Archive for the ‘BREAKFAST VARIETIES’ Category

I am sure roti is a all time favourite breakfast,  especially  with a perfect side dish.  It is very simple to make soft and delicious rotis.

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour – 2 cups

Water ( luke warm) – 3/4 cup

Salt – 1/4 tsp (to taste)

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Procedure

Preparation of the dough

-Mix the wheat flour and salt together in fairly a large and broad bowl.  Make a well in the middle and add the water little by little and keep mixing it until the dough is moist enough to be gathered into a rough mass.

-Continue mixing the flour until  it becomes a  non sticky kneadable  dough. Keep kneading the dough until it becomes  smooth, silky and elastic in nature ( if you press the dough lightly in the finger tip it will bounce back).

-Allow the dough to rest for atleast 1/2 an hour.  Cover it with a wet cloth to avoid drying of the upper layer.

Preparation of Roti

-Divide the dough into small balls of lemon size.  Using rolling pins flatten the dough evenly in round shape.

-Preheat a cast-iron tawa over medium heat.  Place the rolled dough on the palm of one hand and flip it over on the tawa.  When the colour changes on the top and bubbles appear,  turn it over.  When both sides are done,  use kitchen tongs to remove the chapati from the skillet.

-Hold the chapathi over the medium flame and it will puff up immediately.  Turn quickly to flame- bake the other side.  Do this several times,  till the edges are well cooked.

-Remove the roti from the flames.  Also remove the steam from the roti using both the hands to prevent hardening of roti.  To keep the rotis warm as they are cooked,  place them in a towel-lined bowl and and fold over the sides of the bowl.  Serve hot,  either completely dry or topped with a small amount of ghee or butter

RAVA IDLI an ideal morning breakfast, very nutritious but easy  to make.

INGREDIENTS

Rava/ sooji – 1 cup (small once preferred)

Curd / Yogurt – 1 cup (If it is little sour in taste it will enhance the taste of the idli)

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Grated ginger -  1/2 tsp

Finely chopped chillies – 2 or 3 ( to taste )

Chopped coriander – 2 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 strand

Chenna dhal, Urud dhal, Jeera – 1/2 tsp each

finely grated carrot – 1/2  cup

Cashew – 10-15 (optional)

Ghee – 2 tsp

Oil – 2tbl spoon

baking salt – 1/4 tsp (Soda)

Salt – 1 tsp ( to taste)

Water – 1/4 cup

PROCEDURE

- Apply 2 tbl spoon of  oil in a pan . Add the mustard seeds , once it starts popping add Chenna dhal, Urud dhal, Jeera and fry till they are golden brown, then add the finely grated ginger, green chillies, and curry leaves and season them.

-Add the rava and fry it for about 5 minutes, so that the sooji is fried.  Now add fried things to the curd.  Also add  the baking salt,  a pinch of asafoetida, chopped carrot, coriander and mix well. The batter should be of idli consistency.  Set aside for 30 minutes.

-In the mean time add 2 tsp of ghee to the pan and fry the cashews till they are golden brown.  (Make the cashews into half and then fry).

-Greece the idli stand .  Fill the molds with the batter and then place the cashews on the top of the batter so that when idlis are cooked the cashews can be seen on the top. Pressure cook without placing weight, for about 12 to 15 minutes. Switch of the stove and give a standing time for about 2 minutes before removing the idlis form the plate.

Spicy and tasty rava idlis  are ready to be served. Serve it with chutney and sambar.

Apart from adding carrot , you can also add 2 tbl spoons of grated coconut, finely chopped beans , beetroot , fresh green peas, capsicum, cabbage and even cauliflower. If you are going to add many vegetables,  then let the cut vegetable amount to 3/ 4 cup.

I try to add as many vegetables as possible , so that the vegetable idli becomes quite nutritive.

If don’ t prefer to add baking salt,  then increase the oil to 3 tbl spoon while seasoning the sooji  and increase the quantity of curd to 1 1/4 cup.

Idli  can be called Tamil Nadu delicacy.  It is easy  to make but a nutritious breakfast.

Idli preparation involves 2 steps  1.  The preparation of batter . 2. Preparation of idli.

INGREDIENTS FOR BATTER PREPARATION

Boiled rice – 3 cups

Urad dhal – 1 cup

Methi seeds – 2 tsp

Salt – 1 1/2 tsp ( to taste )

PROCEDURE

-Soak the rice and urud dhal for at least 4 hours separately. Methi seeds can be soaked with urud dhal.  I use wet grinder to make the batter.  You can use food processor to make the batter.

-Wash the soaked rice thoroughly well and add to the grinder to make it a batter which is not very smooth but little bit coarse- grained.  Set aside the rice batter separately.

- Again wash the urud dhal (whole)  and start grinding it by adding water little by little.  Make it into a smooth and fluffy paste.  Preparation of this batter will take little time.  The more you grind the urud dhal , the more soft idlis are.  When you feel it in hand, the batter must be smooth (feel of a satin).

-Now mix the rice batter along with it , add salt and mix both the batters thoroughly from top to bottom and leave it undisturbed for at  least 8 hours.

PREPARATION IF IDLIS

-Greece the idli mold with edible oil.

-Fill the molds with idli batter.  If you are going to use pressure cooker don’t place weight .

-Set the stove in high untill a heavy steam comes through the nostril of the cooker.

- Once you see the steam coming out,  lower the flame and cook it for about 10 minutes.

-Switch of the stove and give a standing time for about 2 minutes. Open the cooker and remove it from the idli mold. They are done when a spoon or a stick pricked in the middle comes out clean.

Soft and puffy idlis are ready. Serve it hot with chutney and sambar.

South Indian recipes are rich in taste and nutrition . There are umpteen varieties of breakfast. Begin the day by making a nice and tasty breakfast, make all the family members happy , then the whole day is going to be yours.

Rava Kichidi or Uppuma
A very simple but delicious breakfast. Can be made healthier and wholesome by adding vegetables. It is advisable to take at least 4 to 5 servings of vegetables in a day. So try to include veggies in almost all your preparation.

Ingredients

Roasted rava – 1 cup (dry roast till it is light golden brown in colour)
(it can even be roasted in ghee
Mixed vegetables – 1 cup (carrot, onion , peas, capsicum, curry beans, potato, tomato cut into small pieces uniformly)
finely chopped ginger- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Chopped coriander – 2 tsp
Green chillies – 4 in nos (either cut longitudinally or into small pieces)

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urud dhal – 1 tsp
chenna dhal – 1 tsp
cumins seeds- 1/2 tsp
oil – 2 table spoon

Procedure

- Apply the oil in the kadai and season the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. After the splitting sound is over saute the broken urad dhal and chenna dhal till golden brown.

- Now add the curry leaves and cut vegetables and fry for about 5 minutes. In the mean time boil 2 cups of water .

- Add the roasted rava to the vegetables and again fry the mix for about 2 minutes also add the required amount of salt.

- Now pour the boiling water into the kadai and uniformly so there are no rava lumps. Close the kadai with a lid and let it get cooked for about 10 minutes. Finally garnish it with coriander.

The best side dish for rava kichidi is coconut chutney, mangai thokku
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ARISI UPPUMA

One of the favourite morning breakfast of South India is Arisi Uppuma

Ingredients

• Rice – 1 cup
• Toor Dhall – 3 tsp
• Pepper – 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seed
• Regular Oil – 2 tsp
• Coconut oil – 2 tsp (Optional . You can increase the quantity of regular oil)
• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Urud dhall – 1/2 tsp
• Channa dhall – 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida powder – a pinch
• Salt to taste
• Red chillies -4
• Fresh coconut – 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves – 10- 15 leaves finely chopped

- Wash the rice thoroughly and stain the water dry it by spreading it in a cloth.

- Grind the dried rice , thoor dhal, pepper and cumin seeds coarsely.

- Take a wide pan and preheat the oil. Add mustard seeds , once it splutters add urud dhal, chenna dhal and red chillies and fry till golden brown.

- Add 2 ½ cup of water to the pan. Bring it to boil. Now add coconut, curry leaves
and the required salt allow it to boil for ½ a minute and add asafoetida.

- Now add the rice powder and mix it thoroughly with out any lumps. Close the
pan with the lid and allow it to cook until the rice and the dhal cooks. It will
approximately take around 10 to 15 minutes to cool.

You can also pressure cook this uppuma. Reduce the quantity of oil to 2 tsp. After mixing with the rice powder transfer the same to pressure cooker. Allow the cooker to be on high fire til 2 whistles come. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

Release it and serve it with green chutney or coconut chutney or kathirikai gotsu
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Semiya Uppuma

Ingredients

Roasted Semiya – 1 cup (dry roast till it is light golden brown in colour)
(it can even be roasted in ghee
Mixed vegetables – 1 cup (carrot, onion , peas, capsicum, curry beans, potato, tomato cut into small pieces uniformly)
finely chopped ginger- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Chopped coriander – 2 tsp
Green chillies – 4 in nos (either cut longitudinally or into small pieces)

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urad dhal – 1 tsp
chenna dhal – 1 tsp
cumins seeds- 1/2 tsp
oil – 2 table spoon

Procedure

- Apply the oil in the kadai and season the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. After the splitting sound is over saute the broken urad dhal and chenna dhal till golden brown.

- Now add the curry leaves and cut vegetables and fry for about 5 minutes. In the mean time boil 1 1/2 cups of water .

- Add the roasted semiya to the vegetables and again fry the mix for about 2 minutes also add the required amount of salt.

- Now pour the boiling water into the kadai and mix uniformly. Close the kadai with a lid and let it get cooked for about 10 minutes. Finally garnish it with coriander.

The best side dish for semiya kichidi is coconut chutney, mangai thokku, tomato ketchup.
The picture given is with mangai thokku.

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AVAL UPPUMA

Ingredients

Aval or rice flakes – 1 cup
grated coconut – 1/2 cup
red chillies – 2 nos
green chillies- 2 nos

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urad dhal – 1 tsp
chenna dhal – 1 tsp
oil – 2 table spoon
curry leaves – 10 to 15 nos
asafoetida – 1/ tsp
trumeirc powder – 1/4 tsp

Procedure

-Wash the aval in water and drain it thoroughly. If it is thin variety then it is enough if you wash it. But if it belongs to thick variety (getti aval) then soak with a ladle of wat
er for1/2 an hour.

-Apply the oil in the kadai and season the mustard seeds . After the splitting sound is over saute the broken urad dhal and chenna dhal till golden brown along with the chillies and curry leaves.

-Now mix the soaked aval . Just season it for 2 minutes by adding the grated coconut. I you cook it for a longer period then the aval will get smashed. Granish it with coriander.

If you like to add onion to it, then fry the onion before adding aval to it. You can also add roasted cashews. It is very simple and nutritious.

PULI AVAL

Ingredients

Aval or rice flakes – 1 cup
tamarind – lemon size
red chillies – 4 nos
green chillies- 2 nos
methi powder – 1/4 tsp

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urad dhal – 1 tsp
chenna dhal – 1 tsp
oil – 2 table spoon
curry leaves – 10 to 15 nos
asafoetida – 1/ tsp
trumeirc powder – 1/4 tsp

Procedure

-Wash the aval in water and drain it thoroughly. Try to make it with (getti aval). Soak the aval for about 20 minutes in a in little bit thick tamarind extract. Also add salt

-Apply the oil in the kadai and season the mustard seeds . After the splitting sound is over saute the broken urad dhal and chenna dhal till golden brown along with the chillies, methi powder and curry leaves.

-Now mix the soaked aval . Just season it till the raw smell of the tamarind vanishes. Granish it with coriander.

This will have the taste of puliyodharai. If you like peanuts then add it while seasoning the other dhals. While adding cashews, fry them in ghee and add atlast. Peanuts will stay crisp for a longer period than cashews. Avoid adding fried cashews during cooing for any dish for that matter.
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Adai is one of the favourite south Indian recipes which is rich in carbohydrate and proteins. It can also be made more nutritious by adding vegetables.

Adai -Procedure
Ingredients

Boiled rice - 1 cup
Chenna Dhal – 1/2 cup
Thoor Dhal – 1/4 cup
Urud dhal – 1/4 cup
Red chillies – 16 Nos (green chillies can also be used)
Salt – 2 tsp
Asofoetida – 1/2 tsp
Coconut, ginger – 1 cup, 1 inch long ( optional)
Curry leaves
Procedure

- Soak the boiled rice for 3 hours and the all the dhal for 2 hour separately.
- Drain the water and grind the dhal coarsely. Also grind the rice not into a very smooth batter but little bit coarse along with chillies , asafoetida, coconut and ginger. Only then you will get a very crispy adai.

- Heat a tava(griddle) and grease it generously. Now, pour one ladleful of batter on the tava(griddle) and roast both sides till it becomes golden in color.

In general many people like to add finely chopped onion and coriander to the batter. This makes the adai more tasty.

It is better to add ginger because adai preparation involves more usage of dhal.

if you are a vegetable lover then you can even add finely chopped cabbage, grated potatoes, murungai keerai (drumstick leaves) to the batter.

PARANGI ADAI

I devote this preparation to my grandmother from whom I learnt .

All you have to do is prepare the adai batter. Finely chop the Illam parangikai (yellow pumpkin) . Mix with the batter and make the adai dosa. It is will be very tasty.

Adai can be served with pure coconut chutney , tomato ketchup, jaggery and butter ( butter must be fresh) or any pickle like Mangai thokku or tomato thokku. But of all the best combination for adai is aviyal ( made from mixed vegetables ).

Command your kitchen by providing variety but healthy food to your family.

Uthappam Varities

Using Dosa Batter we can make different varieties of uthappam. Uthappam is nothing but little thick garnished dosa.

PLAIN UTHAPPAM

Apply the dosa batter in the tawa. Don’t make too flat as that of Dosa. Spread the batter little thick. Apply oil on both sides so that it can be flipped easily. Either you can make a plain uthappam or can saute mustard seed, more milagai or green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida to get an added flavour.

Let me tell you how to make simple ONION UTHAPPAM

• Finely chop the onion and green chillies. Add 1/4 spoon of salt to the onion . The quantity depends upon an individual. Some prefer with more onion and green chillies.
• Now apply the dosa batter in the tawa. Don’t make too flat as that of Dosa. Spread the batter little thick.
• Scatter the onion and chillies uniformly on the top side of the dosa and apply oil on both sides. Since the batter is wet the onions will stick on to the batter.
• Using a idili moodi cover the dosai for about 2 minutes in low heat so that the onion will get cooked and you will not have the raw smell.
• By now the onion would have stuck to dosai. Now turn the dosa allow it to cook for a minute. Now both the onion and the dosa would have been well cooked . In fact the onion would would have turned into crispy brown.

It is always better to cook the side of dosai without vegetable little crispy.

The Tasty onion Uthappam is ready.

The same way you can make different types of Uthappams.

MIXED VEGETABLE UTHAPPAM-

Finely chopped, carrot, onion, cauliflower, cabbage , fresh green peas, coriander.

The vegetables must be finely chopped. Green peas can be grinded once in the mixie (call it oru thirippu). Then the procedure is same as that of onion uthappam.

TOMATO UTHAPPAM –

Fresh red tomatoes. Pepper powder.

Cut the tomatoes into round slices. Apply little salt and place it in the fridge for 10 minutes before making the uthappam. Carefully spread the tomato slices on the dosa and also sprinkle the pepper powder on the top of the tomato slices. The dosa should not be very thick because you cannot turn this uthappam and cook. If you do it all the tomato slices will stick to the tawa.
So first cook it by closing it idili mooddi , and apply little more oil to make it crisp.

You can also make this finely chopped onions , tomatoes , green chillies and coriander.

PALAK UTHAPPAM -

Finely Chopped palak -1 cup, onion 1/2 cup and green chillies

Now cook the palak for about 5 minutes. Since palak has lots of water content, it will get cooked within few minutes. Now apply 1 tsp of oil in kadai and fry the green chillies & onion for about 2 minutes and then add the cooked palak and season it till the water content evaporates. You can very well mix the with the dosa batter and make the uthappam.

You can make this type of nutritious uthappam with any type of of greens. Esspecially with methi, an araikeerai the taste is very good. Children will also like it very much.

The other different toppings are

1. PODI UTHAPPAM

Sprinkle chutney podi over the utappam

2. PATANI UTHAPPAM

Uthappam spread with green peas & spices . Here the spices mean 1/2 garam masala powder, chopped coriander and chillies.

3.CARROT PODI UTHAPPAM

Uthappam spread with grated carrot and spice mix

4.TOMATO CHEESE UTHAPPAM

Uthappam spread with fresh tomatoes and cheese

5.KUDAIMILAGAI CHEESE UTHAPPAM

Uthappam spead with capsicum and cheese

6.PODI CHEESE UTHAPPAM

Uthappam spread with grated cheese and spice mix

While using cheese it is better to grate it than using is as flakes. Mushrooms can also be used fro toppings.

By using your own creativity try to make your kitchen a healthy restaurant for your family and friends.

In my previous post I have already explained how to prepare dosai batter and about its consistency. Now let me tell you about how to prepare Masala Dosai. You can enjoy the hotel delight at home.

The quantity I am giving here, you can prepare Masal Dosai for 4 to 5 people

Ingredients

Potatoes (large size ) – 4 Nos
Onion ( large size) – 2 Nos } Finely Chopped
Carrot – 1 No }
Green Chillies – 4 to 5 Nos
Chopped coriander – 1 table spoon
Curry leaves – 15 to 20 leaves
Oil – 1 table spoon
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Cumin’s seeds – 1/2 tsp (optional)
Ginger Garlic paste – 1/2 tsp

Procedure

- Boil the potatoes and smash well.

- Cut the green chillies longitudinally.

-Now apply the oil in the kadai and saute the mustard seeds, jeera. Soon after the splitting sound stops add the ginger garlic paste, curry leaves, and green chillies and fry for about 1 minute.

- Add the chopped onions and carrot and a pinch of turmeric powder.

- After frying for about 2 to 3 minutes in high flame add 1/2 a cup of water and required amount of salt. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. If you add salt the onion will cook fast.

-After the onion and carrot is cooked add the smashed potatoes and the required amount of salt and water, mix it well.

-Switch of the stove and add the chopped coriander.

Now the masala is ready. This is the stuff we are going to pack inside the dosa.

I already told you how to prepare the paper roast. All you have to do is if you going to take a bowl full of batter then you have to add 2 tsp of corn flour. Dilute it to dosa batter consistency and while doing the dosa it requires
little bit of more oil than ordinary dosa.

Now while making paper roast , let the dosa to roast on one side. Just turn the dosa and cook on the tawa for 1 minute.
It is enough if you are able to remove it form the tawa.Again let the roasted side fate the tawa and apply the stuffing on the white side of the dosa fold it the way you like. let Stuffed dosai stay in the tawa for just 1/2 a minute.

Serve it with chutney and Sambar.

For complete recipes both vegetarian and non vegetarian, you can visit HERE

One of the most common and delicious tiffin of Tamil Nadu is Dosa. It is one of the easiest tiffin preparation even for beginners. You can make variety of dosa by making small changes and adding few things. I have seen many people buying the batter needed to make dosa from shops. Why Don’t you try it at home making the batter. It is both economical and hygienic. Let me start with the preparation of DOSA BATTER or DOSA PASTE

Preparation of Batter

Ingredients

Rice -3 cups
Urud Dhal – 1 cup

-Soak rice and urud dhal separately for 6 hours overnight in water.
-Grind to paste.
-Mix together, add salt with water to make batter. A free flow is the consistency of the batter
- Leave the mixture in room temperature for about 6 hours.
- It can be stored in fridge for 4 to 5 days.

To get added flavour to your dosa you can even add 1 tsp of methi seeds along with urad dhal.

Dosa in general goes well with chutney and sambar or chutney powder ( Milagai podi)
I have already told you about the sambar preparation using Sambar powder. Now let me tell you how to prepare a Sambar which gives you the taste of one which is served in hotels.

Hotel Sambar

Ingredients

Thoor Dhal – 1 cup
big Onion – 2 Nos
Sambar Vegetables – 1 cup
Tomato – 4 Nos Salt – 1tsp
Tamarind – small size lemon
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 10 to 15 leaves
finely chopped coriander – 2tsp
Asfoetida (perungayam) – 1/2 tsp

To fry and grind

Red Chillies – 6 nos
Coriander seeds (Dhaniya) -1 1/2 Table spoon
Chenna dhal – 1Table spoon
Methi Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Black pepper – 1/2 tsp
Cumin’s seeds (jeera) – 1tsp
Curry leaves – 1 hand full

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urud dhal – 1 tsp
oil – 2 table spoon

Sambar procedure

-Pressure cook thoor dhal with little turmeric powder
- Cut the sambar vegetables in small pieces. Also chop onion and tomato longitudinally .
- Apply some oil in the kadai and fry the things to be grounded. Let it cool and make it into a fine powder.
-Again apply some oil in the kadai season the mustard seeds , broken urud dhal and onion. When the onion gets fried little add the Sambar vegetables. Saute it and then add the chopped tomato and the required amount of salt. Saute for few about 2 to 3 minutes.
- In the mean time stain the tamarind with 1 1/2 cups of water. Add it to the seasoned vegetables
- Allow the mixture to boil till the raw smell vanishes and all the vegetables are well cooked
- Now add the well smashed thoor dhal and the prepared powder to the mixture. Mix it well and allow it to boil for another 5 minutes.
- Add few curry leaves and chopped coriander.

A very tasty hotel sambar is ready to be served with hot hot dosas.
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Now I am going to tell you about the preparation of pure coconut chutney

Coconut chutney -Procedure

Ingredients

To Grind
Pure grated coconut – 1 cup
Fried gram (pottukadalai) – 1 Table spoon
green chillies – 2 Nos ( If you need little bit hot chutney increase the nos of chillies)

For seasoning

mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
broken urud dhal – 1 tsp
curry leaves – 10 to 15 nos
oil – 1 tsp

Procedure

- Season the mustard seed, urud dhal and the coriander with oil.
- Fry the green chillies
- Now grind the coconut, fried gram and green chillies and make into a paste.
- Add the necessary quantity of water to dilute the paste and the the seasoned things.
- Add a 1 pinch of perungayam and1/2 tsp lemon juice ( some will a small piece of tamarind. But adding lemon juice, we will get a new flavour).
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CHUTNEY POWDER (Milakai Podi)

This is one of the most common side dishes for Dosa and Idli. Even if you are not able to prepare coconut chutney or sambar you can use this powder as the side dish along with sesame oil (Nallaennnai)

Ingredients

Channa Dal – 1 Cup
Urud Dal – 1 Cup
Mustard – half a teaspoon
Sesame(ellu) – 2 teaspoons
Asafoetida (perungayam) – half a teaspoon
Red Chillies – 1 & half cups
A small piece of Jaggery.

Procedure

Dry fry mustard and sesame. Apply some oil and fry the chillies till it is brown.
Fry channa dal and urud dal till they are roasted. Allow it to cool and grind all the friend items with asafoetida, necessary salt and jaggery. Don’t make it into a very fine powder let it be little coarse.

Paper Roast

Why go to hotel for paper roast? Why not try it at home? It is very easy. All you have to do is if you going to take a bowl full of batter then you have to add 2 tsp of corn flour. Dilute it to dosa batter consistency and of course little bit of more oil than ordinary dosa.

Ghee Roast

Prepare the batter the same way for paper roast. After making the dosa transfer to the plate in which you going to serve and then smear the ghee on it. If you apply the ghee when the dosa is still in the tawa, due to extensive heat the ghee will evaporate giving less flavour for Dosa.
Preferably fresh ghee with fine aroma is preferred.