Mmm…the Indian dosa. Whenever I return from a trip around India I long for these golden pancakes. Crisp on the outside and spongy on the inside…just the thought of them makes my mouth water. They are a speciality of South India and are perfect for breakfast.
They need thought beforehand to make them because you need to soak some of the ingredients overnight. The following is a recipe by the wonderful Mrs. S. Mallika Badrinath from her cookbook 100 Tiffin Varieties.
SET DOSA
INGREDIENTS
2 cups par boiled rice
2 cups raw rice
1 cup dehusked black gram
3 pinches kesar colour
1/4 tsp cooking soda
4 heaped tsp salt
Oil (enough for frying)
METHOD
1. Soak rice and dhal together in water for 4 hours.
2. Grind to smooth paste.
3. Add salt just before taking out of grinder.
4. Allow to ferment for 15 hours.
5. Next day morning add colour and soda to the batter.
6. Mix well. Pour onto hot fry pan or tawa.
7. Fry both sides with oil.
8. Serve hot.
Mrs Badrinath also includes the calorie value (Ganesha bless her) 1 dosa = 121 calories. Sounds pretty good to me. Do try it and see if you agree.
Lakshmi Loves To Shop 
Please, please let me post this link on your blog. I have serious feelings about dosas, and I need to share a dosa problem!
http://blograju.com/2012/06/30/save-the-first-dosa/
Loved your post 🙂 I totally agree it takes a few in the pan to get it perfect. Thank you so much for the tip ~ Lakshmi x
Nothing better than a well-made dosa with fresh coconut chutney! Color to a dosa batter? That’s a first. 🙂
I have never added the colour but this is Mrs Badrinath’s recipe and I must admit ALL her recipes have turned out perfectly for me 🙂 Thank you for your feedback ~ Lakshmi x
Yes…. Mrs. Badrinath’s recipes are good 🙂
She is an Indian cooking wizz & so many great cookbooks 🙂
One thing I never tire of! Never heard of colour in a Dosa either! I get that shiny golden surface by adding a tbsp of sugar to the batter. Substituting butter or ghee (clarified butter) for the oil makes it taste way better, even if the calorific value is upped a bit as well 🙂
Thank you for the great tips Madhu 🙂 I will definitely try the sugar and the ghee next time. I’m feeling very hungry for a dosa now ~ Lakshmi x
Dosa is one of ma fav. How I miss my dosa!
Yes dosas are definitely divine…mmm!
I love Dosa but i like more peserattu…but i get bore eating such long paper dosa
That is so funny…my boys find the huge paper dosa a bit much too 🙂 thank you for dropping by.
There is a local cultural festival in Winnipeg where I live called Folklorama that represents cultures from around the world and last night I went to the Tamil pavilion and had a wonderful masala dosa served with some really good sambhar. Finding a good dosa, actually finding any dosa, is particularly difficult here, so it becomes a once in a year event for me.
I rembember having them everywhere on my last trip to India, particularly in Pondicherry.
I’ll have to give this recipe a try. 🙂
Sounds like a wonderful cultural festival. We had some fab dosas in Pondicherry too. Once near the Muddumalai National Park my sons had a dosa. They both were wearing hats as they entered the restaurant and the dear chef made the dosas into the shape of a hat. My boys were very impressed 🙂 so lovely to hear from you ~ Lakshmi x
One of the yummiest thing on earth created by mankind 🙂
I just love-in it . . . mouth watering !
I adore them too! Yum yum 🙂 thank you so much for your comments ~ Lakshmi
So happy to learn that the set dosa is only 121 calories! Though once you add the “masala” mixture the count will, no doubt, go way up. They are worth it!
Wasn’t it so cute that she included the calorie count 🙂 yes when I add the potato marsala the colories will go up but they ARE definitely worth it!
Returning to India next month – yum yum dosas! But also really really am hooked on idliis – especially in Tamil Nadu, and they are healthier since no oil is used.
Are you going to Tamil Nadu on your trip? I love it there 🙂 I love idliis too…they are a breakfast speciality and very tasty too with a little sambar. I can’t wait to hear about your trip…will you be blogging along the way? Have a great day ~ Lakshmi x
Yes, we live there for about 6 months, Tiruvanammalai mostly……silent mountain……
Tiruvannamalai is lovely…I have been there twice. The Sripuram Ashram I visit each year is in Tamil Nadu at Thirumalaikodi. Have a lovely day ~ Lakshmi x
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Dearest Anil thank you for thinking of me…it was very sweet of you 🙂 my reward is following your darling blog and you enjoying mine so please pass the award on to another blog you love. Thank you for being such a loyal blogging friend ~ Lakshmi x
The dosa sounds delicious. I am not clear, however, about some of the ingredients in the recipe, black gram and dhal. I have no idea what they are and what to do with the black gram.
They are a type of lentil. Look for them in an Indian supermarket 🙂 hope that helps ~ Lakshmi x