Masala dosa
- medium
- 10
- 45 minutes plus 6 hours soaking time, then overnight fermenting time for the batter
Masala dosa is a popular Indian breakfast dish (although in the UK it's often served at lunch or dinner) consisting of a crisp crepe-like pancake made from a fermented batter of grains and pulses. It is served with a spiced potato masala and an array of southern Indian chutneys.
Dosa can be tricky to make at home – much like pancakes, the first few attempts might not come out right, but persevere! It's key to have a smooth, well-fermented batter and a good non-stick pan. You can use any short-grain rice to make the batter, but the best is 'parboiled' rice (also known as ukda rice) or rice called 'dosa rice' or 'idli rice' – all are available from specialist Indian grocers.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Dosa
- 500g of short grain rice, ideally dosa rice or 'parboiled' rice (which can be bought in specialist Indian grocers)
- 125g of urad dal
- 1/2 tbsp of fenugreek seeds, (methi)
- 1 tbsp of chana dal
- sea salt, to taste
- vegetable oil, for drizzling
Masala
- 1 1/2 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tbsp of chana dal
- 1/8 tbsp of urad dal
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 1 whole dried kashmiri chilli
- 1.5cm of fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1 sprig of curry leaf
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 250g of potatoes, boiled until soft, then peeled
- salt
- fresh coriander, chopped, to serve
To serve
- A selection of chutneys, pickles or other Indian vegetable side dishes
Method
Begin with the dosa batter 6 hours in advance. Wash then soak all the dosa ingredients (apart from the salt) in cold water for 6 hours
- 500g of short grain rice, ideally dosa rice or 'parboiled' rice (which can be bought in specialist Indian grocers)
- 125g of urad dal
- 1/2 tbsp of fenugreek seeds, (methi)
- 1 tbsp of chana dal
After this time, strain the ingredients and place in a blender. Add a little fresh cold water and blend until smooth, slowly adding more water if needed – you want it to be the consistency of double cream. Transfer to a bowl, cover loosely and leave at room temperature to ferment overnight. It ferments better in a warm environment
To make the masala, heat the vegetable oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds until they begin to crackle. Add the urad dal and chana dal, both chillies, the ginger and curry leaves and cook for a minute, but be careful not to burn
- 1 1/2 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/4 tbsp of chana dal
- 1/8 tbsp of urad dal
- 1 green chilli, finely chopped
- 1 whole dried kashmiri chilli
- 1.5cm of fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1 sprig of curry leaf
Add the onions and cook over a medium-low heat until soft then add the turmeric and cook for a final minute
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
To cook the dosa, heat a very wide non-stick or cast-iron flat pan until it starts to smoke. Turn the heat down and add a ladle of the batter, spreading it evenly on the pan in a circular motion using the back of the ladle
Drizzle a bit of oil and salt over the batter and cook until the dosa is golden in colour. Flip it over and cook for a further minute
- sea salt, to taste
- vegetable oil, for drizzling
Serve up immediately on a tray with the masala potatoes sprinkled with coriander along with a selection of chutneys and curries. Avinash serves his with a summer vegetable sagu (a dish from Karnataka), coconut chutney and tomato and split pea chutney
- A selection of chutneys, pickles or other Indian vegetable side dishes
- fresh coriander, chopped, to serve
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