South Indian Recipes - Dosa and Uttapam

Dosa or Rice Pancake as some people call it is a South Indian speciality which are extremely popular and liked by all.

Before making Dosa the batter should be prepared. For this soak overnight 3 cups of Rice, 1 cup of Skinless Black gram one tsp of fenugreek seeds and salt. In the morning drain the water and make a very fine paste of the mixture in a food processor by adding the necessary water to make the batter. Once ready keep aside the batter in a warm dark place for 8 hours so that it ferments well. Once done stir the batter well adding more water and salt if necessary.

For someone who is not experienced in making dosas it is better to use a non stick pan. Before making Dosa also make sure that you have a small bowl of cooking oil, ladle for pouring dosa mixture into the pan, clean cotton cloth for applying oil and spatula kept near by. Keep the nonstick pan on the gas stove and heat it at medium flame. Once heated spread oil in the pan using the cloth and pour 1 ladle of batter to the middle of the pan and spread the batter in circular motions starting from the middle. Sprinkle oil or ghee on top of the dosa and on the sides using the spoon. Once the dosa leaves the pan easily flip the dosa using the spatula. Once cooked remove from pan and serve hot accompanied by coconut chutney and sambar. For preparing the next dosa you may sprinkle some cold water and clean the pan with a clean towel’ before pouring the batter.

You can also make Masala Dosa or Uthappam which are variations from the simple plain dosa.

If you have left over Idli or dosa Batter you can make Uthapam easily.

Ingredients

4 Cups of left over Dosa Batter

1 Cup Finely Chopped Onion

½ Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves

2 chopped Green Chillies

¼ Cup Grated Carrot (optional)

¼ Cup chopped Tomatoes (optional)

¼ Cup fresh green peas (optional)

¼ Cup Grated Coconut

1 pinch of turmeric powder (optional)

Salt

Heat 2 tsp Oil in a Kadai and temper with mustard seeds and split black gram and add to the batter. Pour the mixture using a ladle in the middle of the tawa and spread into thick dosas. Spread the chopped ingredients mixed well evenly on top of the dosa and Sprinkle oil on top and sides and cover cook in low flame. If you find it difficult, you may add all the ingredients in the batter directly. Once it is cooked flip and cook well on the other side too. When ready remove from pan and serve hot with Chutney.