077. Dosa

Dosa or Dosé or Dosai is a pancake made from the fermented batter rice and black lentils. It is a staple dish in the South Indian states. Dosa is also popular in Sri Lanka, Singapore where the name Thosai is more common, and in Myanmar as Toshay. There are various ways of transliterating dosa: dose, dhosha, dosay, dosai, dhosai, tosai, thosai, or “rice pancake”.

Dosa, a common breakfast dish is rich in carbohydrates and contains no sugar or saturated fats. Since its constituent ingredients are rice and lentils, it is gluten free and contains proteins. Fermentation process increases the vitamin B and Vitamin c content. The instant mix products for making dosa have somewhat lower nutritional benefits since they are not fermented.

A mixture of rice and urad dal in the ratio 3:1 is soaked in water and ground into a smooth batter and mixed with salt. The batter is allowed to sit overnight and ferment.

The batter is then ladled onto a hot griddle greased with oil or clarified butter. It is spread out evenly with the base of a ladle or a bowl to form a thin circular pancake. A dosa is served hot, either folded in half or rolled like a wrap.

Dosa can be stuffed with fillings of vegetables and sauces to make a quick meal. They are typically served with a vegetarian side dish which varies according to regional and personal preferences. Common side items are: Sambar, wet chutney, dry chutney, pickles, spicy dhal power, curd, sugar, ghee.

Though dosa typically refers to the version made with rice and lentils, many other versions exist, often specific to an Indian region. Some variations include egg dosa, which is spread with an omelette, and cheese dosa, which is stuffed with cheese.

Quinoa dosa, Mung dal dosa, chili dosa, onion dosa, ghee roast, paper roast, butter roast, family roast, methi dosa, masal dosa, thayir dosa, rava dosa, wheat dosa, jaggery dosai (vella dosai), ragi dosai, pesarat, aappam, ooththappam are some other interesting variations of dosa.

A masala dosa is made by stuffing a dosa with a lightly cooked filling of potatoes, fried onions and spices. The dosa is wrapped around an onion and potato curry.