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?

"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.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

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
>
>
> 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.
>
>
I'm not very good on my Indian nomenclature. What is urad dal?

Also, do you mean to blend half, leave it in, and blend with the rest
added? Or do you mean to blend half at a time?

It looks I'll have to finally get that heating pad if I'm going to be
playing with 90 degree heat. I've been meaning to get one for making
yogurt and activating yeast in root beer.

"Adam Preble" > wrote in message
...
> 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
>>
>>
>> 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.
>>
>>
> I'm not very good on my Indian nomenclature. What is urad dal?
>
> Also, do you mean to blend half, leave it in, and blend with the rest
> added? Or do you mean to blend half at a time?
>
> It looks I'll have to finally get that heating pad if I'm going to be
> playing with 90 degree heat. I've been meaning to get one for making
> yogurt and activating yeast in root beer.

Urad dal is a kind of bean. It's black I believe and usually comes split.
Indian groceries will have it. If you cannot find it you might try dried
yellow split peas as a substitute.

Blend half, remove from blender, blend other half, combine. It's just
because most blenders will not hold a full recipe.

Don't expect perfect dosas the first time - but it's worth practicing and
perfecting!


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

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.
>
>
Do you also make uttapams? I gather they use the same batter. I
just discovered them last year, and they are SO GOOD!

--
Jean B.

"Jean B." > wrote in message
...
> 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.
>>
>>
> Do you also make uttapams? I gather they use the same batter. I just
> discovered them last year, and they are SO GOOD!
>
> --
> Jean B.

No, but you can bet I will look them up and try them now!


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

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.

"Kamala Ganesh" > wrote in message
...
> 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?

I do not know - it's a recipe from an Indian cookbok and it has worked well
for me, so I do not mess with it.


--
Peter Aitken

Remove the crap from my email address before using.

Peter Aitken wrote:

> "Jean B." > wrote:
>>
>>Do you also make uttapams? I gather they use the same batter. I just
>>discovered them last year, and they are SO GOOD!
>>
>>--
>>Jean B.
>
>
> No, but you can bet I will look them up and try them now!
>
>
They are great. Traditionally served with sambhar and coconut
chutney. The ones I really like include some chopped onion,
tomato, and cilantro.

--
Jean B.

Jean wrote about uttapams:

> They are great. Traditionally served with sambhar and coconut chutney.
> The ones I really like include some chopped onion, tomato, and cilantro.

In this discussion, I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Sri Lankan
hoppers. Here's a blurb from Madhur Jaffrey's _World-of-the-East Vegetarian
Cooking_:

"If a French crepe were to marry an American 'English' muffin, the couple
would probably become the proud parents of a Sri Lankan hopper. The hopper
has the softness, delicacy, and pliability of the crepe teamed with the
airy, hole-filled, puffy, and browned-on-the-outside quality of the muffin.
What is more, it is quite easy to make, especially if your freezer already
has grated fresh coconut sitting expectantly in a plastic container."


Bob

Bob wrote:
>
> In this discussion, I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Sri Lankan
> hoppers. Here's a blurb from Madhur Jaffrey's _World-of-the-East Vegetarian
> Cooking_:
>
> "If a French crepe were to marry an American 'English' muffin, the couple
> would probably become the proud parents of a Sri Lankan hopper. The hopper
> has the softness, delicacy, and pliability of the crepe teamed with the
> airy, hole-filled, puffy, and browned-on-the-outside quality of the muffin.
> What is more, it is quite easy to make, especially if your freezer already
> has grated fresh coconut sitting expectantly in a plastic container."
>
>
> Bob
>
>
Hmmmm. That does, indeed, look like something worthy of being
looked into. While the name is familiar, I have not paid any
attention to them thus far.

--
Jean B.