Masala Dosa
Cuisine: India — Crispy rice & lentil crepe filled with spiced potato masala
Masala Dosa is a popular South Indian street-food favorite — a crisp fermented rice and urad dal crepe filled with a spiced potato mixture. Below are the basic steps to prepare the dosa batter and the potato masala.
Time Required
Preparation: 15 min (plus soaking & fermentation time)
Cooking: 20–30 min
Cooking: 20–30 min
Ingredients
- For batter: 4 cups rice (raw), 1 cup urad dal (split black gram), water, salt
- For masala: Potatoes (2–3 medium), peas (optional), 1 onion, garlic (optional), oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, salt, lemon
- Oil or ghee for cooking dosa
Instructions — Batter
- Soak rice (4 cups) and urad dal (1 cup) overnight in plenty of water.
- Drain and grind the soaked rice and urad dal to a fine, smooth batter; add water as needed to get a pouring consistency.
- Cover and let the batter ferment overnight or until it has risen and is slightly sour.
- When the batter has risen, stir gently — it is now ready to make dosas.
- Heat a tawa (griddle), pour a ladle of batter and spread thinly in a circular motion to make a crepe; drizzle oil/ghee and cook until crisp.
Instructions — Potato Masala
- Boil or steam potatoes until tender; peel and roughly mash. Add cooked peas if using.
- In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds and curry leaves. When they splutter, add chopped onion and garlic and sauté until soft.
- Add turmeric, salt, and the mashed potatoes; mix well and cook for a few minutes to combine flavors.
- Squeeze lemon juice to taste and mix. Adjust seasoning.
To Serve
Place a hot dosa on a plate, add a scoop of potato masala on one side, fold or roll the dosa and serve immediately with chutneys (coconut chutney is traditional) and sambar if desired.