Dosa

Dosa is probably the most popular of Southern Indian dishes. Though served mostly for breakfast, it makes a wonderful lunch or dinner! Serve it plain or stuff with potatoes to make Masala Dosa.

My mother used to make it with a little ghee and sugar in the middle for the kids. She would just sprinkle a bit of sugar and ghee as it is cooking. I still love to eat it this way, though sometimes I use splenda and olive oil instead to make an adult version!

Serve with coconut chutney and/or sambar.

Ingredients:

long grain rice - 3.5 cups
Uncle Ben's parboiled rice - .5 cup
urad dal - 1 cup (available in Indian grocery stores)
ghee/vegetable oil - as needed
salt to taste

Clean and soak the rices and dal separately in plenty of water for 4-6 hours. Grind dal in a heavy duty blender till very smooth. Add enough water to facilitate smooth grinding. Similarly, grind the rice till very smooth. Mix ground dal and rice together and keep in a warm place to ferment overnight. In winter, you may have to leave it in a preheated oven to achieve fermentation. Just warm the oven, turn it off and leave the batter inside. When fermented, the batter would rise and become foamy. At this point, it would have the consistency of pancake batter. Add salt and mix well. Dosa batter is ready!

Heat a 10" non-stick pan or well seasoned cast-iron griddle. Moisten a papertowel or piece of cotton cloth with a little bit of oil and apply to the pan. This step is critical to keep the dosa from sticking to the pan and should be repeated each time.

Pour the batter (approximately 1/3 - 1/2cup) with a large serving spoon, and quickly spread in concentric circles with the back of the spoon till the batter is spread out evenly. Add 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil or ghee on top. When it crisps, fold over and remove from the pan. Serve immediately.

If dosa is thick, you may have to flip it over and cook the other side too. If it is thin, this step may be eliminated. To make Masala Dosa, add a heaping spoonful of spiced potato masala in the middle of the dosa before folding.

The recipe may be halved or quartered. The batter keeps well in the refrigerator for upto a week. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

It may take a few trials to master spreading dosa. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect!

Coconut & tomato chutney

Tangy, spicy chutney to serve with idli or dosa. Adding tomato is a nice twist to the traditional coconut chutney. The following recipe was given to me by my cousin Usha. Though a relative newcomer, it is now one of my favorite chutney recipes!

Ingredients:
fresh coconut - 2 cups grated
dry red chilies - 6 (less to reduce heat level)
tomato - 1 medium
onion - 1/2 sliced
oil - 2 tbsp
salt to taste

Heat 2 tbsp oil. Add red chilies to the oil. When it starts to turn slightly brown and fragrant, remove and keep aside. Add sliced onion and tomato in the same oil. Saute till mushy and remove.

Blend fresh coconut, and the rest of the ingredients with sufficient water to facilitate smooth griding.

For tempering:
oil - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
urad dal - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 6
dry red chili pieces - 1 (broken in pieces)

Heat 1 tsp oil and add mustard seeds, curry leaves, urad dal, and red chilies. When mustard seeds are done popping, add the mixture to chutney. Chutney is ready to be served.

Chutney is a must for Dosa and Idli.

Idli

One of the favorite memories of my childhood is waking up to a wonderful, fresh cooked breakfast. The sights, sounds, and smells are still with me today: the smell of mustard seeds and curry leaves in hot oil; kadala curry (black chick peas) slowly simmering in roasted, ground coconut and coriander; the smell of fermented idli batter waiting to be steamed.

Idli making is a laborious process. It may take a few trials to master it. Since the batter must be fermented overnight, weather plays an important role. The hot, humid, tropical climate in India makes it easier to ferment the batter. In the US, during winter, I leave the batter in a heated oven. If the pilot light is on, it produces sufficient heat to allow fermentation.

The perfect idli is soft, moist, somewhat grainy, and porous. It soaks up liquids like a sponge. Surely, there can't be anything better than a plateful of fluffy idlis and freshly ground coconut chutney for breakfast!

Ingredients:

long grained rice : 4.5 cups
par boiled rice : .5 cup ( I use Uncle Ben's)
urad dal - 1 cup (available in Indian grocery stores)

Special equipment needed: Idli steamer

Clean rice and urad dal. Soak separately in plenty of water for 6-8 hrs till soft. Grind dal very smooth and soft with just enough water to facilitate easy griding. The urad batter should be fluffy and super smooth. Remove into a large mixing bowl. Grind rice with enough water till almost smooth but still somewhat grainy. Pour the ground rice to the ground dal. Using a wooden spoon or spatula mix thoroughly. The resulting batter is fairly thick, much thicker than pancake batter. When poured from a spoon, the batter will fall in a broken stream.

In my younger days, my mother used to make the batter using an "attu kal" carved out of stone. Now even in India, idli batter is made using blenders or motorised grinders made of stone.

Leave the batter in a warm place to ferment overnight. When fermented, the batter becomes spongy. When you are ready to steam idlis, add salt and mix well. Pour a drop of oil into the mould. Using a paper towel spread the oil on the mould. Pour the batter into the mould. Bring water to a rolling boil in the idli vessel, turn flame down to a simmer. Keep the moulds in the vessel, cover, and steam for 8 - 10 minutes.

Take the idli moulds from the steamer. The idlis are best taken out of the mould when the the mould has cooled down. Serve with coconut chutney and/or sambar.

The recipe may be halved or even quartered. 1 cup of rice makes about 10 idlis.

Idlis freeze very well! Microwave frozen idli with a wet paper-towel on top for 3 minutes before serving.