Dosa is a South Indian cuisine that is loved widely, majorly because it’s both healthy and delicious, along with being easy to make at home with limited ingredients. This is why Dosas are also highly popular as street food. Dosas suit as a meal for any part of the day from breakfast to dinner. Knowing the right way of making dosa at home will help you get this delicious dish whenever you want.
Everyone can prepare a dosa at home with the best tools and equipment. Of course, you need to know the recipe and the right process for using them. Many homemakers use induction cooktops with which making dosa is not difficult at all.
Let us guide you to make the perfect and crispiest dosas at home so you can charm the tastebuds of your family and guests. As simple as the ingredients of dosa is, making it can be slightly complex if you do not get the right mix and consistency needed.
The Process of Making the perfect Dosa at home
The batter is the central and most important ingredient for making the dosa. Like any other cuisine that requires consistency and proper mixing of ingredients, is vital to ensure the quality of delicacy. It’s best to make your own batter if you have the time and will to put in the effort. Dosa batter mixes are also available commercially.
Prepare and Season the Dosa Batter
The first step towards making dosa is soaking 4 parts of rice and 1 part of urad daal. The latter is also known as black gram or vigna mungo. For the rice, boiled (idli) rice is usually used but raw rice is known to give the best consistency; parboiled rice is another option as well.
Soak the two ingredients for around 4-5 hours. Then blend them in a hand blender, wet grinder, or an electric beater whichever available to you. Be sure to keep the batter in a consistency that is slightly coarse and do not add water while blending.
After this, add salt accordingly, and pepper if you wish for taste. Mix the batter well to spread the tasting ingredients well. There is an additional step of fermentation. Here you need to store the batter in a covered container for about half a day.
You can also add fenugreek for a delicious aroma along with making the fermentation process easier.
Once mixed, you can use the batter for up to a week by storing it in a refrigerator. It starts to turn a bit sour near the last few days however this doesn’t necessarily mean that it has gone bad, in fact, some people enjoy the slightly sour taste.
In case your batter turns runny, you can add rice flour or semolina to fix the consistency. If you buy ready-made dosa batter from the market, make sure to get one with a shorter expiry date. This would ensure that it would have fewer preservatives.
All in all, making dosa batter is not as hard as it sounds as long as you be patient and keep consistency in mind as this will make or break your dosa, quite literally.
Making The Perfect Dosa at home
By sight, pouring Dosa batter on the pan (Tawa) may look like the easiest part of cooking. But on the contrary, it’s quite the opposite. Being able to pour it right with the correct technique is one of the hardest and most important parts of dosa making.
Before starting, turn on your kitchen chimney as a lot of fumes can be generated while making dosa.
If the batter you are using was stored, then remove the batter at least 15 minutes before cooking so it reaches room temperature.
Be sure to heat up the non-stick pan or dosa tawa you are using properly before you start. Test this by sprinkling some water on it and if it sizzles and evaporates, it will indicate that the Tawa has been heated optimally.
Next, use a small amount of oil to moisten the Tawa, to prepare for pouring the batter. Use a medium-sized ladle or bowl, pick the desired quantity of batter.
Start in a circular motion from the center of the tawa/pan to spread and pour the batter. You can add a small amount of oil, butter, or ghee to make the dosa extra crispy. The right moment to flip the dosa is right before it sticks to the pan/tawa and starts turning a golden brown color around the edges.
Whisk the batter for a few minutes and add water to it if necessary for better consistency. Whisking would make sure that the batter spreads properly on the pan.
The following step is adding filling in the center and wrapping the dosa and re-flipping it. Read on to find out the process.
Prepare the Dosa Masala and Chutneys
Authentic dosas, which are the original South Indian delicacy are accompanied by a masala filling that is wrapped within the dosa. This filling is usually made with mashed potatoes mixed with raw, chopped onions, green chilies. Adding curry leaves with salt will improve the taste.
If you like, you can add tamarind paste as well. To make the filling, simply boil potatoes according to requirement, mash them and then mix with a tempered preparation of chopped onions, chilies, and curry leaves. Add basic spices and salt according to taste. Use tamarind paste with the mashed preparation, for that extra tang.
Use this masala inside the dosa wrapping, fry it for a minute or so, and your dosa will be ready to be enjoyed with sambhar or coconut chutney. Other than the traditional accompaniments, you can also use idli powder with ghee or mutton curry. There are in fact a plethora of innovative accompaniments you can try on your own to give your dosa recipe a personal touch.
If you have made it this far, you should have the basic knowledge and understanding regarding how to make the crispiest, most perfect dosa at the convenience of your home using the simplest of ingredients. As making a dosa involves a lot of tasks at once, you may get help with an autoignition gas stove. It minimizes manual interventions by the user.
Don’t be intimidated by the multiple steps and slightly trippy way of pouring the batter. As it is with every cuisine, there is a slight learning curve to make a delicious dosa, and we wish you luck so you can nail it in the fewest attempts without mishaps or failures. It is advised to use the best dosa tawa in India for the most desired results.
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