOSA

Visitors to India are truly awestruck by the amazing varieties we have in the dosas we make for our daily breakfast. There are so many different types of dosas that books have been published titled, "100 Types of Dosa" and the like!! 

Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for some dosa varieties such as:-

• Pesarattu
• Masoor Dal Dosa
• Davangere Benne Dosa
• Paper Dosa

Today's recipe is for a dosa made with Puffed Rice, which is called Muri in Bengali, Pori in Tamil, Murmura in Hindi and Marathi, Charamburo in my mother tongue, Konkani and Kadalepuri in Kannada. 

With the measurements given below, I got about 15 dosas. We enjoyed these soft and porous dosas served with garlic chutney.

Ingredients:-

• Puffed Rice, 3 cups
• Raw Rice, 1 and 1/2 cups
• Methi (Fenugreek) Seeds, 1/2 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, as required to make the dosas

Method:-

Wash the raw rice in a few changes of water, then add fresh water and the fenugreek seeds and soak for about 3-4 hours

Drain away the water and transfer to mixer jar

Immerse the puffed rice in adequate water, then after cleaning it drain away the water and transfer the soaked puffed rice to the same mixie jar 

Grind the soaked raw rice and puffed rice to a smooth paste adding just the required amount of water

Transfer this batter to a vessel

Add salt to taste and mix the batter with your hand to help in the fermentation

Allow it to ferment overnight ( typically during summer it takes about 8-10 hours to ferment but in colder seasons it may require nearly 16-20 hours to ferment)

When the batter is fermented, mix the batter and adjust the consistency if required

The batter should be thick but of dropping consistency 

Lightly grease a tawa and on medium heat add one ladleful of batter and allow it spread on its own 

Increase the heat slightly and drizzle 1 tsp of oil around the dosa

As the dosa gets cooked, you will see holes appear on the dosa

Wait for 2 minutes till the dosa gets done

There is no need to flip and cook it on both sides

Remove from tawa and keep on serving plate 

Repeat this till you have made dosas with the remaining batter 

Switch off the gas and serve the Puffed Rice Dosa with chutney of your choice

INSTANT RAVA & ATTA DOSA

 INSTANT RAVA & ATTA DOSA

Dosas form an integral part of our South Indian cuisine. In my house we have them for breakfast quite often. Thankfully, there are ever so many types of dosas that we simply don't tire of having dosas for breakfast! 

Elsewhere in the blog, you will find recipes for some types of dosas such as:-

• Dosa
• Masoor Dal Dosa
• Moong Dal Dosa
• Paper Dosa 

These days with time being at a premium, we are always looking for dishes which can be made quite fast and save us some valuable time. I came across one such dish recently and tried it out.

For making dosas, usually we would make the batter and let it ferment overnight etc. In this recipe for Instant Rava and Atta Dosa, we can make the dosa quickly as the batter need not be fermented. 

Another advantage is that this dosa can be easily made on days when we want to avoid rice. It is also  convenient for those who wish to avoid rice in their diets. 

I have adapted from Instant Rava Wheatflour Dosa by Nisha Madhulika, the well-known cookery expert,We had this for our breakfast today and enjoyed it with chutney.

Since different types of rava/sooji are available, for today's recipe you should use the fine variety of rava.  In case you have a thicker variety, you can run it once in the mixer to make it more fine. 

Ingredients:-

• Fine Rava /Sooji (Semolina), 1 cup
• Atta (Wheat Flour), 1/4 cup
• Fresh Curds, 1 cup
• Salt, to taste
• Baking Soda, 1/4 tsp or Eno1 tsp
• Oil, to make the dosas

Method:- 

In a bowl, mix together fine rava, atta, fresh curds, salt to taste, and water as required to make a batter which is free of lumps.We need the batter to be of the consistency used for the regular dosa. Cover and keep aside for about 15 minutes. 

After 15 minutes, you will find the batter has become thick by absorbing the water so add more water if required.

Now add the baking soda OR Eno fruit salt and mix well. The batter is ready to make dosas.

Heat a non-stick tawa,  and lightly grease it. Sprinkle a little water and wipe it off the tawa.

On medium heat, pour a ladle of the prepared batter and spread it in a circular motion to form a dosa 

Drizzle oil on top of and around the dosa and then cook on high flame till one side of the dosa gets done

Likewise, flip and cook the other side

Transfer the prepared dosas to serving plate and serve hot with chutney of your choice

Tips

* When making dosas, it is a good idea to spread the batter on low flame and then increase the flame to cook the dosa. It gets difficult to spread the batter of the tawa is overheated.  

* After making each dosa, sprinkle a little water on the tawa and wipe it off. This helps to make sure the tawa does not get overheated 

INSTANT DOSA

 INSTANT DOSA

Dosas are an integral part of our South Indian cuisine! They are served for breakfast in many homes in South India, and increasingly are becoming popular all over the country. Many friends, both here and abroad, not familiar with our cuisine have been astonished at the wide variety of dosas that we make! 

In this blog, for example, you will find recipes for different types of dosas such as:-

• Rice Rava Dosa
• Bellappa Dosa
• Moong Dal Dosa
• Urad and Moong Dal Dosa

They differ in terms of the ingredients that go into making them and the process for making them. Usually we make dosas by soaking the ingredients, grinding them to form a batter then leaving the batter to ferment.   

However, there are some types of dosas for which fermentation of the batter is not required. You need less time to make them and they come in handy quite often when you are hard pressed for time. 

Today's recipe is for a dosa which does not need fermentation of the batter. It is made using cooked rice, rice flour and wheat flour. We also add semolina to give the dosas a good texture. In this recipe, we can make best use of the left over cooked rice. I have adapted this from Instant Dosa With Leftover Rice from Chitra's Foodbook. 

I tried this out the other day and it came out very well.

If you try this out and like the recipe, please do leave a comment in the blog. Thank you! 

Ingredients:-

• Cooked Rice, 1 cup
• Rice Flour, 1 cup
• Wheat Flour, 1/4 cup 
• Curds, 1/4 cup
• Semolina/ Rava, 2 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Cooking Soda, 1/4 tsp
• Oil, as required for making dosas

Method:-

Grind together the cooked rice, rice flour, wheat flour, and curds, in a mixer, to a smooth paste adding the required amount of water. ( This batter should be of the consistency of the regular dosa batter)  

Transfer the ground batter to a vessel 

To this add the semolina, salt to taste and cooking soda

Mix well and set aside for 5-10 minutes 

Check the consistency and add very little water if required

Heat a tawa and when it is sufficiently hot add a ladleful of batter and spread it to form the dosa
Drizzle a little oil on and around the dosa 

Cook covered on medium heat till one side of the dosa gets done
Flip and cook the other side likewise
Serve hot Instant Dosa with a chutney of your choice

RISHTA : ONE MORE RTC BATTER OPTION

 RISHTA : ONE MORE RTC BATTER OPTION  

In modern day India, all kinds of convenience foods are fast catching on especially in the large metros.  Amongst the wide range of convenience food that vary from beverages to breakfast cereal, those more attuned to Indian food are happy that we have several options for Ready To Cook (RTC in today's parlance) idli/dosa batter. As you know, for many in the Southern States idlis and dosa are frequently on the family dining table. So, anything that gets them there with the minimum of effort is most welcome. 

The reasons for the popularity of RTC batters are obvious. More women are working and time is at a premium in most homes. People (who can afford it of course) are more than willing to pay for the convenience that RTC batter provides. Contrast this with the old days when the batter had to be made at home by soaking the rice and other ingredients followed by the tiresome task of grinding the batter. 

For those new to South Indian cooking, I must clarify that the process of making idli or dosa is the same whether you use home made batter or the store bought RTC batter. 

While we had several brands on the department store shelves over the last few years, a new one for me was Rishta manufactured by Rishta Foods,  I must thank my friend, Raunak Kundu for introducing me to this product when I received a gift hamper from them. 

This family owned firm started making idli/dosa batter in 2015. It appears their products have become quite popular since then.  They have an interesting and eye catching by line; " We Serve What We Eat At Home!" 

We tried this out the other day and enjoyed it immensely. The idli/dosa batter comes in two types: one is the Regular Speciality Batter which has single polished rice, unpolished urad dal and methi.  With this batter, I tried out both idlis and dosas (pictures below). 

They also have a Multi Grain version which has the more healthy combination of brown rice and sprouted ragi.  I used this batter to make idlis and what we call Appo in Konkani, also called Paddu/Paniyaram in the South. This was served with their mildly-spiced Milagai Podi and home made chutney 

The manufacturers mention that no soda and preservatives have been added in the batter. I found the Rishta batter is fairly thick, and much thicker than other brands I have used till now. It has a grainy texture which makes for a better and more coarse finish to the idlis and dosas. 

In summary, I find this product definitely worth the price even though it is a premium product that is more  expensive than the other brands that I have come across. The packaging was excellent. It speaks of the care taken to maintain hygiene/product quality. I would highly recommend Rishta's Idli Dosa Batters for those who look for premium quality and convenience. 

In Bengaluru, you can order Rishta products online from MilkBasket, Big Basket, BB Daily and TownEss ( formerly Town Essentials). 

All you need to do for Home Delivery is to Whats App on 8339912345. 

If they maintain the product quality, this could be the start of a new "Rishta" ( relationship!) for many idli/dosa fans like me! 

VENDHAYA DOSAI

VENDHAYA  DOSAI

We make so many types of dosa/dosai for breakfast in South India. You may be surprised to know that entire books have been written exclusively with dosa recipes! Dosas ("Dosais" in Tamilnadu) vary not only in their content by way of ingredients but also in their thickness, from the thin and crisp Paper Dosa on one hand to the much thicker Uthappam on the other. 

Since we are big dosa eaters, in this blog naturally you will find many recipes for dosa. Some among them, with brief descriptions , are:- 

• Dosa, the plain version 
•  Paper Dosa, as crisp as you can get
• Moong Dal Dosa, can be made fast as no fermentation is required
• Dal Dosa, if one wants to avoid rice
• Carrot, Onion & Tomato Uthappam power packed with veggies

Today's recipe is for yet another dosa, this one from Tamilnadu, called Vendhaya Dosai. It is a thick, soft and porous dosa with the aroma of fenugreek, which is called Vendhayam in Tamil.

Traditionally, it has been believed that Fenugreek seeds are good for health. They have a good amount of fibre and minerals including iron and magnesium. In the old days, lactating mothers were given lots of fenugreek seeds in their diet. 

The Vendhaya Dosa is thick and porous and need not be flipped and cooked on both sides. I prefer to serve  this with hot chutney. 

Ingredients:

• Idli Rice, ( Parboiled Rice), 2 cups
• Urad Dal, (Black Gram Dal),  2 tbsp
• Vendhaya (Fenugreek) Seeds, 2 tbsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil,  for making dosais

Method:-

In a bowl, soak the fenugreek seeds in adequate water for 6-8 hours or overnight 

Wash and soak the Idli Rice and Urad Dal together in adequate water for about 4-5 hours

Drain the excess water and grind together the soaked fenugreek seeds, idli rice and urad dal to a smooth paste adding the required amount of water

The batter should be slightly thick like the batter for making Uthappams

Add salt to the batter and mix well and leave it to ferment for about 8-10 hours or overnight

Prepare the dosas: heat a tawa and grease it lightly with a little oil

Sprinkle a little water and when it sizzles, you know the tawa is hot enough to make dosas 

Mix the batter before use and  pour a ladle of batter and spread it slightly as this is a thick type of dosa like Uthappam  

Drizzle some oil on and around the dosa and cook covered on medium heat till pores appear on the dosa and it gets full cooked

There is no need to flip this type of dosa but you may if you wish to

Transfer to serving plate

Serve hot with chutney of your choice. 

INSTANT SOOJI POHA DOSA

INSTANT SOOJI POHA DOSA

On some days, when you have been busy and forget to soak and grind for the dosa batter, recipes like these come in handy as the Sooji Poha Dosa can be made almost instantly.

It is also useful for those who wish to avoid rice in the dosa for different reasons like health, fasting on some days etc.

Elsewhere in this blog you will find some other dishes like this which can be made quite fast such as:-

• Instant Rava Appo
• Oats Appos

Today's recipe doesn't require any fermentation of the batter and can be made fast when you need to rustle up a quick breakfast or a healthy snack. It is made with sooji /rava( semolina), beaten rice ( poha) and curds.

For making this dosa, I have used the thin/patla poha and preferred Eno Fruit Salt over baking soda. The quantities mentioned in the Ingredients yielded 8 dosas.

You can serve with a chutney of your choice or with Tomato Kurma.


I have adapted this from Semolina Rava Breakfast by Bhusanur Cooking.

We tried it out recently and loved the dosa, served with tomato kurma.

Ingredients:-

• Sooji/ Rava, (Semolina), 1 cup
• Poha, (Beaten Rice), 1/2 cup
• Dahi, (Curds) 1/2 cup
• Eno Fruit Salt, 1/2 tsp 
• Oil, as required to make dosas
• Salt, to taste

Method:-

Soak sooji and poha separately for about 10 minutes in just the required amount of water
The quantity of water used should be enough for the sooji and poha to absorb it fully and become soft

In a mixer jar, grind together the soaked sooji and poha, along with the curds, to a smooth paste without adding any water

Transfer this ground batter to a bowl 

The batter should be like the regular dosa batter of pourable consistency
To this add salt, Eno Fruit Salt, and mix well
Prepare the tawa for making dosa by lightly greasing it with oil and wiping it off with a tissue
Sprinkle a few drops of water on the tawa
When it sizzles it shows the tawa is hot enough to start making dosas
On medium heat pour a ladleful of batter to make a dosa
Cover and cook on medium heat for 1 minute till the pores appear 

Drizzle 1 tsp of oil on and around each dosa

Flip and cook the other side of the dosa till it gets done
Serve with chutney or other accompaniment of your choice

SOUTHEKAYI DOSA

SOUTHEKAYI DOSA

As is commonly known, in the South of India we make many types of dosas, which continue to be a popular item on the breakfast table. For readers from abroad who may not be familiar with this crepe like goodie, for the young living alone and others new to cooking, here's the link for making the plain and simple Dosa. 

For those looking for more variety, elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for :-

• Moong Dal Dosa
• Set Dosa
• Rice Rava Dosa

Today's recipe is for an easy to make dosa from my Home State of Karnataka called "Southekayi Dosa".  Southekayi is the name, in Kannada, for Cucumber, a vegetable with numerous health benefits. 

This dosa goes particularly well with a chutney made with Thuar Dal which we call Thogari Bele Chutney in Kannada.  I am posting this recipe separately in the next post. 

I have adapted this recipe from Instant Cucumber Dosa  in Namma Adige, a popular Kannada Cooking Channel.

Tips:-

• When grinding the raw rice etc in the mixer, don't add too much water as the grated cucumber added in the next step will release its own juice/water
• Don't add Eno Fruit Salt to the batter too early. You must add it just before you actually start making dosas

We had Southekayi Dosas for breakfast and they tasted great! 

Ingredients:-

• Southekayi,  (Cucumber) Medium-size,  1
• Raw Rice/ Dosa Rice, 250 gms
• Green Chillies, 4
• Ginger, 1/2 " piece
• Coriander Leaves, a handful
• Lime Juice, 1 tbsp
• Eno Fruit Salt, 1/4 tsp 
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, as required to make dosas

Method:-

Wash and soak the raw rice in adequate water for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. Then discard the excess water.
Wash, peel and grate the cucumber. Discard the seeds. Keep the grated cucumber aside
In a mixer jar, grind together the soaked raw rice, green chillies, ginger, coriander leaves to a coarse paste/ batter adding very little water
To this add the grated cucumber and grind briefly for about 30 seconds
Transfer the contents to a bowl
Mix in the lime juice, salt to taste and Eno Fruit Salt
Adjust the consistency by adding water if required. The batter should be of pouring consistency and not be too thick or too dilute.
The batter for the Southekayi Dosa is now ready
Heat a tawa and when it is hot pour a ladleful of the batter
Spread the batter in a circular manner to form the dosa
Add oil around the dosa and cook covered on medium heat till one side gets done
Then flip, cover and cook the other side

Serve with chutney of your choice, preferably with Thogari Bele ( Thuar Dal) Chutney

SHEPU CHA DOSA

SHEPU CHA DOSA

Dill Leaves, called Shepu in Konkani and Marathi and Sabsigge Soppu in Kannada, have a smell and flavour of their own. In my experience, dill leaves triggers two reactions from people. Some love the flavour and smell while others don't ! There is seldom a neutral reaction.

I love dill leaves and use them in dishes whenever I can. Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes like Moong Dal with Dill Leaves, Nuchina Unde, and Lobia Suva Bhaji Subzi which make use of dill leaves.

Today's recipe is a dosa called Shepu Ghavan in Maharashtra which has dill leaves and jaggery too. This is called Shepu Pole in Konkani. 

While the jaggery adds sweetness to the dosa, please note that too much of jaggery will make it difficult to make the dosas. Do try it out. I am sure you will love it - if , like me, you are one of those who enjoy the flavour of dill leaves.

You can use ghee or oil to make these dosas. Ghee enhances the taste but you can use oil depending on your preference and what you are used to.

This recipe has been adapted from Shepu cha Dosa, by Kalpana Talpade of Kalpana's Kitchen.

Ingredients:-

• Shepu (Dill Leaves), A bunch -  to yield 1 cup  
• Rice, 1 cup
• Fenugreek Seeds (Methi Seeds), 1/2 tsp
• Fresh Coconut Gratings, 1/3 cup
• Jaggery, grated, 1/3 cup
• Water, for grinding the batter, 1/3 cup + 1/3 cup for adjusting the batter consistency 
• Ghee/Oil, as required to make dosas
• Salt, to taste

Method:-

Remove the shepu leaves from their stems, discard the stems and wash the shepu leaves thoroughly 

Wash and soak the rice along with the fenugreek seeds in a bowl for about 4-5 hours
After 4-5 hours, discard the excess water
In a mixer jar, add the soaked rice and fenugreek seeds, fresh coconut gratings, grated jaggery and salt along with 1/3 cup of water
When the grinding is half done, add the shepu leaves and grind once again till it forms a smooth batter
Transfer to a vessel, keep it covered and allow it to ferment overnight or for 8-10 hours
Next morning, add 1/3 cup of water to adjust the consistency of the dosa batter
The batter should be slightly thick
Heat the dosa tawa and when it is hot enough, sprinkle some water to check the heat and pour the batter to make a thickish dosa
Add ghee/oil on top and on the sides of the dosa
Cover and cook on medium heat till one side gets done
Next flip and cook the other side adding more ghee/oil as required
Wipe the tawa with clean tissue paper after you make each dosa

RICE RAVA DOSA

RICE RAVA DOSA

Most people who are not familiar with South Indian cuisine are astonished at the wide variety of dosas that we make in our homes. The ingredients vary and consequently the texture. Most require the batter to be fermented while some do not. Elsewhere in this blog you will find recipes for a few types of dosas such as the basic "plain" Dosa, Masoor Dal Dosa, Poha Dosa, and Pancharatna Dosa.

This recipe is adapted from Rice Rava Dosa shared by my friend, Archana Vinay in a cooking group in which we are members. The dosas turned out to be soft, fluffy and porous. We enjoyed them with Raw Mango Thokku.

Ingredients:

• Dosa Rice/Raw Rice, 2 cups
• Sooji Rava ( Semolina), 1/2 cup
• Cooked Rice, 1 tbsp
• Yeast, 1/2 tsp
• Sugar, 1 tsp
• Salt, taste
• Oil, for making dosas

Method:

Wash and soak the raw rice for 3-4 hours. Drain the excess water.

In a mixer, grind this soaked raw rice, along with the cooked rice, to a smooth paste adding just the required amount of water. Keep aside

Boil the sooji rava in 1 and 1/2 cups of water to form a paste and allow it to cool to room temperature. However, it should not get so cooled that it cakes/forms into lumps.

Soak yeast in a little warm water along with 1 tsp of sugar and stir till the yeast fully dissolves

Next, in a large vessel, mix the ground paste of rice, the cooked and cooled sooji rava paste, salt, and the yeast

Mix well such that there are no lumps of sooji rava in the batter
Adjust the consistency of the batter by adding water only if required to get a consistency which is not too thick or too runny

Set aside this batter for fermenting for about 6-8 hours or overnight

When the batter is fermented, you will find that it has increased in volume 

Heat a tawa, lightly grease it with oil  and when it gets hot pour a ladle of the batter

Lightly spread the batter (though not as much as you would for the regular dosa) 

Cook covered on medium flame for a few minutes. You will notice holes appearing in the dosa

Drizzle oil around the dosa and fry till the bottom of the dosa gets done

There is no need to flip them on the other side

Serve the soft and fluffy dosas hot with thokku or chutney of your choice

DAL DOSA

DAL DOSA

The dosa is one of the most common breakfast items, especially in the South of India. It comes in many variations depending on the ingredients that go into making these crisp crepes, normally made from a batter of rice and lentils. Apart from the conventional Dosa, you will find recipes in this blog for other types of dosas such as Moong Dal Dosa, Paper Dosa, and Masoor Dal Dosa.

This recipe for Dal Dosa is adapted from one shared by my friend, Priya R. Shenoy in a cookery group in which we are members. The advantage of this dosa is that it is made without rice and one saves time as no fermentation is required. It is therefore helpful to those with diabetes and others who wish to avoid/minimise the use of rice.

Ingredients:

• Urad Dal, (Black Gram Dal), 1 cup
• Chana Dal, ( Bengal Gram Dal), 1/2 cup
• Peppercorns, 1 tsp
• Ginger, 1 " piece
• Green Chillies, 2-3, or as per taste
• Haldi (Turmeric ) Powder, 1/2 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, as required to prepare dosas

Method:

Wash and soak the urad dal and chana dal together for 4-5 hours
Crush the green chillies, ginger, and peppercorns together
In a mixer, grind the soaked dals along with the crushed green chillies, ginger, peppercorns, and turmeric powder to a semi-thick batter adding the required amount of water

Add salt to taste and mix well
This batter does not require any fermentation and you can make dosas immediately 

Process for making dosas is already given in the linked post for Dosas
As per your choice, you can make thick dosas or thin and crisp ones
Serve hot with chutney of your choice

MUSHTI POLO

MUSHTI POLO

Visitors to this blog who are not familiar with South Indian cooking may be surprised to know that there are ever so many types of dosas that we make at home, typically for breakfast. For example, elsewhere in this blog you will find, apart from the traditional dosa, recipes for Bellappa Dosa, Pancharatna Dosa, and Masoor Dal Dosa.

Today's recipe is an old Konkani dish which we call, "Mushti Polo" which gets its name from two Konkani words, " Mushti" meaning " fistful" and "polo" meaning "dosa." It is believed that apart from raw rice, other ingredients like urad dal, grated coconut, and beaten rice were traditionally measured in fistfuls. A fistful translates to about 1/4 cup.

This slightly thickish dosa is soft and porous as it is usually cooked only on one side without it being flipped over.

Ingredients:

Raw Rice, 1 cup

Urad Dal, (Split Blackgram Dal) 1/4 cup

Methi  (Fenugreek) Seeds, 1 tsp

Grated Coconut, 1/4 cup

Poha (Beaten Rice), 1/2 cup * I use the thin variety 

Salt, to taste

Oil, as required to make dosas

Method: 

Wash and soak together raw rice, urad dal and methi seeds for 3-4 hours. Drain the excess water
Soak the beaten rice in a little water for about 15 minutes before grinding
Grind the soaked raw rice, urad dal, and methi seeds along with the grated coconut and beaten rice
using the required amount of water to form a smooth batter
The batter should be thick yet of a pouring consistency
Transfer the batter to a vessel, add salt to taste, keep it covered and allow it to ferment for 8-10 hours or overnight
Remember the batter will increase in volume during fermentation
Heat a tawa or griddle, and on medium heat pour a ladleful of batter and spread it lightly to make a thick dosa
Do not spread the batter as much as you would for a regular dosa
Drizzle oil around the dosa and cover and cook for 1-2 minutes on medium heat
You will find holes appearing on the dosa, it becomes spongy and soft on the top and crisp underneath
There is no need to flip the dosa
Serve hot with chutney of your choice

MAGGE POLO ( MANGALORE CUCUMBER DOSA)

MAGGE POLO  ( MANGALORE CUCUMBER DOSA)

I got a nice Mangalore Cucumber, from the market recently. We call this Magge in my mother tongue, Konkani and it is called, "Mangalooru Southekai" in Kannada. While it is strictly speaking called, "Field Marrow" this is variously know in India as Mangalore Cucumber, Madras Cucumber, and even Malabar Cucumber.

I was planning to make a Konkani favourite curry called Magge Koddel when a visiting relative asked if I was making dosas from the magge which she spotted. This brought back memories of my childhood when my mother used to make Magge Polos for us (Polos being the Konkani name for Dosas). We used to relish them with generous dollops of butter. I can't imagine having this with butter now but I changed my mind and we settled for Magge Polos served with Losne (Garlic) Chutney.

These dosas are thicker than the ordinary dosas and the batter need not be spread so thin when making them.

Ingredients:

• Mangalore Cucumber, 1 and 1/2 cups
• Coconut, freshly grated, 1/2 cup
• Dosa Rice, 1 and 1/2 cups
• Beaten Rice, 1/2 cup
• Jaggery, grated, 1 tsp
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for making dosas

Method:

Soak the dosa rice in water for 2 to 3 hours and drain it
Wash and drain the beaten rice
Wash and peel the Mangalore Cucumber, remove the core and seeds and roughly chop it into pieces
In a mixer, grind together grated coconut, dosa rice, beaten rice, and chopped Mangalore Cucumber, without adding any water,* to a smooth paste.
Add jaggery, and salt and grind for 1-2 minutes more till they get well blended in the batter.
Transfer the batter to a large vessel and allow it to ferment overnight or for 8 hours.
Next morning, stir the batter and mix it well before making dosas.
Heat the dosa tawa (griddle) and pour a ladle of the batter and spread it a little but not as much as you would for an ordinary dosa
Pour oil at the sides of the dosa and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium flame
Once the edges are roasted, flip the dosa and similarly cook the other side
Serve hot with butter or chutney of your choice

*We need not add water when we grind the Mangalore Cucumber as it already has a high water content which it gives off  when it is being ground.

MOONG DAL DOSA

MOONG DAL DOSA

Dosa is a common breakfast item, particularly since there are so many varieties of dosas to choose from. Elsewhere in this blog, for example, you will find recipes for Urad and Moong Dal Dosa, Pancharatna Dosa,  and Paper Dosa.

Today's post is adapted from the recipe for Moong Dal Dosa in Sarika's blog. Like the Urad & Moong Dal Dosa, this too doesn't require fermentation. The dosas came out nice and crisp which we enjoyed with Coriander Chutney.

Ingredients:

• Moong Dal (Split Green Gram), 2 cups 
• Green Chillies, 4-5 
• Ginger, chopped, 1 " piece
• Rice Flour, 1/2 cup
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for making dosas

                                                       Moong Dal 

Method:

Wash and soak the moong dal for about 2 hours. Drain and keep aside.

Crush the green chillies and chopped ginger to a paste 

In a mixer, grind together the soaked moong dal along with the green chilli-ginger paste adding required amount of water to a smooth batter

To this add the rice flour and grind it once again so that it gets well-blended to form a batter of the pouring consistency required to make dosas
Remove the batter to a vessel, add salt and mix well

To make the dosa: 
Heat the tawa ( griddle.) Sprinkle a few drops of water. When the water sizzles, the tawa is ready for use.
Pour a ladleful of the batter on the tawa.
Spread this quickly using the ladle.
Move outwards from the centre using a continuous spiral motion till the dosa measures about 6 ".
Pour a teaspoon of oil around it.
Cook for a couple of minutes till it becomes crisp at the edges.
Now, flip the dosa and cook the other side till done.
Serve hot with chutney of your choice.

PANCHARATNA DOSA

PANCHARATNA DOSA

There are ever so many varieties of dosa like for example, elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for Dosa, Paper Dosa, and Masoor Dal Dosa.

It interests me to make new varieties of dosas such as "Pancharatna Dosa" the recipe for which I have adapted from the one shared by my friend, Vidya Nayak Shenoy. It is different to the extent that we use five types of dal.

By the way,  Fried Gram is called Hurigadale in Kannada, Udacha Kadalai in Tamil and Bhuna Chana in Hindi.

Ingredients:

• Dosa Rice, heaped cup, 1
• Urad dal, a fistful 
• Tur dal, a fistful  
• Chana dal, a fistful  
• Moong dal, a fistful  
• Fried Gram, a fistful 
• Methi seeds, 2 tsp 
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, as required to make the dosas

In the picture below, top row : (l to r) Urad dal and tur dal.

                                  bottom row: (l to r) Chana dal, Moong dal, and Fried Gram.

Method:

Soak the dosa rice for about 3 hours
Soak the urad dal, tur dal, chana dal, moong dal, fried gram, and methi seeds together for about 3 hours
In a mixer, grind together the soaked dals-methi seeds mixture to a smooth batter using the required amount of water. Keep aside
Next, grind the soaked dosa rice to a smooth batter using the required amount of water
Combine the two batters in a vessel, add salt as required, mix well
Keep the batter to ferment for 8-10 hours or overnight
Next morning, the batter is ready for you to make dosa *
Serve hot with chutney of your choice.

* Method of making dosas is given in detail in the recipe for Dosas linked above.

PAPER DOSA

PAPER DOSA

Dosas are a very common breakfast item in South India. We make ever so many varieties of dosas that I cannot list here individually. For example, I have elsewhere in this blog, recipes for the basic dosa and for some other varieties like Masoor Dal Dosa and Bellappa Dosa.

Today's post is for Paper Dosa, which as the name suggests, is thin and crisp. Like any other dish, there are many ways you can make a paper dosa, this version was shared by my friend, Jayashri Baleri, for which I thank her.

Ingredients:

• Raw Rice or Dosa Rice, 1 cup
• Urad Dal ( Split Black Gram), 1/4 cup
• Moong Dal ( Split Green Gram ) , 1 tbsp
• Channa Dal, (Split Chick Peas), 1 tbsp
• Tur Dal, ( Split Pigeon Peas) 1 tbsp
• Methi ( Fenugreek) Seeds, 1 tsp
• Patla Poha, ( Thin Variety of Beaten Rice), 1/2 cup
• Salt, to taste
• Oil, for making dosas

For greater clarity, here is a pic of the major ingredients: Top row (L-R) Raw Rice, Urad Dal,Tur Dal. Bottom Row (L-R) Poha, Moong Dal, Channa Dal,

Method:

Wash and soak raw rice, urad dal, moong dal, channa dal, tur dal and methi seeds together for at least 5-6 hours.
Separately soak the beaten rice for about 1 hour..
In a mixer, grind the soaked beaten rice with all the above ingredients to form a smooth batter
Add salt to the batter
Allow this batter to ferment for 10-12 hours or overnight
Heat the tawa ( griddle.) Sprinkle a few drops of water. When the water sizzles, the tawa is ready for use.
Pour a ladleful of the batter on the tawa
Using the ladle, quickly spread the batter as thin as possible
Move outwards from the centre using a continuous spiral motion till the dosa measures about 6 ".
Pour a teaspoon of oil around it.
Cook for a couple of minutes till it becomes crisp at the edges.
Now, flip the dosa and cook the other side till done.
Serve hot with chutney of your choice.