Discussion Board

Has anyone tried to make their own dosa at home? I know I could make the potato filling for the traditional masala dosa, but the crepe part..............

I've experimented with these dosa/crepe/pancake/tortilla things a bit. Instant versions, not the fermented ones where you soak rice and lentils and then grind them to make a batter. There are a couple of my experiments on my food blog. You could get the gist from those, but mine usually aren't crispy because most dosa recipes use oil/ghee for cooking, and I try to minimize that as much as possible. I may also make the batter too thick for a proper dosa, making them more of a puda? I don't know.

Here are links to the two on my blog:

http://karicooks.blogspot.com/2009/10/b ... ncake.html
http://karicooks.blogspot.com/2011/08/m ... -with.html

This is Manjula's recipe for dosa made with mung beans:
http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/12/ ... -dal-dosa/

I can make dosa blindfolded. I have a picture in my blog.

If you don't want to grind ferment the grains yourself, you can buy urad dal and rice flour and let it sit on the counter for the better part of a day. I'd say 2 parts rice flour to 1 part urad dal flour, and enough water to make a batter.

Dosa batters are THICK you need to thin it out on the pan with a ladle or something. I have a recipe somewhere on here.

Here it is

1 part split ural dal lentils
2 parts either idli rice or white basmati rice (the white rices are higher in starch)

Rinse these grains very well. I hear you are supposed to soak them seperately, but I do not notice a difference. However, we have a vita mix so that could be the reason. So, soak these overnight.

In the morning give them another rinse, then put them in a high power blender. Add just enough water to cover (you can add water but you can't take it away, so if your blender complains too much add more water). Blend on high for about 30 seconds, the batter should feel grainy but have no big lumps in in.

Stick this in a very clean container with the lid only slightly open. Let this sit overnight. In the morning stick it in the fridge until you plan to use it, leave it any longer and it might go bad. If it is discoloured, I found you can scrape it off but it it probably not a good idea.

The tell-tale sign of a good batter is after a couple of hours in the fridge (Like 5 or 6) it should start to smell like yogurt. Add some salt, to taste.

So, this can be served three ways:

Place in a mold and steam for 10 minutes for idli.

Add ginger, cayenne, cumin, and corriander and make uttappa. Place some sliced red onion in a non-stick pan, add seeded and diced tomato that has been patted dry. Add the mixture and cook on low like a pancake. Flip and cook a little longer. Voila! Indian pizza!

Finally, spread the batter flat on a non-stick pan and POOF you have DOSAS!!!

Thanks so much for this dosa info -- sounds great...!

I'll also mention Kittee here, AKA 'Cake Maker to the Stars' (a vegan blogger -- not McDougall though she is gluten free). She makes a mean dosa (both regular and gluten free): http://kitteekake.blogspot.com/2009/10/ ... crepe.html

LOL once I went to a GF bakery and they had eggs in their tortillas. I asked why and they said, "You can't make GF foods without eggs. If you leave them out none of your GF foods with turn out." I turned around and walked away. Are these people nuts?!

Plumerias,

If you have not made a crepe before don't get frustrated. What I remember from cooking class is that it takes practice to work with the dough.

But all of your mistakes will be edible.

Yum - dosa - I'm not keen on her filling recipe so if anybody comes up with something please share.

Vic

Hi..I am sort of a newbie here..so is dosa MWL approved? or just an occasional treat?

Plumerias -- if you are in a big city in the US, many Indian grocery stores have fresh made dosa batter for sale. It is generally in the refrigeration section..although you cannot be sure what goes in it.


thanks!!

I would say it's a treat, and definitely not MWL.

The masala potato filling by itself would be approved though...just saying.

Loveskale,

Why wouldn't it MWL - the batter is made from rice and lentils right - both are MWL???

Does the process of making the batter make it refined and more calorie dense???

Seems to me that it might fall into that grey area like corn tortillas. Unelss you are eating ton of them - probably not a problem.

Vic

If you make your dosa from refined flours, it's probably not MWL friendly. On the other hand, if you're soaking whole grains and beans/lentils and grinding them into a batter, I wouldn't call them off limits. But that's just me. Some might consider dosa part of their beans, too, which McDougall encourages to keep at 1 cup per day average. I don't really worry about that. The beans in these are probably a dietary bonus as they digest more slowly (resistant starch?). The main consideration for me is finding ways to keep out the added oils. Americans aren't fat and sick because they eat dosa with their potatoes. Most are fat and sick because they eat Wonder bread with their bacon.
Odds are, if you're making your dosa from scratch (soaking/grinding), they won't be a huge part of your diet anyway. You won't be eating them at every meal. (Much easier to warm up a couple MWL-legal corn tortillas, right?) In that respect, dosa will probably be more of a "treat" food or an occasional food for most people, even non-MWL, because making them takes effort and planning. I would think so anyway. Your mileage may vary.

A few versions online:
http://redchillies.us/2007/09/11/nutrit ... urad-dosa/
http://blogs.poughkeepsiejournal.com/di ... ion-night/
http://bonnenutrition.blogspot.com/2009 ... s-and.html


http://ramkicooks.blogspot.com/2008/03/ ... reads.html This site has tons of stuff. The one-page cookbook format is pretty cool. This particular link is to the page for South Indian breads (including dosa). There are a lot of related links in the article itself. The cookbook page/image is printable, if you desire. Just click on it to enlarge, then print.

Again, my concern and focus generally comes back to eliminating the oils.

Thanks all!

Agnes: Can you measure out just enough for the meal from that instant mix? You know, like pancake mixes for example.

Loveskale: Are the urad dal and rice flour you mention two separate things, I'm thinking yes? What are they called in the Indian grocery, which is where I'm assuming you bought them? Where in the store are they, that is to say, with the lentils, with the rices? As we have only a food processor and mortar and pestle, these flour products sound interesting. Are there instructions for using these products, like approximate fermentation time at a particular temperature? I have seen dosai made, so I know I have to use the bottom of the ladle to spread the batter out with. How long does the batter hold in the fridge? Good grief, you even make your own idlis?!?!

victw: If your library has a good cookbook section, it is quite likely that you can find a dosa filling to your liking. In a quick check of my own books, I find a recipe in the following:
Dakshin, Vegetarian Cuisine from South India, Chandra Padmanabhan
Savoring the Spice Coast of India, Maya Kaimal
The Dance of Spices, Laxmi Hiremath
I also have one from a cooking class, but I can't presently lay my hands on it. No, I have never tried any of them.

kingbruce: There is a sticky at the top of the Maximum Weight Loss category that has information on its guidelines. No, I doubt a dosa is not MWL legal, but we do not follow that particular part of the McDougall programming. Generally they use white rice, which I don't believe falls within MWL guidelines. Freshly made dosa batter in the refrigerator section?!?!? Wahoo, I'll have to look when I am near a large enough store! I do keep threatening to just make the darned potato filling as a dish on its own though.

Agnes, thank you for posting the links to your blog. I like your recipes!

Not sure what instant mix you're referring to, but I did buy a package of instant dosa mix that I have yet to try. It's MTR brand for Rava Dosa (wheat cream pancake). The ingredients as listed are Semolina (46%), Rice (46%), Wheat cream, salt, cumin, green chilli, Malic acid (acidulant), Sodium acetate (acidity regulator).

So, this mix doesn't have urad dal or any other kind of lentil flour, just grain flour. You can mix up as much as you want at a time. Package says add 1 1/2 measure water and 1/2 measure curd (yogurt) to 1 measure of mix OR 2 measures water if you don't use the curd. The "measure" is up to you, but the serving size listed for the mix is 1/8 cup. Following that guideline, the batter for a dosa would amount to 6 Tbsp or a bit more than 1/3 cup.

I see no reason you couldn't mix up your own instant mix to keep on hand. If it's all dry ingredients it should be okay in the pantry for a while, or you could freeze it if it contains whole grains and you fear it will go rancid. You might be able to make urad flour in your food processor or blender. I haven't tried that. Those lentils are tiny. Might be able to do small amounts in the coffee grinder too. Chickpea flour/besan is readily available, if you wanted to use that.

This article is interesting. It shows how varied dosa (what's the plural of dosa?) can be. There's a pretty complex recipe at the end that contains multiple grains, urad dal and moong dal:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage ... 58471.aspx

Dosa. Dosa. Dosa. So many versions. So little time. Maybe one of these....?
http://www.cookingindex.com/recipes/63002/rava-dosa.htm
http://www.4thsensecooking.com/2010/01/ ... -dosa.html
http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archi ... a-or-puda/
http://www.fewminutewonders.com/2008/04 ... -dosa.html
http://www.aayisrecipes.com/category/dosa-corner/

Chef makes onion rava dosa in this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FDbSvQ8 ... re=related
"Look at the color!" Funny.
It's interesting that he sprinkles the oil on there, and then for a more crispy dosa he scrapes it all off.

You're welcome, and thank you. I'm not a terribly prolific blogger. (I'm still lazy after all these years. )