We all love restaurant style Dose, don't we? The ones that are crisp & evenly golden brown. 

This restaurant style recipe has been doing rounds on the internet & I finally decided to give it a try. It uses Red Rice along with regular Raw Rice. 

Using Red Rice gives it a nice deep golden color that Darshini Style Dosaes have. 

Makes 22-24 Dosaes 

You Will Need:

• 1 cup Gota Urad Dal (120 Grams)
• 1.5 cups Raw Red Rice / Kempu Akki (190 Grams)
• 1.5 cups Sona Masuri Rice (190 Grams)
• 1/4 cup Chana Dal
• 1/4 cup Tuvar Dal
• 1/4 cup Thick Poha 
• 1.5 teaspoons Methi Seeds
• 1/2 cup Rice Flour
• Salt 

Soak in a wide bowl with enough water because Urad Dal will swell upon soaking. Soak for 4-6 hours

Do Not discard the water used for soaking as it aids in fermentation

Use a wet grinder or a mixer to grind into a smooth batter. I use a mixer & grind the batter in 3 batches, adding little water at a time

Pour the batter into a large vessel, Add Salt & mix with your hands, cover & set aside in a warm place. It should take anywhere between 8-16 hours to ferment depending on the weather.

After the batter is fermented, before you proceed to make Dosaes, add 1/2 cup Rice Flour & Mix well so that no lumps are formed 

Keep these points in mind before proceeding to make the batter

• To make Crisp Dosas, always use Raw Rice & Not Idli Rice .. We use Sona Masuri Rice to make the batter

• The Batter is ground slightly thicker than the regular Dosa Batter

• Adding Chana Dal & Tuvar Dal is very important to get that crisp texture 
• Since we are using Red Rice, the dosaes turn brown pretty quickly. So make sure you roast them on Low Medium flame to get an evenly roasted Dose 

          

Potato Stuffing (Alugadde Palya)

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You Will Need:

• 4 large Potatoes (I used Gold Potatoes)
• 2 medium sized Onions - sliced lengthwise
• 5 Green Chilies
• Half teaspoon Mustard seeds
• A big pinch of Hing
• 1 teaspoon Urad Dal
• 1 teaspoon Chana Dal
• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
• A sprig of Curry leaves
• Coriander leaves
• Salt as per taste

How To:

Clean & scrub the Potatoes. Cut into halves & Pressure cook with a little bit of salt for 1 whistle. Let the pressure settle down.

Drain the water & once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skin & roughly mash them into chunks.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat cooking oil. Splutter mustard seeds. Add Hing, Urad Dal, Chana Dal, Green Chilies & Curry Leaves. Sauté on low flame for 30 seconds until the Urad & Chana Dal are golden in color

Add sliced onions & turmeric & fry until the onions turn pink, Add the mashed potatoes & salt & mix well

Turn off the heat & add chopped coriander. Set aside & allow it to cool

      

HOW TO MAKE DOSAS

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You Will Need

• Dosa Batter
• Potato Filling 
• Red Chutney (For Mysore Masale Dose)
• Oil + Ghee + Melted Butter (Mixed in a Bowl)
• Coconut Chutney to Serve on the Side 

Masala Dosas are slightly Thicker than Regular Dosas 

Making the Dosas in a Cast Iron Pan makes Crispier & Evenly Roasted Dosas as Compared to Non Stick Pans.

In a bowl, add equal parts of Ghee, Melted Butter & Oil & whisk it well & use this instead of just Oil to make Dosas. This enhances the taste.  

Heat a good cast iron griddle, once hot enough, Set it to medium flame.

Grease it with oil & wipe it down with a towel before proceeding to make the dose. 

Wipe the Tawa with a wet cloth before poring the batter everytime you make a Dose 

Pour a ladleful of batter in the centre & spread into a slightly thick circle.  Drizzle oil+Ghee+Butter mixture along the edges  & center & roast on medium flame until it turns golden brown 

If using Red Chutney, after the Dosa is slightly cooked on top, take 1/4 teaspoon of Red Chutney & smear it on the dosa evenly. Let it roast well on medium flame.

Use a Spatula to loosen the Dosa from the pan. Add 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture in the center & fold the Dosa into a semi circle 

Since we are using Red Rice, the dosaes turn brown pretty quickly. So make sure you roast them on Low Medium flame to get an evenly roasted Dose 

Enjoy Hot Dosas with Coconut chutney 

Khatta Dhokla/Safed Dhokla, also known as Idadaa is made using Rice & Urad Dal. 

I recently discovered that you can make some brilliant Gujarati Khatta Dhokla/Safed Dhokla using our very own Idli Batter. Karnataka style Idli batter made using Idli Rava/Idli Tari works extremely well for this recipe as the Idadaa batter is also a bit coarse in texture 

The recipe for Idli Batter can be found here .. While you are at it, you might want to check my recipe for Instant Nylon Khaman here 

This is yet another example of how our cuisines are different, yet quite similar in many ways 

• 1.5 cups uncooked Pasta - Macaroni or any Small sized Pasta
• 1/2 Red Bell Pepper - finely diced
• 1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper - finely diced
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper - finely diced
• 1/2 Orange Bell Pepper - finely diced
• 10-12  Cherry Tomatoes 
• Black Olives  
• Salt to taste

Traditionally, Rice/Rice flour is not added but it lends a crisp texture to the dosas. 

You can also skip adding onions while grinding. 

I have used Sprouted Mung Beans here & I think it is a great way of incorporating some nutrition into our diets. Though traditionally eaten as a breakfast/Snack, these will make an excellent weeknight dinner option as well 

If you have soaked Mung Beans ready, it is very easy to put this together

You will Need:

• 200 grams  or 1.5 cups Green Mung 
• 1/2  Cup Rice Flour  - (Traditionally not used)
• Half of an Onion - roughly chopped - Optional 
• 4 Green Chilies 
• 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds 
• A small Piece of Ginger 
• Salt as per taste 
• Water 
• Oil for cooking the Dosas 

 This is the easiest Pizza I have baked. It literally took 5 minutes to bake this with an almost negligible Prep time, which makes it prefect for those 4 PM hunger pangs

All you need is 3 main ingredients & 5 minutes to bake this one. It is also a fun way to involve the kids in cooking. 

You Will Need:

• Pita Bread - I have used Mini Pita Pockets from Trader Joe's 
• Pizza Sauce or Marinara Sauce ( 1 tablespoon for each Pita Pocket )
• Low Moisture Mozzarella - Grated 
• Some Sliced Black Olives
• Italian Seasoning 
• A few Fresh Basil Leaves
• Salt