Dosa

Say the word Dosa and every Indian's eyes light up. I am yet to find an Indian who will say no to dosa. It is a great combination of healthy ingredients and also very fulfilling. However, it takes time and is also a dish that can be perfected only by practice. You cannot wake up one morning, roll out of your bed and say, I will make the best dosa in the world , from scratch, this morning. Yes, there are ready made packages of mixes available, still it takes considerable skill to have the batter consistency right and also know how to pour the batter. Two key ingredients: Patience and Practice. Like everything else in life, actually.

It took me many years to get this right. And even now, I will confess, if I do not do this regularly, say once a month, my practice gets rusty and the result is not too good. And if I do more often, I find myself getting better each time. Now, the ratio of ingredients in the recipes vary, there are over 25,000 hits on Google for dosa batter ratio. I have found that 3:1 rice to urad dal works for me. Some people add a bit of chana dal and methi seeds, and some even add a cup of cooked rice. Once these are soaked, then they are ground to a fine paste, and then allowed to ferment. Fermentation gives it a slight sour taste and also infuses the batter with micro bubbles that make it fluffy and crispy.

Dosa with mango-tokku pickle

Ingredients

1 cup urad dal

3 cups rice

salt to taste

Preparation

1. Soak the rice and dal for few hours till soft. Grind to fine paste.

2. Let stand outside for 7 to 10 hours. This will allow the bacteria to grow and ferment the batter. After fermentation, you will see little bubbles all throughout the batter. You can put the mix in the fridge after that for later use.

3. Take the amount of batter you need, and add water as needed to have a very syrupy consistency. Too much water will make the dosa look weird and will not crisp. Too little water will make it very dense and will not cook and break when you try to take it out. You have to get it "just right", like Goldilocks! What that right consistency is will only come to you as you practice. You will know.

4. Heat a flat tava. Here in the US we use non-stick, but it is not necessary. Back in India they use regular tava. Over time the tava gets a patina and becomes non-stick by itself. Heat the tava at medium high.

5. Spray a tiny bit of oil. Very little. Let it heat up. Then pour the batter. You can use the back of the pouring handle to smear the batter about. Depending on the consistency, I sometimes just swirl the tava.

6. On medium flame, now wait. Patiently. You will see the water vapors coming out. Then, gently spray some more oil onto the dosa, very little, just enough to watch the rapid reddening of the bottom of the dosa.

7. With a spatula, gently coax the edges of the dosa and see if it peels off. Let it sit for a while till it is a bit crispy. Then fold it over, like an omelette. Some do it one fold, some tri-fold.

8. Serve hot with your choice of condiments.

When I was in high school, a dear friend used to bring dosas (as lunch) to school almost every day. And I used to eat them all! Poor guy, he sometimes went hungry. Yes, I made some bad karma then! Soon his mum used to send two tiffin boxes, one for her son and the other for this inconsiderate young fiend. His mum used to work at a bank, and I am sure she had to wake up extra early to make double the dosas. Today, as I am finally being able to make dosas successfully like his mum, every time I make them, I think of them and send them my heartfull of love and warmth - to my friend and his mum. May they be happy and peaceful!!