Dosa with potato filling
Although often called a type of lentil, urid dal is actually related to cowpeas and mung beans. This is what forms the dosa base to this recipe, along with parboiled rice. Serve with a spiced potato filling and chutney.
Ingredients
For the dosa batter
- 155²µ/5½´Ç³ú basmati rice
- 70g urid dal (split black gram)
- 7 fenugreek seeds
- 1 tbsp gram flour
- oil, for cooking
- salt, to taste
For the tomato chutney
- 400g/14oz tomatoes, chopped
- 200g/7oz red onion, chopped
- 30g/1oz red chilli, chopped
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú dates, stones removed
- 30g/1oz garlic, chopped
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú tamarind paste
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 3g mustard seeds
- 7²µ/â…“o³ú urid dal (black gram split)
- 1 dried red chilli
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
For the potato filling
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp chana dal
- 1 tsp urid dal
- 7 curry leaves
- ½ tsp asafoetida
- 45²µ/1½´Ç³ú onions, sliced
- 35g/1oz mild green chillies, chopped
- 225g/7½oz cooked potatoes (peeled, diced and boiled)
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
- salt, to taste
To serve
- red chilli powder
- green chilli paste
- vegetable oil
- coconut and coriander chutney
Method
To make the dosa batter, wash the rice under cold running water and soak in a bowl for 3–4 hours. Drain the rice and using a food processor or blender, blend to a smooth paste, adding about 4 tablespoons of water while blending.
Wash the urid dal under cold, running water and soak for 3–4 hours in a bowl. Drain the urid dal and blend it with the fenugreek seeds to make a smooth paste (add about a tablespoon of water while blending).
Combine the rice and urid dal paste in a large container. Cover and allow it to ferment in a warm room for 6–8 hours.
Add 120ml/4fl oz of water to the rice and dal, stir in the gram flour and salt, to taste. The batter is now ready for preparing dosas.
To make the tomato chutney, add the tomatoes, red onion, red chilli, dates, garlic, tamarind and salt to a pan over medium heat, and cook until soft. Once cooked, remove from the heat and blend to a smooth paste using a blender or food processor.
Add sunflower oil to a pan, once hot add the mustard seeds, urid dal, dried red chilli, curry leaves and turmeric and allow the seeds to crackle and splutter. Remove from the heat and pour the hot oil and spices over the tomato paste. Mix together and set aside – the chutney can be served warm or cold.
Meanwhile, for the potato filling, add the oil to a pan on medium heat. Add the mustard seeds, chana dal, urid dal, curry leaves and asafoetida and allow the seeds to crackle and splutter. Add the onion and green chillies and fry until soft and the onions are translucent.
Add the cooked potatoes, turmeric, lemon juice and salt, to taste. Finally garnish with coriander leaves. Keep warm.
To cook the dosa, heat a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat and drizzle in a little oil, remove from the heat and wipe the pan with kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.
Sprinkle a little water on the hot pan to cool it, dry it with kitchen paper and then pour a ladle of the dosa batter into the pan. Allow the batter to spread to the edge of the pan to make a thin pancake.
Spinkle with a pinch of red chilli powder, a squeeze of green chilli paste and a light drizzle of oil. When it starts to brown, add the potato filling to the middle of the pancake and fold the pancake over the filling. Remove from the plate and cut into four. Serve with the tomato and coconut and coriander chutneys.
