Normally for dosa (South Indian rice crepes) I soak both Basmati rice and skinned urid dal (split lentils), but the recipe from Mangoes and Curry LEaves by Naomi Duguid and Jeffrey Alford says to use rice flour, which gives the crepes a smoother texture. I also think it may be easier to digest the rice this way, but I could also be making that up.
The thing with dosa is that by soaking the lentils overnight and then blending them and letting them soak some more, they’re already almost cooked when you go to fry them on a griddle like a crepe or very thin pancake. So suddenly, cooking them takes 3 minutes instead of 20-30 or so. the same goes for the rice, whether it’s whole, blended Basmati or rice flour.
The other trick to dosa is spreading the batter properly. I seasoned my cast-iron skillet a day before making this, so there was lots of oil creating a good non-stick surface. The difficult part of dosa is making sure the crepe doesn’t stick to the pan, so a well-seasoned pan (cast-iron or not) is very important. They’re supposed to be made on a giant circular pan called a tava, which results in the enormous wraps you’re served at South Asian restaurants such as Bombay Choupati in Dollard-des-Ormaux or Maison Indian Curry House in Montreal. But a smaller skillet is fine. You’ll just end up eating more dosas total and the presentation won’t be as dramatic. It’s slightly more convenient for not hitting your dinner neighbour’s arms with dosa, though, which is a good thing.
I stuffed these simply with the less-than-spicy potato filling on p. 131
Things I learned:
1. Fermented batter can be left in the fridge for about 5 days. It gets a little more sour and a little more salty, so when it gets really salty you should throw it out. That’s how you know when it’s had enough.
2. Really thin dosai can be cooked on just one side only.
3. Cook the dosa for a few minutes and then place the potato filling in the middle to warm it. When the dosa is cooked through wrap the crepe around the filling and serve.
4. Sprinkle the dosa with cayenne pepper or Indian chili powder as it’s cooking to make it spicy (optional).
5. Use a mix of potato and Jerusalem artichoke in the filling to make it a little sweeter. It all depends on what kind of potato you use, but my potatoes are pretty bland. Bombay Choupati uses stupendous potatoes, however, and I wouldn’t dream of telling them to add some Jerusalem artichokes.
6. Swirl the batter outwards in a circular motion as you pour, then use the back of the spoon or measuring cup to help swirl it out. Holes in the dosa are fine (encouraged, actually), but you don’t want to give it mutant arms and fjords.
7. You need a fair bit of oil so the dosa doesn’t stick, and you need to wipe the pan with an oiled paper towel between every dosa (this depends on your pan, but I needed to be liberal with the oil)
8. Dosa should be eaten immediately so the crisp edges stay crisp and hot, but you can stack them under a kitchen towel and keep them warm in the oven while you make a few more if that’s more practical.
9. To eat: tear off edge pieces of the dosa with your right hand and use them as utensils to scoop and squeeze pieces of the filling. Work your way in toward the centre of the dosa. It will have softened by the time you get there.
10. You can drizzle a little oil or water around the edges of the dosa as it cooks to keep them from rising and curling. Or brush the oil over the entire dosa. This is the help the heat distribute evenly throughout the crepe. Oil does this better than water.
11. If a recipe says high heat, try medium heat first. If the dosa starts cracking on it it’s because the heat is too high. You won’t be able to fold it if it cracks.
12. If you flip it over to cook the second side it’s especially important that the heat not be too high and the pan be well-oiled to distribute the heat or the dosa will definitely not be pliable. Still delicious, but just not a beautifully folded dosa.
13. Batter should be thin, like crepes, not pancakes. Thin with water as necessary.
Okay! Ready!
Homemade Dosa
3/4 cup urid (or “urad”) dal (at South Asian grocers), soaked overnight in cold water
3 1/2 cups water (plus extra)
2 cups rice flour (also South Asian grocers. Not sweet rice flour and not sticky rice flour)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp high-heat oil (sunflower, vegetable, etc.
Drain rice. Blend. Add 1 cup water. Blend again.
Heat 1/2 cup water over low heat in small saucepan. Whisk in 1 tbsp rice flour and continue to stir until slightly thickened (max 5 minutes). Remove from heat.
Combine ground dal, salt, the rest of the rice flour, and 2 cups water in a large bowl. Add the rice paste from the saucepan and stir again. Cover (dish towel or plastic wrap) and leave on the counter for another 6 hours (or up to 12. In summer or in a hot, humid kitchen you don’t need to wait as long).
After wait time, add more water if necessary to make a thin crepe batter. Cook over medium-high heat (see notes above) until golden brown and cooked through. Optionally turn over to cook second side if thick. (About 2 minutes on first side and 1 minute on second. But overcooking is better than undercooking.)
Serve with sambhar, coconut chutney, and coriander chutney.
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