Dosa

Pancake Month!

pan·cake/ˈpanˌkāk/

Noun; A thin, flat cake of batter, usually fried and turned in a pan.

Until I started my research into pancakes, I had no idea what a Dosa was. In Jamaica, we are accustomed to having roti but not dosa. Most people refer to it as a south Indian-style crepe. It’s made from fermented rice, lentils, and fenugreek seeds. They come out very crispy with a nutty flavor.

In all the readings I did, it seemed people had the most problems getting their dosa crispy. That was not my problem at all, I had issues getting the dosa to be that dark rich golden color, I think because I used fenugreek seed powder instead of the actual seeds, or maybe my lentils were not black. Also, spreading it thin on the hotplate was not exactly an easy feat. I lost the first two and by the third try got the hang of it.

I don’t think I like the taste of the dosa on its own, the fenugreek flavor is very prevalent, but with some curry it was really quite good. Especially since I'm used to roti and curry, where roti is very soft, it was interesting to have a crispy nutty flavored wrap as opposed to the blander flour roti. 

Makes 8 Dosa

Ingredients (Printable Recipe)

1 ½   cup basmati rice

¼ black gram

¼ cup  channa dal

1 teaspoon fenugreek seed powder (or two teaspoon whole seeds)

3 cups water

½  tsp. salt (added after fermentation)

Oil

1. combine all the rice and grains in a dish add the water and let it sit for at least 8 hours 

(I fermented mine for 24 hours)

2. After the time has passed stir in the salt and add the entire mixture to a blender and puree until it's a slightly runny liquid with visible grains and coats the spoon.

3. on a very hot surface ladle the batter and use the bottom of the ladle to spread out the dosa as thin as you can (not as easy as I thought) 

4 Drizzle the top with oil spread it on the entire surface, and you will know it's cooked when the bottom and edges become brown and golden. you may flip it, but if it's thin enough it will already be cooked through

  

5 serve with chutneys and curries, I had mine with curry fish and chicken, it's really yummy to dip in sauces.

Its relatively simple to make once  you get the hang of it. It was my first time making dosa and it turned out pretty good. I am at a loss for reheating though, ill have to experiment. I'm sure the microwave will turn it into a roti lol

ps. If you are in Jamaica I got my fenugreek seed powder at that health food store in Sovereign center. I am almost sure they intended it to be sold to mothers in need of lactation and not for use in a dosa lol but I could not find the whole seeds. But if you know where to find them let me know :)

Xoxo Greedygirl