Photo: Sutapa Pal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Tamilnadu · Breakfast

Ennai Dosai (எண்ணெய் தோசை)

Traditional 78. Ennai Dosai recipe

🧺 Ingredients

• 2 cups fermented dosa batter (standard overnight-fermented rice-urad dal batter)
• 3–4 tsp oil per dosa (sesame oil or refined oil — this is significantly more than regular dosa)
• 2 tsp red chutney (dried red chili-garlic paste) — spread on dosa before folding

👩‍🍳 How to make Ennai Dosai

1. Standard fermented dosa batter, thinned slightly more than usual — thin enough to spread into a large circle easily.
2. Cast-iron tawa heated on high heat until very hot — street dosa stalls use high heat throughout.
3. The extreme heat is what creates the rapid crisping.
4. Pour a ladle of batter.
5. Spread thin and wide (25–28 cm) with the back of the ladle in circular motions.
6. IMMEDIATELY pour 2 tsp oil in a generous stream around the entire perimeter of the dosa.
7. Then pour another 1–2 tsp oil ACROSS the surface of the dosa (not just edges).
8. The dosa should be sitting in a shallow pool of oil.
9. This is the defining feature of ennai dosai — the generous oil floods the surface, pools in the natural holes of the dosa, and fries them to intense crispiness.
10. The oil will sizzle intensely.
11. Cook on high heat for 2.5–3 minutes without touching.
12. The underside should be very dark golden-brown to almost reddish-brown — darker than regular dosa.
13. The edges should be hard and crackly.
14. The surface should have oil-crisped bubbles and blisters.
15. Optionally smear red chutney across the surface.
16. Fold in half (or roll).
17. Serve immediately.
18. The crunch should be audible when broken.

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