Traditional Masala Dosa

INGREDIENTS3 cups rice (not basmati!), soaked overnight, room temp. water1 cup urad dal soaked separately

METHODCover the rice with water just 1/2 "above the rice line in the blender. Grind till Sssmooth. Grind the dal separately, with water that barely covers it. Grind a long time, stirring once in a while and grinding again. When the dal is ground very well, small air bubbles appear once you stop running the blender. Add more water if necessary, but it should be very thick. Mix the rice and the urad dal pastes, with 1/2 tsp salt. Add 1 tablespoon beaten yogurt, mix well. Keep covered to ferment at least 5 to 8 hrs or more. Once it has risen, stir briefly, and keep in the fridge.

Grease a griddle with plain sesame oil or peanut oil. The heat should be medium or slightly higher. When hot (a few drops of water will sizzle gently and disappear), using a metal ladle, pour one ladleful over the griddle; with quick and even and gentle strokes, spread the batter out with the ladle as if you are drawing concentric circles on the batter. Drizzle oil around edges, and on top. Once the bottom is cooked, turn it over, and cook the top.

a filling: 1. Take 2 large boiled potatoes, peel and mash coarsely.2. Thinly slice one large red onion, 2 cloves of garlic (optional) and 3 or 4 green chillies.3. Grate a 1" piece of ginger.4. Cut up a tomato if you want.5. Take a sprig of curry leaves and chop them coarsely.6. Heat some veg. oil, add some fennel seeds, and cumin seeds (1/2 tsp. each)7. Add 1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds.8. When they crackle, add the green chillies, ginger, garlic (if used), and onions and fry them with a little salt for a while till onions are transparent. Add curry leaves.9. Next add 1/2 pkt of frozen peas, tomatoes (if you choose), and fry for 5 minutes.10. Add the potatoes, and more salt if desired. stir well till blended11. Add some chopped cilantro if you want.

When making the dosai, spread the batter out as mentioned earlier, drizzle oil, and keep the skillet or griddle covered (any cover will do as long as the dosai area is covered; just be sure the cover does not touch the dosai). In less than a minute, the dosai will be cooked with oil on the bottom, and its top will be cooked by the steam that is generated when you cover it. The color is now not the white of the batter but kinda dull; you'll know) Turn the heat down, place the cooled filling across the center along the diagonal, and fold both sides overlappingly over it to form a cylindrical shape. Increase the heat slightly, drizzle more oil, and cook both sides till golden. Else, place the filling in the center, and fold from three sides, forming a triangle, overlapping and covering the filling.

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3 cup rice (chawal)1 cup split black gram lentil (urad ki dhuli dal) 1 tsp salt (namak) 1 tsp fenugreek seeds (dana methi) oil as required

How to make plain dosa:

Soak rice, dal and dana methi for 6 hours. Then grind them to a fine thin batter by adding little water. Add salt to it and leave it covered for 12 hours for fermentation. Now heat a non stick tawa and spread 1 tbsp of the batter on the whole of the pan. Grease all the corners and then cook it on the other side also. Put little water on the tawa and wipe it with a clean cloth before making each dosa. Serve them hot with hot sambhar and chutney.

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Raw rice - 2 cupsBlack gram- 3/4 cupRed gram- 2 tbspBengal gram- 2 tbspGreen gram- 2 tbspFenugreek seeds- 1 tspCooked rice - 4 tbspSalt - As reqd.Soda - A pinch (optional)Butter (optional)

1) Soak black gram and fenugreek seeds separately for 6 hrs.2) Soak raw rice, red gram, green gram, Bengal gram, cooked rice separately for 6 hrs.3) Grind them to make a batter which is neither too thick nor too thin.4) Allow this batter to get fermented for 6 hrs.5) Add salt and a pinch of soda before making dosas.6) Make dosas the usual way.7) Add butter on top, if desired.:- Serve with chutney and sambar.

For dosa:-Parboiled rice(Puzhungalari) – 100 gmRaw rice(Pachari) – 100 gmWhole Black gram(Uzhunnu) – 50 gmFenugreek seeds(Uluva) – 1 tsp

For masala:-Potato(medium) – 2 (cooked)Onion – 1 (chopped)Tomato – 1 noGreen chillies – 2 – 3 Curry leaves – A fewGinger-garlic paste – 1 tbspOil – 3 tbspMustard seeds – 1 tspCoriander leaves – A bunchTurmeric powder - ½ tspSalt – As reqd.For dosa:-1) Soak the ingredients in water for about 2 – 3 hrs.2) Grind it in a blender adding water in steps into a very fine batter.3) Add salt and keep it overnight for fermentation.

For masala:-1) Heat oil in a pan or a kadai.2)Splutter mustard seeds .3) Add onion and sauté till it turns brown.4) Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté again.5) Add slit green chillies, turmeric powder, tomatoes and continue to sauté.6) Add mashed potatoes followed by water and salt.7) Cook, till it becomes thick.8) Add chopped coriander leaves and keep it aside.

For masala dosa:-1) Heat up a dosa tawa.2) Pour a ladle of dosa batter on the tawa and spread it thin.3) Pour oil or ghee over it .4) When that side is cooked, place a portion of the masala in the center and cover it with the other half of the dosa.

:- You need not turn the dosa to cook both the sides.

:- Serve hot with Sambhar and Chutney.