Spiced Rice Potato Dosas

Dosas (or dosai, as it is sometimes written) are like crepes, fine-textured flatbreads made of batter poured onto a lightly oiled skillet or griddle. They’re most often savory and plain, made to be eaten with a curry or a dal and a chutney. The classic dosa (page 112) is made of dal and rice that are soaked, then ground to a batter that is allowed to ferment a little to leaven it. This dosa is different, quicker to prepare, because the batter needs no fermentation. It’s made of cooked potato, rice flour, and yogurt, and flavored with coriander leaves and green chiles, for a mild heat. The dosas are beautiful as they come off the pan, very supple and all lacy and golden and speckled with green flavorings.

There are a few tricks to making these: The batter must be perfectly free of lumps and quite runny, so that it flows quickly over the hot pan; the pan surface must be nonstick or very well seasoned, and must also be oiled; the pan must be hot, over medium-high to high heat. If all these conditions are met, when the batter is poured onto the pan, it will spread out and bubble to create a lacy texture, the bread will be desirably thin, and because of the high temperature, it will be crispy at the edges.

We recommend using two skillets or a large rectangular griddle that sits on the stove so you have a larger surface and can make more dosas at one time. We also recommend making them relatively small—four inches or so in diameter—so they’re easier to handle.

Ingredients

• 1 cup crumbled cooked potato (from 2 medium baking potatoes, boiled until tender and peeled)
• 1 cup rice flour
• ½ cup plain (full- or reduced-fat) yogurt
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup loosely packed coriander leaves and stems, minced
• 2 green cayenne chiles, seeded and minced
• About 2 cups lukewarm water
• About ¼ cup raw sesame oil or vegetable oil
• About ¼ cup raw sesame oil or vegetable oil

Method

1. Place the potato and the rice flour in a food processor and process to an even mealy texture.
2. Add the yogurt, salt, coriander, and chiles and process to mix.
3. With the processor running, add 2 cups lukewarm water and process until you have a smooth batter.
4. Transfer the batter to a bowl. Add a little extra water if necessary to get a thin, runny batter.
5. Place a large nonstick skillet or a very well seasoned cast-iron skillet or griddle over high heat.
6. Pour on about 1 teaspoon of the oil, then use a spatula to spread it over the surface of the pan.
7. Lower the heat slightly, then scoop up a scant ¼ cup batter and pour it onto the center of the hot oiled pan.
8. It should spread out on the oil to a 4- to 5-inch round, bubbling and creating a lacy pattern at the edges.
9. Drizzle several drops of oil around the edges of the dosa and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the underside is a strong golden brown, then carefully flip and cook the second side for another 2 minutes, or until well colored.
10. Transfer to a plate.
11. Oil the pan with about ½ teaspoon oil before starting to cook the next dosa.

As you make the remaining dosas, you may find that there is actually room in your pan to cook two at a time; you can scoop up a little less batter to make dosas just under 4 inches in diameter.
The smaller breads are easier to flip over.

Notes:

Serve as a bread to accompany a meal. These are also good dipped into yogurt or salsa, or used nontraditionally as wrappers for cheese or sliced meat and greens.

Source:

Mangoes & Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent

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