Me: Hey, can you cook?
Random person, who is not necessarily not a girl: Only easy stuff like Dosas, and Chapattis... (sheepish smile)
82.36% of all Indians, (88.75% if you take only south Indians into account) claim that they can cook Dosa with ease. Only problem is Dosas are not easy to make. Sure, spreading a ladle of dosa batter on the hot tawa and flipping it over is easy. But that is not making dosa, that is merely spreading a ladle of dosa batter on the hot tawa and flipping it over. By that account, i can open a bag of chips, doesn't mean I can make them! Actually, I can make chips (sheepish smile), but that is not why.
Making dosa requires years of experience, a fine understanding of the cooking utensils at your disposal, and if possible a masters degree in advanced thermodynamics. It requires the patience of a saint. Not only are you making a simple dish, but you will be experiencing transcendental bliss, a philosophical enlightenment which will enhance your lives, and you will find a new meaning in your life. Don't be fooled by cheap articles such as this, which falsely claims that making dosa is not rocket science. It's more than that. This is the secret that had been lost some where in history, one that has been revived from incomplete data and loads of experimentation. You need to stop and realize how powerful and sensitive this particular information is, right here. No, seriously stop and think. You are solely responsible for how the information contained herein will be used, so use it wisely.
This recipe is intended to serve a family of four or five, so measure accordingly.
Ingredients:
* 1 Part Dosa rice (there is such a thing, ask your grocers)
*1/3rd part (by volume) whole urd dal
*1/5th part (by volume) Beaten rice (aka falttened rice)
*fenugreek seeds
* Salt to taste
*Vegetable Oil
If you ever wander into your kitchen, and search for it long enough, you will find atleast three types of rice, in different dabbas. One is for making everyday rice, one is the flavoured kind- basmati or jeera rice reserved for special dishes, and one for dosa/ idly. Some people use different kinds of rice used to make dosa and idly, I do this, and it has worked out well for me quite well, financially and otherwise. If you want to buy different kinds of rice specifically for idlis and dosas, your local rice retailer should be of sufficient help. Just remember, the dosa rice looks very similar to the "rice" rice, and the idly rice is slightly fatter, looks a lot like little translucent idlys actually.
Pour the rice, beaten rice, close to a whole tea spoon of fenugreek seeds (I just approximate, a little excess won't make much of a difference) into a container, wash (without soap!), fill it up with water till the entire mixture is submerged. In an other container, pour the urd dal, wash (without soap, preferably twice), fill it up with lots of water, and set them aside for a good 7- 8 hours. This is best done around 9 or 10 in the morning, if you want to eat dosas for breakfast the next day. The dal is responsible for the crispy texture, that doesn't mean you can put in a truck load of it. Anything more than a third of the volume of the rice, and you risk ruining the dosa, the dosa starts breaking up, sticking to the pan, and you don't want that to happen. The beaten rice is responsible for aerating your batter, which ultimately gives you those wonderful restaurant style dosas. Fenugreek seeds, aid in fermentation. Whole urd dal is actually better than the split ones, the wild yeast in the split urd dal is destroyed during the splitting process. Yeast = better fermentation.
You can use cooked rice instead of beaten rice when grinding, but that fails to give you the desired results, especially during the cold winter. Most people skip the beaten rice entirely, big mistake. Some people soak the dal with the rice- bigger mistake, will tell you why in a bit.
Once your rice and dal are soaked through enough, it is time to grind it. It is best to gring the rice and dal separately and mix them later. This is because you don't want the dal and rice to be ground to the same consistency. The rice doesn't have to be finely ground, in fact, I leave it just a little coarse. The dal, however, has to become a fine paste. Using a grinder on a two tire process doesn't cut it for me, so I use the blender, it's easier that way. I am always generous with the amount of water I use while grinding the rice, and hold back on the water when grinding the dal, easier to control the texture of the batters that way.
Once you have the two batters, mix them well, really well(some folks add salt at this point, this messes with the fermentation process, best if you add it before preparing the dosas). The batter must be thin at this point, it will thicken when it ferments overnight, so you don't have to worry about it being too thin. Just make sure to not make it too runny. Fill it in a container which has enough room to allow for the rise in the batter. Place a lid on it, and put it away. Hard part is done. You have to respect the batter, and let it do its thing. Don't touch it, don't talk to it, don't even look at it. Just walk away man, walk away. The batter needs a good 8 hours to get pumped up and fit for use.
8 hours later:
You know what to do now. Make sure your tawa is hot enough. Sprinkle a few drops of water to test it out. You have to be familiar with this sound, like a proficient musician who tunes his instrument by ear. It is of utmost importance that you take time to learn this, because even a few seconds can turn a masala dosa into a massacred dosa. No kidding. I've seen people fussing over the technique, pick one that you find comfortable.
Do not, I mean DO NOT, add water to the batter. it ruins everything. It doesn't matter if your batter is thick, as long as you don't have to to cut it through with a knfe, your batter is fine. The dosa batter I make is usually thicker that waht most people make, it makes for a darshini style, fluffy set-dosas.
The flame has to be at medium high or high before you pour your ladle of batter on to the tawa. Cooking the dosa on a low flame don't give you the right kind of crisp, and the dosa comes out all rubbery. Pour Batter on the hot tawa, spread, oil the sides, wait for the edges to turn brown, flip using a spatula, lower flame, wait a few seconds, remove dosa.
Additional notes:
* If the dosa is troubling you, sticking to the pan or something, pour a few drops of oil on the tawa, and rub on it with a piece of onion, or a damp cloth.
* During fermentation- keep the batter in a warm place, left over batter from the next morning- put it in the fridge.
* If the dosa isn't cooking, make sure you have turned on the flame.
Random person, who is not necessarily not a girl: Only easy stuff like Dosas, and Chapattis... (sheepish smile)
82.36% of all Indians, (88.75% if you take only south Indians into account) claim that they can cook Dosa with ease. Only problem is Dosas are not easy to make. Sure, spreading a ladle of dosa batter on the hot tawa and flipping it over is easy. But that is not making dosa, that is merely spreading a ladle of dosa batter on the hot tawa and flipping it over. By that account, i can open a bag of chips, doesn't mean I can make them! Actually, I can make chips (sheepish smile), but that is not why.
Making dosa requires years of experience, a fine understanding of the cooking utensils at your disposal, and if possible a masters degree in advanced thermodynamics. It requires the patience of a saint. Not only are you making a simple dish, but you will be experiencing transcendental bliss, a philosophical enlightenment which will enhance your lives, and you will find a new meaning in your life. Don't be fooled by cheap articles such as this, which falsely claims that making dosa is not rocket science. It's more than that. This is the secret that had been lost some where in history, one that has been revived from incomplete data and loads of experimentation. You need to stop and realize how powerful and sensitive this particular information is, right here. No, seriously stop and think. You are solely responsible for how the information contained herein will be used, so use it wisely.
This recipe is intended to serve a family of four or five, so measure accordingly.
Ingredients:
* 1 Part Dosa rice (there is such a thing, ask your grocers)
*1/3rd part (by volume) whole urd dal
*1/5th part (by volume) Beaten rice (aka falttened rice)
*fenugreek seeds
* Salt to taste
*Vegetable Oil
If you ever wander into your kitchen, and search for it long enough, you will find atleast three types of rice, in different dabbas. One is for making everyday rice, one is the flavoured kind- basmati or jeera rice reserved for special dishes, and one for dosa/ idly. Some people use different kinds of rice used to make dosa and idly, I do this, and it has worked out well for me quite well, financially and otherwise. If you want to buy different kinds of rice specifically for idlis and dosas, your local rice retailer should be of sufficient help. Just remember, the dosa rice looks very similar to the "rice" rice, and the idly rice is slightly fatter, looks a lot like little translucent idlys actually.
Pour the rice, beaten rice, close to a whole tea spoon of fenugreek seeds (I just approximate, a little excess won't make much of a difference) into a container, wash (without soap!), fill it up with water till the entire mixture is submerged. In an other container, pour the urd dal, wash (without soap, preferably twice), fill it up with lots of water, and set them aside for a good 7- 8 hours. This is best done around 9 or 10 in the morning, if you want to eat dosas for breakfast the next day. The dal is responsible for the crispy texture, that doesn't mean you can put in a truck load of it. Anything more than a third of the volume of the rice, and you risk ruining the dosa, the dosa starts breaking up, sticking to the pan, and you don't want that to happen. The beaten rice is responsible for aerating your batter, which ultimately gives you those wonderful restaurant style dosas. Fenugreek seeds, aid in fermentation. Whole urd dal is actually better than the split ones, the wild yeast in the split urd dal is destroyed during the splitting process. Yeast = better fermentation.
You can use cooked rice instead of beaten rice when grinding, but that fails to give you the desired results, especially during the cold winter. Most people skip the beaten rice entirely, big mistake. Some people soak the dal with the rice- bigger mistake, will tell you why in a bit.
Once your rice and dal are soaked through enough, it is time to grind it. It is best to gring the rice and dal separately and mix them later. This is because you don't want the dal and rice to be ground to the same consistency. The rice doesn't have to be finely ground, in fact, I leave it just a little coarse. The dal, however, has to become a fine paste. Using a grinder on a two tire process doesn't cut it for me, so I use the blender, it's easier that way. I am always generous with the amount of water I use while grinding the rice, and hold back on the water when grinding the dal, easier to control the texture of the batters that way.
Once you have the two batters, mix them well, really well(some folks add salt at this point, this messes with the fermentation process, best if you add it before preparing the dosas). The batter must be thin at this point, it will thicken when it ferments overnight, so you don't have to worry about it being too thin. Just make sure to not make it too runny. Fill it in a container which has enough room to allow for the rise in the batter. Place a lid on it, and put it away. Hard part is done. You have to respect the batter, and let it do its thing. Don't touch it, don't talk to it, don't even look at it. Just walk away man, walk away. The batter needs a good 8 hours to get pumped up and fit for use.
8 hours later:
You know what to do now. Make sure your tawa is hot enough. Sprinkle a few drops of water to test it out. You have to be familiar with this sound, like a proficient musician who tunes his instrument by ear. It is of utmost importance that you take time to learn this, because even a few seconds can turn a masala dosa into a massacred dosa. No kidding. I've seen people fussing over the technique, pick one that you find comfortable.
Do not, I mean DO NOT, add water to the batter. it ruins everything. It doesn't matter if your batter is thick, as long as you don't have to to cut it through with a knfe, your batter is fine. The dosa batter I make is usually thicker that waht most people make, it makes for a darshini style, fluffy set-dosas.
The flame has to be at medium high or high before you pour your ladle of batter on to the tawa. Cooking the dosa on a low flame don't give you the right kind of crisp, and the dosa comes out all rubbery. Pour Batter on the hot tawa, spread, oil the sides, wait for the edges to turn brown, flip using a spatula, lower flame, wait a few seconds, remove dosa.
Additional notes:
* If the dosa is troubling you, sticking to the pan or something, pour a few drops of oil on the tawa, and rub on it with a piece of onion, or a damp cloth.
* During fermentation- keep the batter in a warm place, left over batter from the next morning- put it in the fridge.
* If the dosa isn't cooking, make sure you have turned on the flame.
Haha.. Sooper.. How about making this into video guide :)
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