Peter Aitken wrote:
> "Adam Preble" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>I want to try to make dosa. I got a flat skillet similar to the kind in
>>the indian food stores, and I bought some of the mix for practice.
>>Unfortunately, the mix had bugs crawling in it, so I had to toss it. I see
>>a ton of different ways of making it on the Internet. What has interested
>>me so far is how many rely on cookied rice. Is this something people make
>>with their rice leftovers?
>>
>>Assuming I have multi-purpose flour, wheat flour, maida flour, medium
>>grain rice, and basmati rice, how could I make the dosa batter?
>
>
> I love dosa, and they are not that hard to make at home. I have never seen a
> recipe that contains flour (wheat flour, that is). Here's the recipe I use:
>
> 1/2c split urad dal, rinsed thoroughly and drained
> 1-1/2c long grain rice (not basmati - jasmine works well)
> 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
>
> Soak in 2-1/2c water at room temp for 4 hours or longer. Drain, reserving
> liquid. Place 1/2 of the solids and the liquid in a blender and process for
> 1-2 minutes to get a mostly smooth but still slightly grainy texture.
> Largest grains should be about the size of granulated sugar. Repeat with
> remaining solids and liquid. Place in large bown, stir in 1 tsp salt, and
> cover. Let sit at about 90 degrees f for 12-15 hours. A turned-off over with
> the light on is one way to do this. The batter will nearly double in volume
> and will smell a bit sour. Stir and, if not using right away, refrigerate.
>
> Bring to room temperature before cooking. Stir in 1/4 tsp baking soda and,
> if needed, enough water to get a pancake-batter consistency. Fry about 1/4
> batter at a time in a non-stick skillet with a little oil until brown on
> both sides and crisp at the edges.
>
>

That is the general recipe, but why do you need baking soda if the
batter is well-risen? Usually, I just add some sourdough culture or add
a very small piece of sourdough bread to get the batter to start
fermenting and leave it near the heat register in winter and on the
counter in summer and the batter is ready the next day for dosas/idlis.
If it gets very sour I make "uthapams"(thick dosas) out of it.

For variations and if you don't feel like doing all the
soaking/blending, you can make "rawa dosa", my favorite kind.
Recipe : 1 cup semolina flour, 1 tbsp all-purpose flour/maida, 1/2tsp
cummin seeds, black pepper and salt. Blend it in a big bowl with some
yogurt and water. Let it ferment overnight, add enough water to get a
good pouring consistency and make dosas like before.

Another type of pancake that does not require fermenting, is "adai". For
this, you soak a mixture of lentils/dhals and rice in the ratio 1:2,
soak them together and grind coarsely in a blender. Set aside for at
least half hour and make them into thick dosas. You can mix in finely
chopped spinach, onions, tomatoes, etc. into the batter before you make
the adai if you like.

By the way, my mom used to make "instant" dosas for us when we were kids
by just mixing in wheat flour with a little bit of all-purpose flour and
salt. You have to eat this immediately and they don't keep well, but
they were heavenly with my mom's coconut chutney. I have made dosas
with rye flour and with my magic :-) non-stick skillet, they turn out
fine too.

- Kamala.