My love for Masala Dosa - the Bangalore style
My love for authentic South Indian Masala Dosa!
My thought of Masala Dosa takes me to the fond memories of Namma Bengaluru and one of my favorite restaurants in South Bangalore called Vidyarthi Bhavan. The taste, texture, crispiness, and Chutney that goes along, the Masala inside the Dosa, are unique and consistent for many decades.
And so, when I moved to California, I wanted to re-create the exact taste of Vidyarthi Bhavan Masala Dosa so that I can have the same dish of my convenience in the USA.
I learned the Vidyarthi Bhavan Dosa batter recipe after doing some research upgraded the culinary in the kitchen to get the best Dosa experience. I purchased a large cast-iron Tawa (pan) that I imported from Columbia. In addition, I bought a heavy-duty gas burner suitable for outdoor and other accessories required to make the entire Dosa experience a treat for all.
Ask me all about Dosa, and I’ll tell you what I learned :)
Here is the much-kept secret (no longer) of the Vidyarthi Bhavan Dosa recipe.
For soaking – container 1:
Red rice - 1 cup
Dosa rice - 1 cup
Thick poha rice - 1/4 cup
Use a grinder to grind coarse for about 10 min
For soaking – container 2:
Urad dhal - 3/4 cup
Channa dhal - 1/4 cup
Toor dhal - 1/4 cup
Methi seeds - 2 tbsps
Use a grinder to grind it for about 20 min or until the batter turns fluffy.
Mix both the containers to allow the fermentation for about 12 hours or until the batter rises to almost double.
Post grinding and fermentation:
Salt - 2 tbsps (for taste)
Sugar - 2 tbsps (gives you rich golden brown caramelized color for Dosa)
Rice flour - 2 cups (2 hours before Dosa preparation)
Preparation Method:
Soak all the above ingredients except for the rice flour for 6 hours
Grind it to a coarse batter
Allow fermenting for 10-12 hours
2 hours before making the Dosa, add the rice flour and sugar. Mix it thoroughly and keep it aside.
Spread the dosa batter thick and drizzle with ghee or oil. Roast to a crisp and serve with Chutney.
Recipe for Masala that’s used inside the Dosa. Source Hebbar’s Kitchen:
Ingredients:
4 potatoes (boiled)
1 onion (thinly sliced)
1 green chili (finely chopped)
1-inch ginger (finely chopped)
1 dried red chili
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
½ tsp turmeric powder
pinch hing / asafoetida
1 stem curry leaves
2 tsp lemon juice
1 stem coriander leaves (finely chopped)
2 tsp oil
salt to taste
Chutney recipe:
Ingredients:
1/2 of a cup of fresh coconut, broken into pieces
3 tbsp of fried channa dal gram
1 green chili
1/4th-inch piece of ginger
a small handful of coriander leaves washed and cleaned
a sprig of curry leaves
1 tsp of salt, or as per taste
2 tbsp of oil
1 tsp of mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida, (optional)
Water, as needed
Method: Source:
Grind the fried Bengal Gram into a powder and remove it to a bowl.
In the same mixer/blender jar, add the coconut, green chili, ginger, coriander leaves, curry leaves, and salt. Add a couple of tbsp of water to begin with, and grind to a smooth paste. Do this in a couple of steps, adding a tbsp of water or two every time.
The above step will need a bit of patience, and do not be tempted to add all the water in one go. Once you get a smooth paste, add it to the bowl containing the powdered Bengal Gram and mix well.
Finally, heat the oil in a small tempering pan. Once it is hot. Add the mustard seeds. Once they crackle, add the asafoetida if using and turn the heat off. Pour this over the Chutney.
