Cooking web notes

My childhood memories of restaurant food always go back to Masala Dosa. For some reason I always ended up ordering this delicacy whenever we ate at, a famous restaurant in my home town,  the Indian coffee house.  The red colored masala from the beetroot they add, which I haven't seen anywhere else, is still fresh in my memories.  During my college days in Mangalore and Erode I used to enjoy Masala dosa with my friends.  Later, when I moved to Hyderabad after marriage we used to frequent a vegetarian restaurant in the neighborhood where they served masala dosa with meduvada and chutney.  They also have a special red chutney spread on the dosa over which they place the masala and wrap the dosa.  OMG! I am getting so nostalgic :-) So, what I am trying to point out is every place has a different masala dosa to offer.  I guess this doas will be included in their list of comfort foods by any Indian.  By the way, our kids also love this crispy and yummy crepe slathered with potato masala.



Ingredients

For dosa

Idli rice-3cups
Urad dal (black gram)-1cup
Salt-to taste
A few fenugreek seeds(if you are using the batter only for dosa-this will make dosa more crispy)

For Masala

Potato-2
Onion-1 big(sliced thin)
Green Chillies-3
Curry leaves-1 Sprig
Ginger-1Tbsp (grated)
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Tomato-1



Method:

For Dosa
1. Soak the rice and dal for 5 - 6 hours
2. Grind the rice and dal and mix well. Ferment for at least 8 hours.If you are in a cold country keep the batter in the oven after warming the oven a bit.Do not overheat.
3. Again mix the batter well after adding salt.
4. The consistency should be just enough to pour on a tawa/griddle and should be able to spread it well with the bottom of the ladle.
5.Keep the dosakkallu(the cast iron tawa/griddle)/ a non sticky shallow pan and heat it on medium high over the stove. Spray with oil if the pan is not non stick.  Pour one ladle of batter when the pan is hot enough (when you sprinkle water you get that sizzling sound)and spread it as thin as possible.If you wish you could spread a little bit butter/ghee(clarified butter) on it.I normally skip this step :-)
6. When one side is done (takes about a minute), read golden brown, flip over and let the other side also get cooked .(you don't have to do this if your dosa is very very thin)
7. Flip over again and put 2 Tbsp of masala on top and spread it using the spatula.
8. Fold over the dosa to cover the masala.
9.Serve hot with the chutney of your choice/coconut chutney/ sambar/



Contributor: Namitha