Masala Dosa with coconut chutney (Nariyal Chatni) - 4 servings
Masala Dosa is a South Indian snack/tiffin made with fermented rice and dal (lentil) batter. It goes with the traditional potato curry which is placed on the center of the masala dosa, wrapped and served hot and takes no more than 15 minutes to make however not including preperation and soaking of grains (16hrs). The other dish you can see is a vegetable cutlet, also delicious but this recipe will focus solely on the masala dosa.
Dosa ingredients
1/4 cup dehusked black gram - black lentils, 11/2 cups rice - that’s 5 and a half cups, 1 handful thick poha - flattened rice, 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds, Salt to taste and oil for frying
Dosa Method
Preperation - Soak urad dal, rice and fenugreek seeds for 4 hours and wash and soak poha for 2 hours.
Firstly grind the poha to a fine paste and keep aside and then grind urad dal, rice and fenugreek seeds to a fine paste and pour it over poha paste. Do not mix. Let it ferment for about 12 hours. Now add salt and mix well. If necessary add a bit of water to make it a medium thick batter. Heat a pan and pour a ladle full of batter and prepare the dosas as thin as possible. Fry on one side only with enough oil till crisp. Place a tablespoon of potato masala inside and fold.
Potato Masala ingredients (for 4 dosas)
Probably best to make excess of this and save for other Indian dishes you have planned.
3 potatoes, 2 med. sized onions, 2 tomatoes, 3 tbsp oil, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp urad dal, few curry leaves, 6 green chillies, 1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, salt to taste, 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
Potato Masala Method
Cook the potatoes and then chop them into fine small pieces. Cut onions lengthwise, also the tomatoes and slit the green chillies. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. Once spitting in the pan add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and urad dal, and saute till urad dal turns golden brown in colour. Now add the curry leaves and ginger and fry for a while. Add turmeric powder and mix it well. Add green chillies and chopped onions. Saute till the onions turn golden brown. Now add the chopped tomatoes and saute until cooked. Add the potatoes and 1/2 a cup of water. Add salt to taste. When it comes to a boil cover and cook it on a low flame for about 10 minutes. Add finished masala into the centre of dosa and serve.
Coconut Chutney/Nariyal Chatni ingredients
1 cup grated coconut, 1 green chilli, 1 onion chopped, 1/4 gram roasted chana dal, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 inch piece of ginger, a cup of sour curd
Tadka (Tempering) - 1 tbsp oil, few curry leaves, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 2 dried broken chillies
Method
Mix and grind all ingredients of chutney and then set aside. Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When popping, add broken red chilli and then turn off heat. Add the curry leaves and then pour the tempering over the coconut chutney and mix well. Job done Jamie.
