CRISPY MASALA-ISH POTATO DOSA WITH SPRING ONION / SAVORY WINTER DOSA WITH MARMALADE AND PECORINO / HYDERABAD STREET DOSA
CRISPY MASALA-ISH POTATO DOSA WITH SPRING ONION / SAVORY WINTER DOSA WITH MARMALADE AND PECORINO / HYDERABAD STREET DOSA
There are many available options for dosa mix, both wet and dry. I prefer a wet mixed brand called Banjali, which I buy here in New York at Kalyustians. Kalyustians has been around since the 1940s; it was initially a market for Indian spices and groceries but is now known for specialty comestibles. If you haven't been, it is well worth a trip. I always leave with more than planned; it never disappoints. A few years ago, we traveled around India with Diaspora founder Sana Javeri Kadri, photographing a handful of her farm partners. We talked about dosa; her take on ready-made batter was that they were all pretty bad. While it's true that I have had a few disappointing batters, the biggest drawback was that they stuck to the pan; I stand by the Banjali batter.
I have made both dosas and Idli with their batter, and it's perfect. Walking with Sana through her neighborhood in Mumbai, we visited her local spot for dosa batter. When we arrived, the men working at the stall were mid-soaking and grinding the rice and urad dal. There were many vats in various stages of fermentation. The stall's floors and walls were covered in rice, lentil dust, and Pollock-like batter splatters. I watched them grind the rice with a big stone grinder as they gave me a few tips for making dosa at home. I watched, fascinated, as the men, faces covered in the dust of rice and lentils, clothes splattered with dosa batter, moved through the task of making the batter. You can ferment your batter as they were doing if you want, but it is a process. I have included a recipe below if you wish to do so. Dosa is made with three ingredients: lentils, rice, and fenugreek, which aids fermentation. As the men at the shop in Mumbai told me, the lentils and rice are soaked overnight and then stone-ground separately to a soft, milky slurry. They are combined, the fenugreek is added, and they are ground again. The batter is left to ferment for 8-12 hours.
Once the dosa is fermented, they scoop it into small plastic bags and pile it up in the front of the stall. Customers come all day to buy the soft, milky putty pouches of batter.
Once back in New York, I tried to channel them; the recipe below is where I landed. ( and again, feel free to buy the Banjali batter if making it from scratch feels too daunting) The process feels like making a sourdough starter to me. Once you get in the habit of making it, you will want to keep it on hand. Dosa's make the best quick meal or snack. They can be both sweet or savory, simple or fully loaded.
For many years, we lived a few blocks from Hampton Chutney, a delicious dosa spot, which has now sadly closed its New York City location. (still out east, though) After taking our kids to India when they were 7 and 8, they, too, became obsessed with a crunchy dosa. A short walk to Hampton Chutney for dosa and steamy chai became a weekend ritual. The kids liked their dosas fully loaded; I stuck to the Masala or the cheese dosa, which I was sure must be some American bastardization. It wasn't until visiting the city of Hyderabad in Southern India with Sana and eating some of the best street food I have ever had that I came face to face with cheese and semolina dosa, a piping hot street food specialty of Hyderabad. I stood mesmerized as giant ladles of batter pooled into a bubbling fermented disc. They worked quickly, drizzling a small amount of ghee, a ladle of batter, and a tiny puddle of cooked semolina porridge plopped in the middle. As steam rose and swirled around the giant circular disc, the dosa maker added shavings of cheese, raw onion, and ridiculously umami-bursting chili podi. (if you know, you know, linking a recipe for curry leaf chili podi from Sana here.) The last step was to deftly grab a raw tomato and squeeze it into a ball, juice and seeds dripping into the center of the dosa, which was beginning to crisp at its edges. He swooshed all the ingredients together before folding it and sliding it quickly into a newspaper envelope with the back of a spoon. We ate quickly and got in line for more.
Round two was steaming piles of Idli doused in ghee and chili podhi.
DOSA BATTER
makes about 4 cups of batter
1 1/2 cups rice Dosa rice (at your Indian market or use any short grain rice)
1/2 cup split Urad Dal
1 teaspoon fenugreek
METHOD
Soak rice and Dal separately overnight. I use quart containers.
About 4 inches of water on top to cover
FOR THE RICE
In the morning, reserve the soaking water and set it aside. Transfer the rice and dal separately to a colander and rinse.
Grind the rice and dal separately.
Start with the rice, which takes longer to grind. Add 1 cup of soaking water to rice and grind it in a food processor; for about 5 minutes, the batter will be a little grainy with a consistency of heavy cream ( add more water if it is too thick. The soaking water will aid in fermentation. Scrape the sides down of the food processor if needed. Transfer it to a bowl and set it to the side when ready.
FOR URAAD DAL
Add 1 cup of the soaking water and the fenugreek. Grind to the consistency of heavy cream.
Scrape the sides down of the food processor if needed.
Combine the rice and dal batter in the food processor.
Processes on high until the batter is thick and smooth.
Pour into a 1/2 gallon ball jar, leaving about half empty for headroom.
Cover with cheesecloth and secure with a string or a rubber band
Set aside in a dark, warm spot and ferment for 10-12 hours
Fermentation may happen more quickly if you are in a warmer climate.
You will see your batter double in size.
SALT AFTER FERMENTATION
Stir in 1 teaspoon of salt after the 10-12 hour fermentation.
COOKING
I use a large flat cast iron pan with no lip. You can find a dosa pan online or use a flat tortilla pan. The key is for there to be no lip so the dosa will not get stuck.
Turn the pan to medium-high heat.
Splatter the pan with water to see if it is hot enough to start. When it is, the water will bubble, splatter, and evaporate quickly.
Add a little ghee, about 1/2 teaspoon. With a paper towel, move the ghee around the pan to thoroughly coat
Turn the heat down to medium.
With a ladle, drop a spoonful of batter in the center of the hot pan; quickly swirl the batter out towards the sides of the pan in a circular motion. You want the batter to be thin and evenly coat the pan. The dosa will steam a little as it cooks. Add a little ghee and smooth it around with the back of a spoon. Tiny visible air holes will start to form. Once the dosa becomes visibly crispy at the edges, it is done. Add fillings. Fold it in half with a spatula and transfer it to a plate.
CRISPY MASALA-ISH POTATOES WITH SPRING ONION
Serves 4
2 pounds of potatoes peeled and cubed (about 5-6 medium-sized potatoes)
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons powdered turmeric
5 tablespoons ghee
4 tablespoons neutral oil
1-2 spring onions with greens chopped coarsely (about 1 1/2 cups)
If spring onion isn't available, any allium with greens will do; leeks, ramp, or scallion, for instance
1 spring garlic finely chopped or two cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon brown mustard seed
1-inch nub of ginger minced
1/4 dried red chili
2 cardamom pod crushed seeds removed and crushed
12 fresh curry leaves
*feel free to up the chili if you want more heat
METHOD
Peel and quarter the potatoes lengthwise and cut them into 1/4-inch pieces
Add ½ tablespoon salt to the water and boil the potatoes until tender but not falling apart.
Drain and set aside to cool.
Clean and roughly chop the spring onion, using the green tops and the bulb, and set aside.
Grate the ginger and set aside.
Add two tablespoons of ghee and neutral oil to a large cast-iron or stainless steel fry pan.
Spread the potatoes into a single layer
Add turmeric and salt and stir gently to combine.
Resist the urge to stir too much; you want the potatoes to develop a crust. Fry until golden and crispy on one side. Flip with a spatula and fry the other side. Flip one more time so most of the potatoes are crispy.
Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add three tablespoons of ghee in the same cast iron and melt over medium-high heat.
Add mustard seeds and cook until they bloom and dance for about a minute.
Turn the heat down and Add the ginger, chili, crushed cardamom, and spring onion.
Cook until onions are soft. About 3-4 minutes.
Add curry leaves and cook until they turn a bright green
Return the potatoes to the pan with the onion mixture and toss to combine.
Add the potato filling to the crispy dosa.
Garnish with fresh coriander and cilantro chutney.
SAVORY WINTER DOSA WITH MARMALADE AND PECORINO
( PHOTO COMING SOON )
This marmalade and pecorino dosa is an ode to crispy Frico and apple served at Buvette. I first had frico at Buvette when we were shooting the cookbook.
The thin, crispy cheese served with sharp apples was everything I wanted to eat. I had been thinking of doing a frico with marmalade on a snowy winter morning in New York, but that thought morphed into something else. So I pulled out the dosa batter, some pecorino, some ghee, and a pile of marmalade jars next to the stove, the spoils of my most recent obsession.
I heated the flat skillet, drizzled some ghee, and gently wiped the excess away with a paper towel. Next, I poured my batter, spooned a little ghee, grabbed the micro-plane, showered it with sharp Pecorino, and spooned Calamansi and ginger marmalade over the cheese. I am not exaggerating when I say this was one of the most delicious things I have eaten in a long time. The sour-sweet fermented taste reminded me of a buckwheat crepe I ate in the Himalayas dripping in local apricot jam. Like the frico and apple, it hits all the salty, nutty, sweet-sour umami notes.
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Follow the directions above to make the batter.
INGREDIENTS
dosa batter
ghee
marmalade preferably homemade
grated Pecorino
METHOD
Follow the cooking method above.
Drizzle a little ghee on the dosa.
Add two tablespoons of marmalade.
Grate Pecorino over the marmelade.
Fold the dosa and serve.
HYDERABAD STREET DOSA
Follow the directions above to make the batter.
INGREDIENTS
Make a thin semolina porridge ABOUT 1/2 CUP
Dosa batter
Ghee
1 small red add onion chopped finely
1 slice white cheddar Cheese
1/2 teaspoon curry leaf or chili podi
2 tomatoes crushed by hand
METHOD
Cook the semolina porridge and set it aside.
Follow the cooking instructions above.
Add a large pat of butter or ghee to the cooking dosa
Add a spoonful of semolina porridge and smear the butter and porridge together
Add a good pinch of curry leaf or chili podi
Add a tablespoon of chopped red onion.
Add a square of cheddar cheese.
Squeeze the juice and pulp of one tomato over the cooking dosa.
Add chopped mint.
Fold over and serve piping hot.
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