Spicy masala dosai

In South India, we make Masala dosai by stuffing the dosa with yellow poori masala. But the masala stuffing varies from city to city. My neighbor aunty (from Gujarat), gave me a spicy masala dosa on a  morning and I totally loved her version. Here is  her version. Enjoy this with sambar and chutney for a  delicious dinner

Potato masala:
Boiled potato - 3
red onion - 1/2
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
cilantro - few leaves.
salt - to taste
garam masala / curry masala powder - 3/4 tsp
lemon juice - 1 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
fennel - 1 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 1 tsp per dosai (optional)

Peel the boiled potatoes and mash almost finely.
Heat oil  in a wok, add fennel (sombu). As it gets red, add finely chopped onion. After the onion gets soft, add ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes. Add the turmeric powder, chili powder, curry masala powder and mix for 10 seconds. Then add the mashed potatoes, salt, cilantro and cook covered with handful of water for 5 minutes.
After switching off sprinkle lemon juice and keep aside.

Dosa:
Dosa batter - 2 cup
sesame oil - as per need
ghee - optional

Method:
Heat a dosa tawa. Sprinkle few drops of sesame oil. Soak a clean cloth with water and wipe it off, so that the tawa is completely coated with oil.
Pour a 1/2 cup batter (for a large dosa tawa or lesser for a small tawa).  Spread it in circle to get a medium thick dosa. Drizzle some ghee on top of it. Flip as it gets mild red on one side.
After it gets cooked both sides, take the dosa and keep it on a plate as if the red side remains at bottom. Spread the tomato ketchup over the dosai. Take a scoop of potato masala and spread over it and fold. Masala dosai is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve with sambar and coconut chutney as dinner or any main course meal.

Note for beginners:
It would be laborious to make all these potato masala, dosa batter, sambar , chutney on a single day. I am sure , no Indian would do like that. So I generally make dosa batter ahead and keep refrigerated always.  Potato masal I have mentioned here can be prepared a day before for lunch pack along with chapati or rice. Like wise  sambar can also be saved from lunch. So if we plan ahead it would be easier for us to make this masal dosa for our loving family.

Masal dosai

Idly and dosai are popular dishes of Tamilnadu, India. They are consumed as a main course for dinner and a staple for breakfast. Proper fermentation of the batter is the key behind the successful idlies and the hot climatic condition prevailing there throughout the year will make the idly petal soft. Though making the perfect idly depends on how much care we give for maintaining the temperature, dosa comes handy for all who long for native food.

We can see an idly vs dosai scene in almost any Indian house. When the mother wants to steam some idly in a jiffy, one fuzzy person may always demand for a dosai . That demanding person can be satisfied only by a hot dosai, while others has to eat the idly:) Just like that whenever anyone goes to an Indian restaurant , crispy dosai would be in the top preference. The restaurants would serve the dosai with variety of chutney and that makes the platter pretty.Mostly I make coconut chutney or sambar only and rarely both. But I would make masal dosai if I have some left over poori kilangu after having poori the previous day. Nowadays readymade batter is also available everywhere (I suggest making your own batter for fresh taste) and so dosa making becomes more handy.
 
Prepare this delicious Masal dosai and enjoy!

Masal dosai with sambar and chutney.

Take a look inside: ) Potato masala stuffed inside a thin crispy dosai.

Ingredients:
Dosa batter - 1/2 cup per dosai
potato masala filling - 2 or 3 tbsp per dosai
sesame oil / ghee - few tsp

Method:
For making perfect crispy dosai we may need a thick dosa tawa, sharp spatula, a medium sour dosa batter.
Add a tbsp besan flour for 2 cups of dosa batter and mix well. (Besan flour gives dosai a red hue. Some times I skip this step).
Apply one drop oil on tawa and spread uniformly using a spatula.
Heat the tawa to maximum. Check the heat by sprinkling a drop of water. Wipe the tawa clean, using a kitchen towel.
Now without applying oil to the tawa, pour a ladle full of batter on it. Using the back of the flat spatula or a small cup, spread the batter to a thin circle.
Drizzle few drops of ghee or sesame oil.
As soon as it shows little red color, flip , reduce heat and cook for 10 seconds.
Flip again, so that the beautiful red side lays down. Place 2 -3 tbsp of poori masala in the center and fold , so that the red color shows up.
Some people fold thrice like a newspaper (see photo above) and some fold only once so that dosa looks like a semicircle.
Masal dosai is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot immediately (for crispiness) with coconut chutney and sambar.

Note:
For details on dosa making see my paper roast dosai recipe.