Many of you have already visited our website, possibly eaten South Indian food and probably still wondering, "what is a dosa??" This post is here to answer all your questions.
Dosa is a crêpe traditional to southern India. A crêpe is very thin pancake, usually sweet, generally made from a wheat batter. It can be made from many other flours, but sweet crêpes birthed in France, are made with all purpose flour, eggs, milk and sugar. Indian crêpes are called dosas, or dosa (singular). Dosa is made from soaking a combination of lentils and rice. Yes you read correctly, just lentils and rice, so it's 100% gluten free! Each recipe differs from household to household and restaurant to restaurant. Every recipe will have a variation in ratio of rice to lentils and use different types of rice, lentils and other supporting ingredients. Also, there are different types of dosas one can make from soft and fluffy, to crispy, to both fluffy and crispy. Ok, we're already getting ourselves caught into a dosa sink hole, so let's just start with the basics and we'll get into details in another blog.
You want to use a combination of long grain and short grain rice to achieve the right amount of protien and starch needed to make a perfect dosa, and by perfect I mean, crispy on the bottom and fluffy on top. As for the lentils you also want a combination, because the lentils are there to add flavor and crispy texture.
Ok, so lets talk rice first. The most common rice to use in dosa is idly rice. Yes, idly rice. You're probably thinking, "Isn't idly dosa's fluffier, steamed cousin, a rice cake?" It in fact is. But idly rice is not just used to make idly, but to make dosa as well. The batter has multiple uses and we'll get into the making of idlis another day. But let's start with idly rice, it's a short grain rice that has more starch than long grain rice and yields a fluffy texture when cooked. It is sometimes used in combination with a neutral flavored long grain rice (not basmati) that is very low in starch when cooked. So something like Carolina rice. Jasmine or Basmati rice would not be ideal for this preparation because of the flavor and level or starch produced when cooked. An overly starchy batter will yield somewhat rubbery dosas and idlis; they will be dense and not crisp.
On to lentils. The main lentil used in the preparation of dosa batter is urad dal, otherwise known as black gram. Gram means lentil. The lentils have a black husk, but often times are hulled and that is what you see, a very pale yellow, and small lentil. Another lentil used is called chana dal. Dal also means lentil and the words are used interchangeably. You're probably thinking, "I've heard that name before, is it the same as chana masala?" You're getting warm. Chana dal is the young kernel of the chickpea that is split, making it a lentil. Chana masala is the north Indian curry that uses the matured chickpea. Ok, I'm giving you a lot more information than anticipated, let's get on with our dosa lesson.
Great, we have rice and we have lentils. We also have "supporting ingredients" that I mentioned earlier. These include thing like fenugreek seeds, poha, and idly rava. Fenugreek seeds are nutty little kernels that help aid in digestion as lentils can be a bit powerful for many sensitive stomachs. When added to the batter it also releases a very nutty flavor that is pleasing to taste. Poha, or flattened (cooked, then dehydrated) rice and idly rava (or rice semolina) is cooked or soaked then added to the dosa batter for additional fluffiness. As mentioned, some people like to use it, while others keep it simple. I prefer the flattened rice and idly rava, because I love the textural component it adds to the finished product.
Finally, we have our ingredients: idly rice, long grain rice, urad dal, chana dal, fenugreek seeds, and poha/idly rava if preferred. What we are going to do with these ingredients is soak them! We soak the rice separately from the lentils and fenugreek, only because the residual flavors from the lentil gets absorbed by the rice and has a funky aftertaste. The ingredients are soaked in water for 24 hours so they become soft and easy to grind. Also soaking, breaks down the starches so they are easier to digest.
Next, we have to wash our little guys enough so the water runs clear and have clean grains of rice and lentils to work with. Traditionally in the south and most Indian households, one would use a stone grinder or wet grinder to puree the rice and lentils. But a blender could work as well, as long as you don't over blend and create too much starch. Remember, we don't want rubbery dosas. So in a stone grinder you would grind down the rice and lentils, yes together, with some water until a very soft batter results and virtually all the granules are gone when the batter is rubbed through your fingers. If they are very tiny, that's ok too.
Now you have all of your lentils and rice ground down into a thick batter, let's ferment! Before we ferment we are going to add a measured amount of sugar and salt. Sugar to activate the fermentation process and salt for seasoning. The batter when set in a warm environment (ideally 86 degrees fahrenheit) will ferment on its own because the starches are reacting to the heat and sugars in its environment producing a bi-product of CO2. This fermentation process does a few things: break down starches for easier digestion, creates air in the batter for fluffier dosas, and adds natural tanginess from fermentation. We need all of this to happen to create an excellent product.
The batter will ferment for another 24 hours and after that, you have your final product. Yes, it's a long process, but for many it's all worth it in the end. Most of the work is really done in the measuring, soaking and grinding stages, which really only takes about 1-1.5 hrs. You can also batch out the batter and keep it in your refrigerator for 1-2 weeks or in the freezer for 6 months. But you might be thinking, "Hmm, can I buy this stuff?" Yes, the process is quite a commitment and you can purchase dosa batter at your local Indian grocery. If they don't have it fresh there are powdered versions as well that might be good. I haven't tried them yet, but it's worth a shot. They have a longer shelf life as well.
When you make your dosa, you want to bring it up to room temperature if previously refrigerated. It will react better with the high heat and come out crispy. Use a non-stick griddle, or well seasoned cast iron, flat top grill. A crêpe pan might work as well. Add a little oil to the pan and rub in with a paper towel just to give a light coating so your dosa won't stick. I also like to put a little oil in the batter so I actually use less oil over all. I use sunflower oil, but any neutral oil will work. Many people use ghee or clarified butter, and although it adds great flavor, I try to avoid saturated fats as much as possible. When your pan is nice and hot that's when you want to spoon in a nice ladle of batter and then smear it around the pan in a circular motion until you get a flat crêpe. It does take a lot of practice, I've over smeared dosas to the point that it was a huge blob in the middle of the pan, but that's ok....practice makes perfect. That's why you made so much batter in the first place ;)
In future blogs I will try to post a video on dosa making technique if you are interested in how it's done, or want to do it yourself.
So, that's dosa for you. I really hope you have a better understanding and appreciation for this traditional south Indian staple. I hope, if you haven't done so already, you will go out to try one and relish in the crispy, fluffy, tangy deliciousness that is dosa.