Masala Dosa

Hello boys and girls!

By show of hands, how many of you know I'm from Poona? 1, 2... bunch of people in the back.. 18, 19.. that big group to the left.. umm.. so that's a pretty reasonable number. Now, how many people know that Poona is referred to as the 'Oxford of the East'? Ooh.. good stuff! In case you're wondering, the point of this seemingly pointless exercise is to lay the foundation for this post's back story. Right, now since Poona is referred to as the
'Oxford of the East', on account of its rich legacy for education, it does tend to attract a lot of foreign students and today's recipe is a request from one of my friends from Iran who like countless others lost his heart to one of the many Udipi restaurants that dot the area around college campuses and provide some great food at even better prices.

Since the last recipe we looked at was sambar, it is quite fitting that this one be one of its most trusted companions. Dosa. Dosas come in many different avatars; plain, masala, rava, mysore and a host of others! This recipe will address the most popular variant i.e. masala dosa. Light, crispy dosa stuffed with spicy golden potatoes with a side of cold coconut chutney and piping hot sambar! Ah bliss!

Before we begin, just a heads up, don't expect to be making perfect looking dosas from the get go. Odds are that your first few dosas will look like they've been through a war. A war in which they did not fare very well. They will taste just fine but will be more than a little far from aesthetically pleasing. Also bear in mind if you're making them on a freshly scrubbed tava or pan, the first one will never come out right no matter how skilled you are.

For Masala Dosa (and a bonus Coconut Chutney) you will need the following:

For the batter:
Rice                              2 cup
Urad dal                        1 cup
Fenugreek seeds            1 tsp
Salt                               to taste

Note: You can get a dosa mix practically everywhere, so if I were you, I'd save myself some effort (and several hours) and just buy that.

For the masala:
Potatoes                        3-4 medium
Mustard seeds               1-2 tsp
Onion                            1 medium
Turmeric powder            1 tsp
Red chilli powder            1/2 tsp
Green chillies                 2-3
Curry leaves                   5-6
Salt                               to taste

For the chutney:
Fresh grated coconut       1-2 cups (or dessicated if you don't have any fresh coconut)
Green chillies                  2-3
Coriander leaves             small handful
Mustard seeds                 1-2 tsp
Salt                                to taste
Water                             splash

Prep:
Batter:

1. Wash and soak the rice, dal and fenugreek seeds in cold water.
2. Wait several hours.
3. Drain the water and grind the mixture to a fine texture (adding water until you have a batter-y consistency).
4. Empty the contents into a large bowl. (Make sure there is room in the bowl for the batter to rise.)
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Leave overnight.

OR

1. Open the instant mix packet.
2. Follow the instructions on the back of the box.
3. Add salt to taste.

Masala:

1. Boil the potatoes.
2. Thinly slice the onion.
3. Chop the chillies.
4. Once the potatoes are done, allow them a few minutes to cool, peel them, then roughly mash them.

Method:
Dosa:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Crank it up to high.
3. Bung on the tava/pan.
4. Ladle on a dollop of the batter in the center of the pan and spread it out with the ladle using an outward-moving circular motion.
5. Fail miserably.
6. Drizzle some oil on the edges of the dosa.
7. Wait for the batter to cook. (You can monitor this by sliding a spatula under it to see if the colour is a nice not too dark brown.)
8. Flip the dosa over for a few seconds.
9. Slide onto a plate.
10. Bump the gas to low.
11. Wipe the pan with a damp cloth.
12. Ladle on another dollop and spread it.
13. Improve with each dosa.
14. Repeat steps 6 to 12 until all the batter has been used up.
15. Turn the gas off.

Masala:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Toss in the mustard seeds.
5. Watch them bounce.
6. Float in the curry leaves.
7. Throw in the chillies. 
8. Slide in the onion.
9. Cook until the onions are translucent. (Also, you don't want to burn the mustard seeds else they'll get all bitter and gross.)
10. Add in the potatoes.
11. Mix well trying your hardest to not let the potatoes spill out of the pan.
12. Lose.
13. Pick up the spilled potatoes and toss them back into the pan.
14. Sprinkle on the turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt.
15. Mix well.
16. Cook for a minute or two until the turmeric is cooked. (Else you'll be able to taste it separately.)
17. Turn the gas off.

Chutney:

1. Toss the coconut into a grinder.
2. Throw in the chillies.
3. Throw in the coriander.
4. Sprinkle in the salt.
5. Grind the living crap out of the mixture. (Keep adding water to maintain the desired consistency.)
6. Spoon mixture out into a bowl.
7. Turn on the gas.
8. Splash in some oil.
9. Throw in the mustard seeds.
10. Cook for about 30 seconds.
11. Turn off the gas.
12. Mix with the contents of the bowl.

Assembly & Serving:

1. Lay some of the masala onto the dosa and fold/roll it over.
2. Serve with sambar and chutney.
3. Stuff face.
4. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Use a big flat tava/pan for the dosas. You will get better with time. It took me ages to make my dosas look like dosas and not the massacred mess I first started doling out.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!