Kannada
Mysore Masala Dosa
- Duration: 25 minutes + fermentation time (overnight)
- Serves: 6 to 8 people
-
Spice Level: High
Authenticity Slice
To get that right taste, make sure to grind the chutney with extra spices; it gives the dosa its unique flavour. In the olden kitchens of the state, a spoonful of sugar was often added to the batter to give the dosa an extra golden crust.
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Trivia Tadka
The Mysore Masala Dosa is very different from all the other dosas. It has a soft inside that is coated with chutney, and is crisp on the outside. The first record of this dish was found in the year 1057 in the memoirs of King Chalukya Someshwara. The idea for the dosa came about after a party one day, when the king was dismayed to find a huge amount of leftovers. He ordered his chefs to think of creative ways of making sure that no food goes to waste. One of the chefs decided to coat the insides of leftover dosas with onion-garlic-and-tomato chutney and stuff them with the leftover potato sabzi. He also added some spices and a lot of ghee. The king loved this dosa innovation, and so was born the delectable Mysore Masala Dosa.
Ingredients
For the Dosa
- Black gram (urad dal) (1 cup)
- Split chickpeas (chana dal) (½ cup)
- Rice (4½ cups)
- Flattened rice (poha) (1 cup)
- Cooked rice (¾ cup)
- Salt (to taste)
For the Potato Palya (dosa masala)
- Potatoes (aloo) (medium-sized, 3)
- Onion, finely chopped (2)
- Green peas (matar), fresh or frozen (optional)
- Green chillies (hari mirch), slit vertically (2)
- Mustard (sarson) (¼ tsp)
- Black gram (urad dal) (½ tsp)
- Oil (1 tbsp)
- MTR Haldi/Turmeric Powder (¼ tsp)
- Curry leaves (kadipatta), chopped (4 to 6)
- Coriander leaves (hara dhaniya), finely chopped (2 tbsp)
- Salt (to taste)
Method
For the Dosa Masala
- Wash the potatoes and transfer them to a pressure cooker, filling water up to 1-inch above the level of the vegetables.
- Time it to 4 to 5 whistles on a high flame, and then allow the steam to escape naturally.
- Peel the potatoes, mash them coarsely and keep aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadhai on a high flame till it starts to give off smoke. Add the sarson and when it begins to crackle, add the urad dal and keep frying till the dal turns golden brown.
- Add in the onion, green chillies and kadipatta and sauté till the onion turns golden brown.
- Next, add the green peas and the MTR Haldi/Turmeric Powder and cook for another 1 or 2 minutes.
- Toss in the mashed potatoes and salt and mix till the potato mash is evenly coated with the masala.
- Turn off the flame and garnish with the hara dhania.
For the Dosa
- Wash and soak together black gram (urad dal), split chickpeas (chana dal) and rice in water for 2 hrs.
- Toss in the soaked ingredients in a mixer-grinder, and work up a smooth paste. Next, add the cooked rice to this paste and grind again till the batter becomes smooth and of pouring consistency.
- Transfer to a bowl, cover and allow it to ferment overnight.
- Next morning, add salt and mix thoroughly.
- To prepare the dosas, heat the dosa tawa on a medium flame, sprinkle a few drops of oil on it and gently wipe it off with a moist cloth.
- Pour a small katori-full of batter at the centre of the tawa and gently but briskly, spread it out using clockwise circular motions with the help of a ladle or the bottom of the katori. The dosa must be about 10 cm in diameter.
- Immediately smear the red chutney over it and sprinkle around half-a-tsp of oil around the edges. Allow it to cook for a minute.
- As the edges of the dosa start to curl up, plop a tbsp of the potato masala at the centre of the chutney-smeared dosa. (There is no need to flip the dosa and cook it on the other side.)
- Fold the dosa from both sides using a spatula or flat cooking spoon and gently transfer to a serving plate.
- Serve hot with some more red chutney, and sambar on the side.
