![Photo of finished dosas on a plate with sambal on the side.](https://assets.epicurious.com/photos/5ed15d63b04a09f415db838b/1:1/w_2560%2Cc_limit/EPI-Dosa-HERO.jpg)
Dosas are commonly served with a spiced potato filling,sambar(a thin lentil stew) or a savory chutney. Coconut chutney is the standard, but when coconuts are hard to come by, a tomato one steps in nicely. The mix of tomatoes and onions are tempered by a slick of ghee, mustard seeds, curry leaves, chilies, and toasted dal, for a deeply flavored accompaniment.
As with any fermented food, timing will depend on the ambient temperature (the hotter it is, the faster it will go). Indoor temperatures were about 68°F—72°F when we developed this recipe and that’s what our time range reflects, so use it just as a guideline. If possible, 82°F is ideal. Most important though will be checking for signs that indicate the batter is ready (bubbly, airy, and sour). For more on the nuances of making dosas at home,check out Tara O'Brady's primer.
Ingredients
4-6 servings
Dosa batter
Chutney and assembly
Dosa batter
Step 1
The morning before you make your batter, rinse rice in a fine-mesh sieve under cold running water, until water runs almost clear. Transfer to a large bowl and cover with 4 cups cold water. If your tap water is heavily chlorinated, use filtered water for soaking as chlorine will inhibit fermentation later on.
Step 2
Pick over dal for debris, then rinse in sieve under cold running water. Transfer to a medium bowl and add fenugreek. Cover with 2 cups cold water (again using filtered if needed). Let rice and dal soak at least 8 hours and up to 10 hours.
Step 3
Drain rice, holding back grains with your hand and pouring off most of the soaking liquid into a pitcher or large measuring glass. Transfer rice to a blender. Pulse to get things going, then purée, sparingly adding soaking liquid as needed, until a paste forms (mixture should be foamy and still slightly gritty when rubbed between your fingers). Pour into a clean large bowl. Repeat process with dal mixture, then vigorously stir blended dal into rice paste.
Step 4
Add reserved soaking liquid as needed to create a pourable batter that falls off the spoon in a steady stream and gradually dissolves into itself. Stir in salt. (If you are in a warm climate, add salt after fermentation to keep batter from becoming overly sour.) Cover bowl with a kitchen towel, then a silicone lid (this will keep the surface of the batter from drying out). Set bowl in a warm spot (a proofing box or an oven with the light on and a bowl of hot water placed inside work well). Let batter sit until airy and pleasantly sour (when you drizzle it from a spoon, it should fall on itself in slowly dissolving ribbons), 4–6 hours in a very warm environment and as long as 2 days in a very cool environment. In general, 14 hours is a safe starting point.
Step 5
Do ahead:面糊可以提前1周。一次发酵,cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before cooking. Thin with water if needed to reach a thick but pourable consistency.
Chutney and assembly
Step 6
Heat 2 tsp. oil in a medium skillet over medium. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add green chiles and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Reduce heat to low, add tomatoes and any juices and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until tomatoes are tender, 7–9 minutes. Carefully transfer to clean blender or a food processor and blend until smooth; reserve skillet. Taste chutney and season with more salt if needed. Transfer to a small bowl.
Step 7
Wipe out reserved skillet and heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in skillet over medium. Cook mustard seeds, stirring constantly, until they start to pop, about 30 seconds. Add curry leaves, dried red chile, and dal and cook, stirring occasionally, until curry leaves wilt and crisp and dal is starting to brown, about 2 minutes. Mix in asafoetida, if using, and remove spice oil from heat. Mix into chutney.
Step 8
烹饪dosa医生、热烤盘或大煎锅(the larger the better; you want the batter to have room to spread) over medium. Sprinkle a little water on surface; if it sizzles you’re good to go. (It’s important though not to let griddle get hotter than medium. If it’s too hot, the batter will start to cook before it’s fully spread out, yielding a thick dosa, or worse, a thin dosa that tears. Adjust heat as needed). Brush griddle with a thin layer of ghee, wiping off excess with a folded paper towel. Ladle a generous ⅓-cupful of batter in the center of griddle and use ladle to spread batter, working outward in continuous circles and never lifting ladle off surface, to create an 8"-diameter round. Ridges of thick and thin batter will form naturally. Cook dosa 30 seconds, then drizzle ⅛ tsp. ghee over batter. For a spongier dosa, cover with a large bowl and steam until cooked through, about 2 minutes (cooked underside should show through thinner spots, and thicker spots should be opaque and bouncy). For a drier dosa, cook until surface is mostly set, about 2 minutes, then, using a fish spatula or other wide spatula, flip dosa over (it should easily lift from the griddle at this point) and cook until second side is lightly golden, about 20 seconds. Fold dosa in half so toasted side is facing out and transfer to a plate. Repeat process with remaining batter and ghee.
Step 9
Serve dosas as they are ready with chutney alongside for dipping.
How would you rate Homestyle Dosas with Tomato Chutney?
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Reviews (6)
Back to TopLoved the chutney ! Always struggled with the chutneys before trying this recipe. Loved the chutney ! Always struggled with the chutneys before trying this recipe.
Anonymous
India
4/27/2022
Loved the chutney ! Always struggled with the chutneys before trying this recipe. Loved the chutney ! Always struggled with the chutneys before trying this recipe.
Anonymous
India
4/27/2022
Loved the chutney ! Always struggled with the chutneys before trying this recipe. Loved the chutney ! Always struggled with the chutneys before trying this recipe.
Anonymous
4/27/2022
NOTE - I only made the tomato chutney. Really flavorful and delicious. Was skeptical of adding the daal (thinking of my teeth!) but after a night in the fridge the daal became soft and the flavors melded even more. I used fresh campari tomatoes and did not use the asafoetida.
rubyclaire1
NYC
2/11/2021
"The mix of tomatoes and onions are tempered by..." The mix [of tomatoes and onions] IS tempered by...
christocc
Proper Grammarland
9/22/2020
These were really, really, really good. To start, I had to sub mung beans for the urad dal (I ordered the proper ingredient from nuts.com) because I didn't have. My first attempt was too wet and didn't seem to rise well. I reread the primer and used the instant pot to ferment. Second attempt came out good but I used my cast iron skillet and found I couldn't control the temp to keep the pot at medium (I have a gas cook top) so the dough wouldn't turn when I lowered the temp or was too dark on the bottom when I increased. Third attempt, got the batter perfect, ending up using a stainless steel pan, and everything worked perfect, just as described. I never got to make the chutney :-). I think I'll do the next batch and serve with sambar for a full meal because I found the recipe for that. These take a lot of time and patience and I wish the primer had a video of the process instead of the two photos. I also appreciate Tara's reluctance to create the recipe, but I'm glad I was able to try it. These were a great departure to my quarantine bread fetish :-)
Anonymous
Chicago, IL
7/17/2020