Sadha -Paper (simple/basic) Dosa

Dosas are one of my most favorite thing. Everyone at home loves dosas. S loves it with potato bhaaji as a side dish while duckie loves a crispy dosa. I on the other hand love dosa any way it is served- with chutney, sambar, potato bhaaji, and even the new filled varieties. Both my mom and my mother-inlaw make great dosas. But somehow I think I make better dosas than them because I have taken the best of two and combined them.:)


Dosas are a staple diet in southern part of India but are equally popular all over India. The dosa that I have pictured over here is known as "sadha dosa" i.e. basic dosa. These dosas, I think are very popular because of their crispiness espec. with kids. In India there are places where the sadha dosas served are as big as two dinner plates put together.


recipe:

split urad dal - 1 cup

sooji ( sadha rava i.e. wheat creamlets) - 3 cups

toor dal 1/4 cup, moong dal 1/4 cup (both optional)-but they make dosas very very crispy

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

salt to taste

Tip: The above measurement is more than enough for 4 people with batter left over.

Preparation: Wash and soak the dals and sooji separatley. add the fenugreek seeds to the urad dal. preferably soak them overnight. Fenugreek seeds help in fermentation.

Next day drain off the water and grind the dals in blender (mixer). grind it very very finely. If possible grind it for atleast 30 mins, this incorporates air in the mixture and makes it light. I have a simple blender which I use for grinding. I grind continously for 5 mins and then stop for 2 mins and repeat the procedure for 30 mins. Add water slowly to the urad dal while grinding, take care that it doesnt turn into a thin paste. Repeat the same thing with sooji. Donot add any water while grinding sooji as it would have already absorbed water while soaking. Mix the two batters in a big container leaving enough space for fermentation. Add little salt to taste while mixing.

Cover and leave the container in a warm place or especially winter warm up the oven to 200deg and keep the container in it for fermentation. The batter should ferment within 24 hrs.

Actual preparation of Dosas: Coat a thin layer of cooking oil on a frying pan and warm it up for some time. The pan has to be very hot for the dosas to cook or they wont come off properly. Take a ladle and drop a ladle full of dosa batter onto the frying pan moving the ladle in a circular motion on the pan. Stretch out the batter as much as you can on the pan. The thinner the batter, the crispier the dosa. Then drizzle some oil along the sides of the dosa. The dosa shouldnt be too oily. I usually cover the dosa and let it cook for 20-30 seconds. If the pan is covered a sizzling sound is usually heard when the dosa is cooked. Then its not necessary to flip it on the other side. Remove the dosa carefully from the pan with a flat spatula.

The first 2-3 dosas always turn out crappy. So don't worry about it. As long as the pan is hot enough and then batter consistency is right, the dosas will turn out fine once the pan is tempered well by heat and oil.

Serve it with sambar, chutney or potato sabji (bhaaji). Dosas are to be enjoyed hot straight from the pan. If you make them beforehand they tend to turn soft.

Next time I will try to get a better picture. This isnt a great picture, but I assur eyou, the food was great.