It was a lazy Saturday morning on which I decided to go to the temple for two reasons - 1) I hadn't been there in quite some time and 2) they serve excellent masala dosa at the temple cafeteria. However, god advised me not to take the 2 hour drive for the following reasons: Air pressure in the car tires was very low, so I went to fill air at the closest petrol pump, it turned out the air compressor was out of order, I went to second petrol pump and they did not even have an air compressor, finally I filled air at the third one and came home for a brief pitstop. After a 30 min halt, I decided to start and to my surprise found it was snowing which meant a 2 hour drive in the highway was the last thing one should do. I wasn't that disappointed as I could do that same thing at home, pray in the pooja room and make masala dosa thanks to my mom who had sent some instant dosa mix.
With in an hour I had some vegetables simmering in a hotpot for sambar and some potatoes in the pressure cooker for the masala filling. I was least worried about the dosa itself as I would be using the instant mix and nothing could go wrong, but I was wrong... VERY WRONG. The sambar came out very well and the masala for the Dosa was restaurant quality, however every dosa that I made had a mind of its own - some stuck to the stone, others peeled away in bits and pieces. I tried different temperature settings, varied the use of oil and even rubbed cut onions on the stone but it was futile and I had to settle with the exact opposite of a perfect plate of masala dosa.
Sunday morning I was on phone with my mom and told the tragedy in the kitchen that happened last evening, she asked me to give it another go with the real thing, she told me the easiest way to do it and I played along as though I was serious about it. Now, I will tell you this, I love south Indian food and really appreciate the way the south Indians have managed to invent food for every nucleus that makes up the cells of a single taste bud however I am equally put off by the herculean effort it takes for the preparation and of course the gigantic pile of dishes that need to be cleaned after the experiment. For years I have been avoiding south Indian cooking and I said to my self enough is enough, I have all the ingredients at home and the left over sambar and masala from Saturday's disaster. I will listen to my mom, I will give it another go and this time do it right.
So here goes:
Ingredients:
1) 3 Cups of rice ( Ordinary rice is perfect, do not use basmati )
2) 1 Cup Urad dal
3) Half a tea spoon of coriander seeds
4) Salt
5) Water
6) Oil
Preparation:
1) After washing the rice and urad dal, soak them separately, I left them soaked for about 2 hours
2) Grind the rice with very little water, this will take time and should be done with frequent stops when using a blender, however with a grinder it is a different story and can be done in one go.
3) After the rice is done, grind the urad dal. Urad dal gets done quickly and the paste is very soft, little bit of water will be required for the urad dal too while it is being ground.
4) Mix the ground urad dal with the ground rice and a table spoon of salt and give the mixture a few more spins in the blender
5) Leave the mixture aside for about 2 hours in a warm place for it to ferment a bit.
6) Heat the stone ( if you have a temperature monitor then 350 degrees F is the right temp)
7) I use a stainless steel Karchee to pour the dosa mix and spread it on the stone
8) Pour some oil around the edges and the across the center of the dosa.
9) Remove and flip the side and let it cook for a few more minutes.
10) If you have prepared masala ( simple preparation of potatoes, onions, green chillies, mustard seeds, coriander leaves) then use it to fill the dosa.
11) Serve with Sambar, coconut chutney.
Coriander seeds can be soaked and ground with the rice to add flavor, they also bring in a golden texture to the dosa Bon Appetit
Take away: Making the dosa at home was as good as conquering my fear of spiders, I could make it all by myself and in doing so I did NOT turn the kitchen into a F5 Tornado zone. The Dosa came out exceptionally well and I enjoyed the afternoon watching Top Gear, eating masala dosa with sambar and drinking iced tea. With this success I have 3 top tips:
1) Yes, South Indian food does require a lot of utensils
2) It is easy to clean the dishes then and there instead of loading the sink to the brim and feel hopeless and inadequate when it comes to doing the dishes and
3) Do NOT Buy Priya's instant Dosa mix - It is horrible.
