Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Masala Dosa( Savoury Crepes with Potato filling)

Where's the potato?
I've never been a potato fan,and no it has nothing to do with the fact that I happen to be a dietitian(I've always had people saying "oh-is it because you're a dietitian?". I still don't see the connection).To set the record straight ,I hated it even as a kid, when I had no idea 'what' or 'who' a "Dietitian" was!!
Anyway,later on I had a colleague who hated peas,and we made a happy pair since 'alu mutter sabzi' or simply put 'Potatoes peas curry' is a very popular combo in India. At work,with no parents around,we would happily pick and dump what we disliked into each others plate (me the alu/potatoes and she the mutter/peas). There are only two ways that I'd happily eat the potaoes-in the 'masala dosa' or as 'chips'.
Wondering why I'm delving into my love-hate relationship with potatoes-because it happens to be the BSI (Blogger's Secret Ingredient) for this week chosen by Christo at 'Chez What?'. I had to really make up my mind as to which dish to send-the one's which I make and 'have' to eat as the hubby likes it OR the one's that I can 'happily' eat but are too cumbersome to make,well at least for me it is(but I can picture my mom laughing at this point),and I chose the latter!
I've never made and never will make chips at home-so that was out of the question.That left me with the masala dosa,and I set about the task of making it first thing Tuesday morning(yes,now you know why I call it cumbersome).So,I stuck a blue post-it on the fridge on Monday night saying "soak rice+dal for the dosa first thing in the morning". Did the needful on Tuesday morning,then in the evening went about grinding the soaked stuff to a fine paste. Kept it overnight, hoping (with fingers crossed) that the weather will be warm enough for it to ferment and woke up this morning to a nicely fermented batter(fingers uncrossed)!!
Ingredients (for the potato filling):
  • Potatoes: 4 nos. (boiled and coarsely mashed/cut)
  • Green chillies: 1-2 nos. (slit length-wise)
  • Onions: 1 large or 2 medium (cut lengthwise-and then cut into half)
  • Ginger: 1/2" piece(chopped fine)
  • Turmeric:1/2 teaspoon
  • Salt: to taste
For the tempering:
  • Oil: 1 teaspoon
  • Mustard seeds: 1 teaspoon
  • Cumin seeds: 1 teaspoon
  • Curry leaves: 2-3 nos.
  • Channa dal/split black chickpeas/Myles: 1 teaspoon
  • Cashew nuts: 4-5 nos(chopped)
Method:
  1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan,then add the mustard, cumin and the channa dal.
  2. When the mustard starts to sputter,add the curry leaves and the cashew nuts and stir till the cashew nuts are brown.
  3. Add the ginger and fry till it turns a golden brown.
  4. Add the slit green chillies,the chopped onions,turmeric powder,salt and saute till the onions turn translucent.
  5. Add the coarsely mashed potatoes and mix well. Add 1/2 cup water and cook stirring continuously for 5-6 minutes. Set aside.
Ingredients (for the dosa):Method:
  • Wash, then soak the raw rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds in water for at least 4-6 hours.
  • Drain the water used for soaking.Add the cooked rice (if using flattened rice-wash,drain and let it stand for at least 10-15 mins), and about a cup of water and grind to a fine paste (should be as thick as the pancake batter).
  • Let it ferment overnight (or for 10-12 hours) in a big bowl(the batter will rise if the weather is warm enough).
  • Once it has fermented,add salt and mix. Then pour a ladleful of the batter onto a HOT pan and spread the batter with the ladle in a circular motion(going from the centre of the pan to the outside).
  • Add a little ghee/butter/oil to the edges of the dosa and let it cook till you notice it getting golden brown from underneath.
  • At this stage, place the yellow potato filling at the centre of the dosa and fold from both sides (like a wrap) or you could also fold it from three sides(the resulting dosa would looks like a triangle).
  • Remove from the pan.Serve hot with a little cilantro chutney and sambar .
There's the potato!!


That's my "fireman" son eating his 'triangle dosa' with non-spicy potato filling (I have to make it separately with no green chillies)!! Phew,what a lot of work,but the result is worth every minute I spent on it! Thanks Christo for choosing the spud as the BSI for this week.
Note:
  • Warm weather is crucial for the batter to ferment.
  • The pan needs to be really HOT before you start making the dosas.
  • The dosas can be made without the potato filling too- then it would be known as 'Plain Dosa' (not as much fun as eating the 'masala' variety).
Question: What is your favourite potato dish?

47 comments:

LK- Healthy Delicious said...

this sounds great!
I'm not a huge potato fan either. I guess my favorite would be either twice baked or gratin? I don't know. I don't hate them, but they don't really "do" anything for me.

Jenn said...

Mmm...Looks like a crepe. =) Potatoes in a savory pancake. I like that.

Christo Gonzales said...

nice entry - I would love to give it a try.

Balance, Joy and Delicias! said...

i'm not a potato fan either, but this looks delicious!!! :)

Unknown said...

So Yum! I love this meal and I will make it soon! Thankyou for such a lovely post!

Gina; The Candid RD said...

That's so funny, I swear people say the same thing to me! I'm not a big potato fan either...they are just boring in my opinion. Your recipes, however, look and sound quite tempting!
Another thing people assume is that I am a vegetarian. Everyone always says, "oh, you're a dietitian? Are you a vegetarian?". I could go on and on about the assumptions people make!

Your son is ADORABLE in that firemans hat!!

kittymatti said...

wow! delicious.. they look so tempting!!

chef and her kitchen said...

I love this anytime..

Usha said...

Ah a classic ! Looks tempting :-)

Pooja said...

Masala dosa is my favourite! I love to have spicy stir fried potatoes! Not fascinated by potato curry but potato wedges traps me sometimes :)

Anonymous said...

The potato filling sounds really good - excellent combination of flavors with potato and ginger and chiles! Very nice for BSI!

Creative Classroom Core said...

You are always introducing me to such interesting recipes! Thanks!

saffronapron.blogspot.com said...

I love masala dosa too and make it often. I love that cute pic of your son with his fireman helmet eating masala dosa. Really cute.

chow and chatter said...

what a cute pic of your lil guy i adore Masala Dosa, hope you win as its a winner for me love ya Rebecca

Hari Chandana P said...

looks tempting and delicious.. wonderful clicks !!

Anonymous said...

my moms fav..take her to any restauant, she wud ordera masal dosa.perfect dosa

Preeti Singh said...

dosa... my favorite....masal dosa looks crisp and inviting dear....1st time here and you have a creative and amazing blog.... saw your other blogs too...you are really rocking...

Angie's Recipes said...

Ha! Like this one very much...potato filling is so special......you know, I would add some sour cream at the top of mashed potatoes...yum yum...

Angie's Recipes

Parita said...

who doesnt like masala dosa? a classic dish and one of my fav, your son looks so adorable!

Liz said...

Hi! I have just find out your blog, this recipe sounds really good even if I dont love potatoes. I really like these pancakes because they are really thin, even more than crepes are!
Hope to hear from you, Liz.

Vrinda said...

Umm... wat to say abt this,All time fav,looks perfect Sweta..

KennyT said...

Sweta, the reasons why I always go to Indian restaurant is my craving for Masala Poppadam, Masala Dosa and Bhindi Masala. I wish I could try homemade masala dosa one day, but first I gotta master on the making of the pancake, this one looks easy but am sure it's quite difficult for me to make, haha.

lubnakarim06 said...

He is so cute......touchwood.....i love this masala dosa....looks appetizing.....

Muneeba said...

looking at your pics has made me YEARN for my neighborhood dosa place in NY .. that I've now sadly left behind. Gosh, how I LOVE masala dosas!!!!

Ann said...

Crispy and yumm :P

Heather S-G said...

Yum! This sounds absolutely delicious...I actually am a huge potato fan...in any form! :P

Priya Suresh said...

Omg, i wat that masala dosa rite now!!too tempting..

theUngourmet said...

Nice choice! I would love to try this. The Sambar looks tasty too!

lisaiscooking said...

This definitely sounds worth the effort! Looks really delicious.

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

perfect masala dosa... Would love to eat one...

sangeeta said...

perfect homemade dosa....i like it spicy n hot...n don't want to be too experimental with the filling ( you can't believe how the north Indian restaurants make chinese and pujabi n even italian style dosa fillings......i like the traditional filling only.....seeing this , want to make it now......with a fiery chutny.

sangeeta said...

perfect homemade dosa....i like it spicy n hot...n don't want to be too experimental with the filling ( you can't believe how the north Indian restaurants make chinese and pujabi n even italian style dosa fillings......i like the traditional filling only.....seeing this , want to make it now......with a fiery chutny.

Astra Libris said...

The picture of your son is so adorable!! :-) Your pancakes are absolutely gorgeous - I'm so impressed with your patience during the long process!

I do love potatoes (but always with the skins on, for added fiber and nutrients! :-), and my favorite dish is definitely simple roasted potatoes with rosemary!

Gita Jaishankar said...

Wow...the dosas looks so delicious with the chutneys on side :)

Anonymous said...

My favorite potato dish has got to be french fries! NO DOUBT! Followed closely by a simple baked sweet potato.

Have a great weekend, Sweta!

EMC said...

Oh my goodness! My two favorite ingredients--potato and pancake, without having to make potato pancakes! Fantastic!

suvi said...

hey my first time here...you have a lovely blog!!

Pearl said...

that looks so delicious! and what a cute little boy!

Dana Fallentine said...

This makes me hungry! Looks delicious!

Lori said...

This looks wonderful! I'm a huge potato fan and really love them mashed with some butter and green onions.

Peas and potatoes are incredibly popular around here, but not in any kind of creative curry combo. :) Here the taters are always in the form of French fries (I promise Brazil rivals the US on fry consumption) and peas pop up just about everywhere most often on pizza.

eatingRD said...

Looks really great! You know I'm not much of a potato fan myself, but I love sweet potatoes. It seems like you have to add so much to potatoes to make them taste like anything. Your recipe looks delish, almost like a crepe? I LOVE pierogies. They are like little potato and cheese filled dumplings. Yum!

Juliana said...

Wow, these potato pancakes look delicious...yummie!

Unknown said...

One of my favorite dosas. And the last picture is cute!!

Recipeswap said...

Thats a nice crispy dosa!

Barbara GF said...

Masala dosa is one of my favorite meals; your recipe sounds really good and I will have to try it out.
Such a cute photo of your little boy enjoying his dosa.

Admin said...

I had Masala Dosa in New Delhi a couple of years ago and fell in love with it ever since. The one I had was about two feet long! I thought I wasn't going to finish it. Guess what. Not a single crumb was left. So glad to know how to make it.

Fresh Local and Best said...

You have so many interesting recipes. I just bought some mung dal for the first time to experiment on dosas.