Masala Dosa

Ingredients

Batter

• 300 graw rice (sona masoori or idli rice)
• 100 gparboiled idli rice
• 100 gwhole skinless urad dal
• 1 tspfenugreek seeds
• 1 tbspthick poha (flattened rice), optional
• 1.5 tspsalt
• water, as needed

Potato masala (palya)

• 700 gwaxy potatoes, boiled, peeled and roughly crushed
• 3 tbspcoconut oil
• 1 tspblack mustard seeds
• 1 tspsplit urad dal
• 1 tspchana dal
• 2dried red chillies, broken
• 15curry leaves
• ¼ tspasafoetida
• 2onions, sliced
• 4green chillies, slit
• 15 gginger, minced
• ½ tspground turmeric
• 1.5 tspsalt
• 1 tbspchopped coriander
• 1 tsplime juice

To cook and serve

• ghee or sesame oil, for the griddle
• coconut chutney
• sambar

Directions

1. Rinse and soak both rices together, and the urad dal with the fenugreek separately, in plenty of water for 6 hours.
2. Grind the urad dal first with just enough cold water to a light, fluffy, airy paste, then the rice with the poha to a fine batter with a slight grit like semolina.
3. Combine both by hand, mixing hard for a minute so your hand’s warmth and wild yeasts start the culture. The batter should be thick pouring consistency. Add the salt.
4. Cover loosely and ferment 8–12 hours at 26–30°C (80–85°F), until risen by about half, domed, and smelling clean and sour with visible bubbles when stirred.
5. For the masala, heat the coconut oil, crackle the mustard seeds, then the urad and chana dal until they turn pale gold, then the red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida.
6. Add the onion, green chilli and ginger and cook 6–8 minutes until translucent and sweet, not browned. Stir in turmeric and 100 ml water and simmer 2 minutes.
7. Fold in the crushed potato with the salt, mashing lightly so some lumps remain, and cook 3 minutes to a soft, yellow, spoonable mass. Finish with coriander and lime.
8. Heat a flat iron tawa until a drop of water dances. Rub it with a halved onion dipped in oil, then wipe almost dry; the surface must be seasoned, not greasy.
9. Pour a ladle of batter into the centre and spread outward in a continuous spiral to a thin 28 cm disc. Drizzle ghee round the rim and cook 2 minutes until the underside is lacy, deep gold and lifting at the edges. Do not flip.
10. Spoon potato masala down the centre, fold the dosa over it, and serve immediately with coconut chutney and sambar.

Technique

• Fermentation is temperature driven. Below 24°C (75°F) nothing happens; an oven with the light on or a warm cupboard is the usual home fix, and in cool weather it may need 14 hours.
• The classic Mysore ratio is roughly 3 or 4 parts rice to 1 part urad dal. More dal makes softer, spongier dosas; more rice makes crisper ones.
• The tawa must be very hot for spreading and slightly cooler for cooking. Splash a little water on and wipe it between dosas if the batter seizes rather than spreading.
• The masala is South Indian style: no cumin, no garam masala, no tomato, and coconut oil rather than any other fat.

Substitutions

• No idli rice: use all sona masoori or short-grain rice with 2 tbsp poha to help fermentation.
• No stone grinder: a high-power blender works, but grind in short bursts with iced water so the urad dal never heats above blood temperature.
• Asafoetida can be omitted, though the masala loses its savoury base note.

Variations

• Mysore masala dosa is smeared with a fiery red garlic-chilli chutney before the potato goes in.
• Paper roast is spread even thinner, cooked longer without filling and rolled into a metre-long cone.
• Set dosa from coastal Karnataka is thick, small and soft, cooked with a lid.

History

A thin, crisp fermented rice-and-lentil crepe, filled with a spiced potato mixture, developed in South Indian cooking, with the dosa itself, the plain fermented crepe, documented in South Indian texts for many centuries, while the now-standard potato filling that turns a plain dosa into a masala dosa is generally understood to be a considerably more recent addition, with potato only becoming a widely available South Asian staple after its introduction from South America through European trade in the 1500s and later centuries. Its fermentation process, allowing a batter of rice and urad dal to sit and rise naturally overnight, gives dosa its characteristic tangy flavour and requires no chemical leavening agent at all, reflecting a sophisticated, long-established South Indian fermentation tradition. It remains one of India’s most internationally recognized dishes.

Frequently asked questions

What is Masala Dosa?

Masala Dosa is a breakfast from India: crisp fermented rice-lentil crepe with spiced potato, chutney and sambar. A thin, crisp fermented rice-and-lentil crepe, filled with a spiced potato mixture, developed in South Indian cooking, with the dosa itself, the plain fermented crepe, documented in South Indian texts for many centuries, while the now-standard potato filling that turns a plain dosa into a masala dosa is generally understood to be a considerably more recent addition, with potato only becoming a widely available South Asian staple after its introduction from South America through European trade in the 1500s and later centuries. Its fermentation process, allowing a batter of rice and urad dal to sit and rise naturally overnight, gives dosa its characteristic tangy flavour and requires no chemical leavening agent at all, reflecting a sophisticated, long-established South Indian fermentation tradition. It remains one of India’s most internationally recognized dishes.

How long does Masala Dosa take to make?

Masala Dosa takes 40 min of preparation and 6 hr soaking + 10 hr fermenting + 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings (about 10 dosas). It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Masala Dosa?

Yes, within limits. No idli rice: use all sona masoori or short-grain rice with 2 tbsp poha to help fermentation. No stone grinder: a high-power blender works, but grind in short bursts with iced water so the urad dal never heats above blood temperature. Asafoetida can be omitted, though the masala loses its savoury base note.

What is the most important thing to get right in Masala Dosa?

Heat a flat iron tawa until a drop of water dances. Rub it with a halved onion dipped in oil, then wipe almost dry; the surface must be seasoned, not greasy.