Dosa and South Indian breakfast go hand in hand but for me, it’s an anytime meal. Today I decided to go and visit my university’s restaurant for a dosa meal. The options were plenty, but I chose Rava masala dosa which I consider to be the ‘Dosa King’. These paper-thin crepes do not require the hassle of soaking, grinding, or fermentation. Though known as Rava dosa, the watery batter is a suspension of rice flour in water or buttermilk. Rava /semolina is added for textural enhancement.
The addition of Rava has an important scientific reason too A good batter is one in which the starch swells absorbing the liquid and the proteins build a strong network, that provides stability to the cooked product. Rice flour has low water-absorbing capacity and protein content is not enough to give the needed stability. Hence the addition of rava to the batter provides the much-required structure and viscosity.
Connecting science with our traditional cooking leaves me awestruck at the ingenuity of our ancestors. Dosa musings set aside, I began to savour the lacy thin crisp dosa filled with a spicy potato mash.
Rava Masala Dosa Recipe:
Ingredients For Dosa Batter:
- 1 cup rice flour
- ½ cup rava
- ¼ cup maida
- Curd ½ cup
- Salt as required
- Pepper 1tsp
- Cumin seeds 1tsp
- Asafoetida ½ tsp
- Chopped green chilly 1 tbsp
- Chopped ginger 1tbsp
- Slivered cashews roasted 2 tbsp
- Coconut bits 2 tbsp
- Curry leaves few
- Coriander leaves chopped 2 tbsp
- Oil for dosa preparation
Preparation Method:
Mix all the above ingredients into a watery batter. Set aside till preparation.
Ingredients For Potato Filling:
- Boiled potatoes at 500 gms
- Onions 250 gms sliced
- Green chilly chopped 4 medium
- Curry leaves few
- Chilly powder 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder ½ tsp
- Salt as required
- Oil 2tbsp
- Mustard seeds 1 tsp
- Asafoetida ¼ tsp
Preparation Method:
- Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Splutter mustard and add asafoetida followed by green chillies and curry leaves.
- Add the onion slices. Sauté till glossy.
- Add the mashed potato. Mix well. Add in the salt as required and the remaining spices. Sauté for a minute.
- Pour in ½ cup of water and brin to a boil. Simmer till thick. remove and set aside.
Rava Masala Dosa Preparation:
- Heat a griddle /Tava.
- Take a cup of the batter and pour from 10 cm height in a circular shape on the hot tava. If there are large open spaces, fill them with batter.
- Drizzle oil and allow to crisp. Flip over and cook till the 2 nd side also crispens.
- Remove onto a plate. Place a portion of potato filling. Fold and serve with chutney and sambar.
Rava Masala Dosa is Ready 🙂
NOTE
- Mix the batter well before every cup.
- Add grated carrot or beetroot for added nutrition and colour.
