Archive for the ‘DOSA VARIETIES’ Category

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.