Dosa are something I first tried in India last year... to an untrained, Western eye they're basically delicious, savoury pancake. When Taste & Create, which is my favourite monthly blog event, paired me with Jayasri Ravi of Samayal Arai this month I was super excited to see her Dosa Section, and I immediately hopped on over to have a look.
Most dosa recipe than Jayasri has listed require several hours fermentation which put me off in this instance - simply because I decided, about two hours before teatime that I wanted to make dosa to serve alongside. Here, it should be noted that dosa are primarily a breakfast food, I think, so usually you'd make them the night before and let 'em sit over night.
The recipe I chose to try out was for Rawa Dosai - I think 'rawa' is the term used to describe grains once ground into a flour-like consistency... but I'm totally unsure about that! We had most of the ingredients already, because we do eat a lot of Indian (or, more accurately, Indian-style) food at home - but if you don't, and I don't expect many students would... it'd be well worth going to your supermarket or local Indian market and trying to source them - these dosa are divine!
I did learn, after my very, very pale first several that it's vitally important to get the pan really, really hot before you try to cook these. Leave your impatience at the door when you enter the kitchen to cook dosa!
I was excited because I was able to cook these on our tawa - a flat, side-less frying pan, which meant I was the first to use it for it's intended purpose, but any frying pan will do - just as long as you can pick it up and swirl it! :)
These were great, and we'll definitely make them again... and, one day when I'm a bit more organised, I'll try out some of the other varieties too!
You'll need:
1 cup fine semolina
3/4 cup rice flour
a small handful (1.5 Tbsp?) plain flour
2 tsp oil
1/4 cup yoghurt
enough water to make batter smooth, runny and pancake-like (took me 1.5 - 2 cups...)
1 red onion, finely diced
2 green chillies (I used one red, one green!), finely diced
1.5cm fresh ginger, grated
1 Tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely shredded
salt to taste
plus oil to cook
Sift the flours and mix with the yoghurt, oil and enough water to create a smooth, batter "dosa" consistency 9I based this on pancake consistency).
Add in the prepared onion, chillies, ginger and coriander. Salt to taste.
Leave the batter to rest for at least one hour.
Heat your frying pan - when hot grease with a little oil. Ladle about a 1/3 cupful of batter onto the screaming hot pan and swirl to get even coverage.
Cook on first side until the uncooked side bubbles, and becomes translucent - then flip and cook the other side. First cooked side should be a beautiful, bubbly brown. (My 2nd sides were always very pale - but with practice, I'm sure I'll improve!)
Jayasri recommends serving the dosa with chutneys - I served my with a Goan-fish curry - use your imagination!
Enjoy... :)
Most dosa recipe than Jayasri has listed require several hours fermentation which put me off in this instance - simply because I decided, about two hours before teatime that I wanted to make dosa to serve alongside. Here, it should be noted that dosa are primarily a breakfast food, I think, so usually you'd make them the night before and let 'em sit over night.
The recipe I chose to try out was for Rawa Dosai - I think 'rawa' is the term used to describe grains once ground into a flour-like consistency... but I'm totally unsure about that! We had most of the ingredients already, because we do eat a lot of Indian (or, more accurately, Indian-style) food at home - but if you don't, and I don't expect many students would... it'd be well worth going to your supermarket or local Indian market and trying to source them - these dosa are divine!
 |
| Rawa Dosai, served with a Goan-Style fish curry. |
I was excited because I was able to cook these on our tawa - a flat, side-less frying pan, which meant I was the first to use it for it's intended purpose, but any frying pan will do - just as long as you can pick it up and swirl it! :)
 |
| A real, live, tawa... :) |
You'll need:
1 cup fine semolina
3/4 cup rice flour
a small handful (1.5 Tbsp?) plain flour
2 tsp oil
1/4 cup yoghurt
enough water to make batter smooth, runny and pancake-like (took me 1.5 - 2 cups...)
1 red onion, finely diced
2 green chillies (I used one red, one green!), finely diced
1.5cm fresh ginger, grated
1 Tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely shredded
salt to taste
plus oil to cook
Sift the flours and mix with the yoghurt, oil and enough water to create a smooth, batter "dosa" consistency 9I based this on pancake consistency).
Add in the prepared onion, chillies, ginger and coriander. Salt to taste.
Leave the batter to rest for at least one hour.
Heat your frying pan - when hot grease with a little oil. Ladle about a 1/3 cupful of batter onto the screaming hot pan and swirl to get even coverage.
Cook on first side until the uncooked side bubbles, and becomes translucent - then flip and cook the other side. First cooked side should be a beautiful, bubbly brown. (My 2nd sides were always very pale - but with practice, I'm sure I'll improve!)
Jayasri recommends serving the dosa with chutneys - I served my with a Goan-fish curry - use your imagination!
Enjoy... :)
I made these for Taste and Create this month, and they were so good. Thanks for a great recipe, one that I can make again and again.
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