Dalia/Chickpea Chutney

A quick substitute when you run out of coconut, this Chickpea Chutney is sure to save you!

Coconut chutney is surely a South Indian condiment and important to serve with Idlis and Dosas. But, not all street food vendors spend enough time and money or traditional chutney. Even if they do, the amount of coconut used is surely less than traditional chutney. They substitute by adding more of roasted and split chickpea or dalia we call it. This liquified chutney is poured over idlis or served with Dosa or even enjoyed with Upma and wada! Yum Yum!

So while we are on our Dosa Party Spree, why not make this chutney for someone like me who is not a big fan of coconut.

The picture below in a Vendor serving Idli with chutney while we were traveling by train. Of course, I had it....it was delicious!

1/2 cup dalia/roasted chick peas, green chillies, ginger.

Grind them all together without using water to form a dry powder.

Heat 2 tsp. oil.

Fry 1 tsp. urad dal/lentils and 3/4 tsp. mustard seeds.

Dry red chillies, curry leaves and pinch of

When the tempering is done, turn off the heat and add dry ground powder.

Mix well and store in air tight container in a refrigerator till needed.

To serve, mix a spoon full of plain yogurt, salt and water. Mix well.

Or 

Add water, salt and lime juice.

Adjust the consistency by changing the amount of water.

Happy Cooking!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Cilantro and Garlic Chutney

Chutney or dipping sauce is such an important part of Indian Cuisine. A meal is never complete or perfectly served without these little portions of spicy, tangy condiments. So is a special Mumbai street food style chutney to go with our Dosa Party!

I remember a famous dosa vendor Ragu's Dosa in Mumbai and this garlicy chutney he served with fresh, hot dosas. My favorite!! Here was my first attempt to try replicating it and was a big hit at home :)

With very few ingredients this is an easy and quick recipe and I am sure will be loved by everyone!

1 cup chopped cilantro, garlic, ginger, green chillies, 1/4 cup dalia (roasted chickpea)

Grind these ingredients with salt, lime juice and water.

Make a nice smooth runny paste or keep it a bit chunky!
Do not limit this one to Dosas. Enjoy with pakora, idlis, wadas, chips .....

R U Ready To Party?

Masala Dosa

Next one for my Dosa Party series! Soft, mushy, potato filling for our plain dosa :) This is a basic potato filling and we will create variety of stuffings with this simple one :)

Ingredients
4 large boiled potatoes
1 large chopped onion
4 tsp. oil
1 tbsp. urad dal/white lentil
1 tbso. mustard seeds
1-2 chopped green chillies
Few curry leaves
Pinch of turmeric
Pinch of asoefoetida 
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro
Extra chopped onions
Dosa batter

• To start with 4 large potatoes, boiled, pealed and cut into small pieces.
•  Heat 3-4 tsp. oil in a pan. Fry 1 tbsp. urad dal/white lentil, 1 tbsp. mustard seeds, few chopped green chillies or dry red chillies, curry leaves, pinch of turmeric and pinch of asoefoetida.
• Add 1 large chopped onion. Add a pinch of salt and saute till it turns soft.
• Add boiled, chopped potatoes, salt and turmeric if needed.
• Mix well. Add 2-3 tbsp water. Cover and let the flavors blend well.
• Add chopped cilantro and you are ready to make Masala Dosa!
• Spread Dosa batter onto hot griddles. Add few drops of oil or butter. Add 3-4 tbsp. of Potato masala in the center of the dosa. Sprinkle some chopped onions over it. fold the dosa from the side and serve Masala Dosa with Sambar and Coconut chutney.

To start with 4 large potatoes, boiled, pealed and cut into small pieces.

 Heat 3-4 tsp. oil in a pan. Fry 1 tbsp.urad dal/white lentil, 1 tbsp. mustard seeds, few chopped green chillies or dry red chillies, curry leaves, pinch of turmeric and pinch of asoefoetida.

Add 1 large chopped onion. Add a pinch of salt and saute till it turns soft.

Add boiled, chopped potatoes, salt and turmeric if needed.

Mix well. Add 2-3 tbsp water. Cover and let the flavors blend well.

Add chopped cilantro and we r ready for the party!

Follow the steps to make plain dosa!

Add a spoonful of potato stuffing while your dosa cooks on the griddle.

Add chopped onions (optional). I like the crunch of fresh onions.

Fold the sides over the stuffing and serve with chutneys.

Onion Masala Dosa ready to Dig In !!

Plain Dosa

Are you ready for some Dosa-Party?? My family loves these crisp, buttery rolled crepes with variety of dipping sauces and chutneys. Next few posts will be all about dosas, chutneys and some traditional and exciting fillings that you can enjoy. Have a great dosa party...lay out veggies and filling/stuffing for your guests to enjoy.

Rice and Lentil crepes, Dosa, a South Indian delicacy! But, for a Mumbaiite like me, I can enjoy them for breakfast, lunch, dinner or anytime of the day!! :)

I usually make a big batch of fermented batter and refrigerate it. It almost lasts for for a week for my husband and me to enjoy variety of Dosas and Uttapams.

Traditionally dosa batter is made by soaking rice and lentils separately and grinding them on a grinding stone till it becomes a smooth paste and then fermenting the batter.

It is surely a long process and difficult to grind whole grain rice. So instead of using rice, I use rice flour :) Great results!!

Ingredients:
1 cup urad dal/white lentils
3 cups rice flour
Water
Salt to taste
oil or butter

• Soak 1 cup urad dal/ split white lentil in 2 cup water for 5-6 hours.
• Soak 3 cups of rice flour in 3 1/4 cup water whisking well to avoid lumps and make a smooth paste.  
• Cover and set is aside for 4-5 hours.
• Discard excess water from soakin gurad dal and grind in a blender or a food processor.
• Add soaked rice flour paste to blend them well. It is okay if you cannot add the entire rice flour batter in your blender. Blend together whatever you can. Hand mix rest of it in a bowl.
• Let the batter sit for 6-8 hours or more to ferment.
• Add salt and mix well. I do not add any other rising agent like Soda bi carb to make idlis and uttampams. A well fermented batter will yield a delicious and well set crisp dosa.
• Refrigerate or freeze extra batter and it is good for a busy week.

 To make dosas:

• To test how hot the skillet it: I usually sprinkle some water over it. 
• Skillet temperature is really important. 
• Too hot skillet will make the batter cook as soon as you pour it and will prevent from making a nice dosa.
• Cold skillet will not allow you to spread your dosa batter well.
• As soon as the sprinkled water starts evaporating, clean your with a wet paper towel and start with your first dosa.
• Pour a spoonful of batter on hot skillet. from the center moving to the periphery of the skillet, pull the batter outwards in a circular fashion. Here is where skillet temperature is important. if your skillet is too hot, the batter cooks up and peals off and sticks to your ladle. (Do not worry if you mess up. Let the batter cook. Use a spatula, remove and discard it)
• Apply some butter or oil over it.
• As soon as it starts getting nice and crisp, use a spatula to remove the dosa. 
• Serve hot with chutneys.

Here is the step-by-step pictorial recipe for a well done Dosa Batter

Soak 1 cup urad dal/ split white lentil in 2 cup water for 5-6 hours.

Soak 3 cups of rice flour in 3+1/4 cup water whisking well to avoid lumps and make a smooth paste. 

Cover and set is aside for 4-5 hours.

Discard excess water and grind soaked lentils in a blender or a food processor.

Add soaked rice flour paste to blend them well. It is okay if you cannot add the entire rice flour batter in your blender. Blend together whatever you can. Hand mix rest of it in a bowl.

Mix well for 4-5 minutes. Cover and set it aside in a warm place to ferment for 6-8 hours. Use a large bowl so that your fermented batter does not overflow.

The batter I made did ferment and overflew :( Luckily I had a big plate underneath the bowl and I could dump the overflown batter back into the bowl :) You could see the air pockets when fermented.

Add salt and mix well. I do not add any other rising agent like Soda bi carb to make idlis and uttampams. A well fermented batter will yield a delicious and well set crisp dosa.

Refrigerate or freeze extra batter and it is good for a busy week.

Use a nonstick or hard anodized skillet to make dosas.
If needed: put few drops of oil on hot skillet and wipe it well with a paper towel to grease the entire skillet.

To test how hot the skillet it: I usually sprinkle some water over it. 

Skillet temperature is really important. 

Too hot skillet will make the batter cook as soon as you pour it and will prevent from making a nice dosa.

Cold skillet will not allow you to spread your dosa batter well.

As soon as the sprinkled water starts evaporating, clean your with a wet paper towel and start with your first dosa.

I always have a small container with water and paper towel to clean the skillet after every dosa I make. This will not only help me to clean the residue from the previous one, but also help in temperature control of the skillet. Every street food dosa vendor in Mumbai does this.

Add water to the batter if needed to form a nice, smooth, pouring consistency.

Pour a spoonful of batter on hot skillet. from the center moving to the periphery of the skillet, pull the batter outwards in a circular fashion. Here is where skillet temperature is important. if your skillet is too hot, the batter cooks up and peals off and sticks to your ladle. 

(Do not worry if you mess up. Let the batter cook. Use a spatula, remove and discard it)

Apply some oil or butter while dosa cooks.

As soon as it starts getting nice and crisp, use a spatula to remove the dosa and serve hot with chutneys.

Beautifully set, flavorful, crisp paper dosa!

Here's how you can make cone/cap dosa for kids!!

Enjoy this Crisp, Plain, Buttery Dosa!!
And 
Be ready for the next one at my Dosa Party ;)