Masala Dosa (Crepe made from rice and black lentils with potato stuffing)

Masala Dosa is one of my favorite South Indian dish. Dosa is supposed to be originated from Temple streets of Udupi, Karnataka

Here are few facts about ingredients used in making Idli/Dosa:

1. Urad daal and feenugreek mix attracts air borne yeast which aids in fermentation
2. Iodine of Iodized salt kills the yeast , it is better to use kosher salt
3. The best temperature for fermentation is between 86-90 degree F
4. Fermentation should be carried out in wide mouthed opening, as it increases the chances of catching wild yeast for fermentation

Ingredients:

For Dosa

Urad daal [split un-husked black gram]- 0.5 cup
*Idli rice - 2 cups
Feenugreek seeds (methi seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Canola Oil - for cooking dosa

For Potato Filling

Potato (boiled) - 2 big
Onions - 1.5 medium size
Curry leaves - 7-8 in number
Mustard seeds (rai daana) - 1tsp
Green chillies - 1.5 tbsp chopped
Turmeric (haldi) - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1tsp
Salt - according to taste
Canola Oil - 2 tbsp
Rai [black mustard seeds] 1.5 tsp


Method:

For Potato Filling:

1. Cut the potatoes into small cubes and keep it aside
2. Coarsely chop onions [red onions taste better over yellow and white]
   
3. Heat oil add rai seeds followed by 7-8 curry leaves [be careful, the mustard seeds splutter and may pop out of the pan]
4. Add onions and cook till they turn pink [add some salt to avoid them from burning, as salt causes onions to sweat]
5. Now add green chillies [You can add them at step 2 as well, but be prepared to sneeze for sometime :))))]
   
6. Now add all the powdered spices and immediately add chopped boiled potatoes
7. Give a nice stir to the mixture and let it cook covered on low heat for sometime with occasional stirring [cooking covered helps to develop some moisture which helps in infusing the flavors of spices into the potatoes]
8. Once the potatoes are cooked, leave to mixture to cool and proceed to make Dosas!
   

For Dosa:

1. Soak the urad daal + feenugreek seeds and rice separately for 4 hours
2. Blend them separately in a mixer
   
3. Mix the blends from step 1 and 2 and leave it for fermentation
   
4. Depending on your geographic location, it may take between18 -24 hrs to ferment [the mixture looks foamy and somewhat double the initial amount after fermentation. It smells different too]
   
5. You can speed up the fermentation by keeping inside an un-switched oven
   
6. Once the mix has fermented you can start preparing dosas right away or keep it in refrigerator for later use
7. Heat the griddle [tawa], to check if the griddle has reached desired temperature, sprinkle few drops of water, it should immediately roll and evaporate [I only use non-stick griddle]
   
8. Lightly grease the griddle and pour one big scoop of fermented batter in the center like you make pancake and spread the batter in a circular motion to increase the size
9. In the event of spreading the batter you will see tiny holes which is very normal
10. Drizzle few drops of oil on the surface of the dosa
    
11. When the surface looks no more runny, flip the dosa and cook for maybe a minute
12. Flip the dosa back and spread the potato filling and fold the dosa and cook for few seconds and they are ready to serve
13. It can be eaten by itself or with Sambhar or Chutney

Notes:

• * You really want to use Idli rice because the rice is rich in amylopectin, a kind of carbohydrate required to get right fermentation and texture. If Indian store is far from your house, you can try white rice from Costco, it works just fine

• You can also use Arborio rice [Risotto rice] or Mochi rice [Japan] or sweet American rice