Photo: Gannu03 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Tamilnadu · Breakfast

Masala Dosa (மசால தோசை)

Traditional 31. Masala Dosa recipe

🧺 Ingredients

• 2 cups raw rice (idli rice or parboiled rice)
• ½ cup urad dal (black gram, husked)
• Water — for soaking and grinding
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 medium potatoes (about 600 g), boiled, peeled, and roughly mashed
• 2 tbsp oil (sesame or sunflower)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 10 curry leaves
• 2 green chilies, slit lengthwise
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced (lengthwise)
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes, finely chopped (½ cup)
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 4 dried red chilies (Guntur or Byadagi)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp chana dal, roasted
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp water
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp oil

👩‍🍳 How to make Masala Dosa

1. Rinse rice, urad dal, and fenugreek seeds separately.
2. Combine in a large bowl and soak in 4 cups cold water for 6–8 hours (or overnight).
3. Drain soaking water (keep).
4. Grind in a wet grinder or high-powered blender: add ½ cup soaking water, blend in batches until very smooth and slightly airy — the batter should be thinner than idli batter.
5. Total batter volume should be about 4–5 cups.
6. Add 1 tsp salt.
7. Cover loosely and ferment at room temperature for 8–10 hours until volume increases by 50% and small bubbles appear on surface.
8. Soak dried red chilies in 2 tbsp hot water for 10 minutes.
9. Blend with garlic cloves, roasted chana dal, cumin seeds, soaked chilies (with soaking water), and a pinch of salt to a thick paste.
10. Sauté in 1 tsp oil for 1 minute.
11. Set aside.
12. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide pan over high heat.
13. Add mustard seeds — wait 20 seconds until they crackle.
14. Add urad dal and chana dal — fry 30 seconds until golden.
15. Add curry leaves and green chilies — toss 10 seconds.
16. Add sliced onions and ginger — fry on medium-high heat for 4 minutes until onions soften and edges turn translucent.
17. Do NOT brown the onions.
18. Add chopped tomatoes.
19. Add ¼ tsp turmeric and ½ tsp red chili powder.
20. Stir well.
21. Cook on medium heat for 3 minutes until tomatoes break down and the mixture becomes a soft, glossy masala.
22. Add the roughly mashed potatoes.
23. Mix gently — do not mash further, the masala should have rough texture with both potato chunks and mashed areas.
24. Add 1 tsp salt.
25. Mix well.
26. Cook for 2 minutes on low heat to meld flavors.
27. Add lemon juice and coriander, mix.
28. Taste and adjust salt.
29. Keep filling warm.
30. Heat tawa on high heat for 2 minutes.
31. Reduce to medium-high.
32. Rub with onion-oil piece.
33. Pour one ladle batter and spread thin (same as regular dosa).
34. Spread quickly.
35. Immediately smear ½–1 tsp of red chutney across the center of the raw dosa surface.
36. It will begin cooking into the wet batter.
37. Drizzle ½ tsp oil around the perimeter.
38. Cook on medium-high heat for 2–2.5 minutes until edges crisp and lift, underside is golden-brown.
39. Place 3–4 tbsp potato masala in a line down the center of the dosa.
40. Fold the dosa in half over the filling (or fold both sides over, overlapping in the center).
41. Slide onto plate.
42. Serve immediately with coconut chutney and sambar.

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