Ingredients

Dosa

• 3 cups rice
• 1 cup urad dal (black gram)
• 1½-2 cups water
• salt

Coconut Chutney

• 2 cups grated coconut
• 1/2 cup chana dal (split chickpeas)
• 2 tsp plain curd or yogurt
• 2 sprig curry leaves (approx 10-12 leaves)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preparation

Fermenting Dosa Batter

1. Separately grind the rice and the urad dal by slowly adding water so as to make a smooth frothy batter. Once both pastes are ready, mix them together in a bowl to make a single batter.
2. Cover and place the batter in a warm place in order to ferment. Depending on the temperature, this can take anything from 6 - 12 hours.
3. Check if the batter is properly fermented. Fermented batter will have risen in volume and be frothy. Well fermented batter will float when you take a spoonful and pour into a bowl of water. The fermented batter can be stored in the fridge for about a week or two.

Making Dosas

1. Stir the dosa batter before using. If the batter has become thick after storing in the fridge, add some water and mix.
2. Heat a non-stick dosa pan or flat pan on medium-low heat. Add ½ tsp of oil and spread.
3. Take ½ cup of dosa batter and pour into the center of the pan. Using a ladle, slowly spread the batter outward from the center in circles to make a thin crepe.
4. Increase the heat a bit add a little oil around the edges to prevent it from sticking.
5. Roast until the dosa is crisp and golden. By this time, the dosa should easily come off the pan and not stick too much. If the dosa is too thick and looks uncooked on the other side, flip and cook for a few mins.
6. Lower the heat and repeat the above steps to make more dosas.
7. Serve the dosas with coconut chutney, or other chutneys and sambar.

Coconut Chutney

1. Roast chana dal in 1tsp oil till slightly brown.
2. Grind the chana dal, coconut, curd, salt and water together to make a semi-liquidy paste. You could add more water to make it more liquidy if preferred.
3. Remove the coconut chutney mixture into a bowl.
4. In the same pan as the dal, add curry leaves and heat for a minute until it darkens and gives off an aroma.
5. Garnish the coconut chutney with mustard seeds and fried curry leaves.
6. The chutney can be frozen and reused when required. Since it contains coconut, it can spoil in the fridge in just a few days.