This takes the #1 spot for me in my life and hence the 1st post on this website!

Honestly, what a beautiful dish, and my hats off to those ancient cooks who thought of it. Wikipedia says the consumption of dosa dates back to the 1st century CE!

The main ingredients of dosa are rice, black lentils, salt, and water. But the first part of cooking dosa is making the batter – and that means grinding it deep into a paste or a semi-fluid/milky consistency. This is done on a grinder and you can check out the machines of use in my IDLI post (another delicacy at #2).

In my case, I just buy the Dosa-Idli batter from an Indian grocery store. A 2L bucket costs A$10-12.

COOKING

1. When ready to cook, take the required quantity of batter into a bowl, add the salt and a bit of water to loosen, and then whisk away wildly. Let it stand for 30mins – 1 hour.
   
2. Then, using a ladle pour about a cup or less into the centre of a super-hot pan. A non-stick pan for the inexperienced is fine and a cast iron pan for the experienced is the best, but with a light coating oil before pouring the liquid for the latter.
   
3. After your pour in the centre, use the back of the ladle to spread it into a large circle. You do this by dipping the back of the ladle into the batter on the pan, and then going circular clockwise – round and round till you get a thin layer of batter on the pan. This is easy if you are experienced, else if on a non-stick pan, lift it and move the pan in a circular fashion, so the dosa batter can spread. Be quick though! The cooking already starts once the batter is on the hot pan!

And then you do more dosa-making! I reckon an adult can eat at least 5-8 of these crepes! Goes great with a lentil curry, a potato curry, or just a coconut chutney. I have even tried it with avocado only, honey only, or ghee only – tastes yummy!

GRIND YOUR OWN BATTER

If you are really adventurous and want to grind your own batter, then I call you, “O Master” and I offer a bow down to you. Give it a go. Below is the full mechanics of the batter creation!

* you can use parboiled rice or any short/long grain rice also. Avoid brown rice. If you are at an Indian grocery store, just ask for “idli rice”.

STEPS:

1. Soak the rice for 6-8 hours.
2. Soak the urad daal also (separately) for 6-8 hrs.
3. Then, wash them well.
4. Mix Urad daal together with fenugreek seeds.
5. Put them both in a grinder and grind them into a paste. It could take 15-30 mins depending on your grinder. Add water as required.
6. Once done, transfer to a bowl.
7. Grind your rice. Add water as required during the whole process to achieve a thick batter. Avoid using a blender or a mixie. “Cutting” rice isn’t as good as “grinding”. This could take 15-30 mins also.
8. Once done, combine the rice and the daal mixture. Add salt and mix well.
9. Cover and let it ferment for 15 hours at least, if summer. You will need 24 hours at least if winter. And if your place snows, then 2 days! Don’t disturb it during the fermenting process.
10. Once the time is up, take the bowl out and give it a good stir, almost like whisking.

SUGGESTIONS

• Search out and try out many methods of making the batter. It’s a science and an art. Dosa and idli are staple diets across South India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andra Pradesh), and both the taste and consistency vary. Eventually and with sufficient practice, you will have your own variety for generations to come!
• Here is a recipe from someone else with photos and some additional ingredients: Make Dosa Better