Masala dosa recipe. Masala dosa is made with crispy rice and lentil pancakes stuffed with a spicy and savory potato filling.
It is made by soaking and grinding lentils and rice paste. This ground paste is then fermented overnight to give the dosa a crispy and soft texture.
The recipe post shares both the dough preparation method and the savory potato filling.
Masala dosa is a famous South Indian Tiffin snack popular outside India also. Masala dosa is also on the menu list of many restaurants in North India. Although making masala dosa is a long process, but it is worth it.
Tips for making the best masala dosa
1. I used idli-dosa rice to prepare this hotel style masala dosa. You can also use parboiled rice. If you don’t have idli rice or dosa rice, use short grain rice like sona masuri. Even using regular rice like sona masuri or parmal rice results in crispy dosas.
2. Adding thick poha (flattened rice) makes the dosa crisp and also makes it soft. So you get a crispy texture on the outside with a nice soft texture on the inside. I always add thick poha to get that masala dosa texture. Poha also helps to give a golden color to the dosa.
3. A little chana dal is also added to make the dosa crisp and this gives a nice golden crust.
4. Methi seeds are added to help in the fermentation process. Methi seeds also give masala dosa a good taste.
5. The proportion I use is 3: 1 of rice and lentils to make crispy dosas. In this masala dosa recipe, I used 1.5 cups of dosa rice with ½ cup of urad dal. These recipe proportions result in crispy masala dosa that is still chewy.
6. The potato masala recipe shared here is really restaurant style and tastes delicious with the dosa. This potato masala or potato sabzi recipe is how I make it. I add a lot of onions which give a subtle sweet taste to the masala potato. A little soaked chana dal is also added. The taste of masala potato is similar to that found in hotels.
7. To obtain a golden crispy dosa, the pan must be hot. But the flip side is that if the pan is very hot, you can’t spread the dough well. Sprinkle water on the pan and wipe it dry. This lowers the temperature of the pan. Do this method on a cast iron pan. Do not do this on a nonstick skillet. It could affect the non-stick coating. Or you can heat the pan first and then reduce the flame to a low level. Then roll out the dough. Increase the flame to medium then cook the dosa.
8. Also if you are using a non-stick pan as soon as a dosa is done, reduce the flame. Spread the dough on the pan. Now let the dosa cook by increasing the flame.
9. The dough should be well fermented. if you live in a cold region, keep the dough in a warm place or store it longer to ferment well.
Regular masala dosa is the dosa served with potato masala and also coconut chutney and sambar at side.
However, many changes can be made in a regular masala dosa. For example, in the stuffing of potato, you can add vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, green beans, peas.
Add some grated paneer and you have the paneer masala dosa. So many variations can be done in a basic dosa masala. Instead of oil, you can use butter. Leftover dough can still be refrigerated and used as needed.
I have divided the entire hotel style masala dosa post into three steps to make it easy to understand:
- Making dough
- Make potato masala
- Make masala dosa
Also Read: Cauliflower Kurma
How to make Hotel Style Masala Dosa
A) Make masala dosa dough
1. Start by taking all the ingredients in three bowls:
- In a bowl, 1.5 cups of idli rice or parboiled rice
- In a second bowl, ½ cup urad dal + 1 tablespoon chana dal + 20 methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)
- In a third bowl, ⅓ cup thick poha (flattened rice).
2. Rinse the lentils and methi seeds several times. For 4 to 5 hours, soak them in 1 cup of water.
3. Rinse the rice several times and set it aside.
4. Rinse the poha once or twice, then add to the rice.
5. Pour in 2 cups of water. Stir and soak the rice and poha together for 4 to 5 hours.
6. Before grinding, filter the water from the soaked lentils + methi seeds and keep it for grinding urad dal.
7. Add the lentils to the mill jar. Also add ½ cup of soaked and filtered water to the dal.
8. Grind the seeds of urad dal, chana dal and methi until you obtain a light and fluffy dough. The urad dal must be ground very well for the dough to ferment well.
9. Remove the dough into a bowl or saucepan with a spatula. Here is a photo showing the consistency of the dough.
10. Drain the rice well. Then, in the same mill, add the soaked rice and 1 cup of fresh water. You can grind the rice in one batch or in two to many batches. This will depend on the grinder jar size. I grinded in one batch and added 1 cup of water for grinding. While grinding, you can even add ¾ cup of water. Adding water will depend on the quality of the rice.
11. Grind the rice until you get a fine grainy consistency. The rice dough should have a fine rava-like consistency in the dough.
12. Now pour the rice + poha paste into the same saucepan or the same bowl containing the urad dal paste.
13. Add ½ teaspoon of rock salt or add to taste.
14. Mix the salt with the dough very well. Also, mix the two hitters very well. Cover and let ferment for 8 to 9 hours. You can keep more or less time and it will depend on the temperature conditions in your city.
15. The batter the next day. I stayed about 13 hours and 35 minutes as it gets cold during the monsoons here.
Make potato masala for the masala dosa
1. Rinse first and boil 4 medium-sized potatoes in 2 cups of water for 5-6 whistles in a pressure cooker. You can also boil potatoes in a saucepan. The potatoes should be completely cooked.
2. When the potatoes are cooked, soak the chana dal in hot water for 30 minutes. Then drain the chana dal and set it aside.
3. When the pressure stabilizes on its own in the pressure cooker, remove the cover. Drain the potatoes and let them warm up.
4. Then peel them and chop them. Also chop the onions and chop the green peppers, ginger and cilantro leaves.
5. Heat the oil or ghee. If you are using cashews, fry them at this step and keep them aside. Lower the flame and add the mustard seeds and let them splash. You can add ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds while tempering in the potato masala.
6. Then add the chana dal.
7. Sauté the chana dal for 2 to 3 minutes over low heat or until lightly golden or golden.
8. Now add the chopped onions, curry leaves, green peppers and ginger.
9. Sauté the onions until they soften and become translucent.
10. Add turmeric powder and asafoetida.
11. Mix very well.
11. Now add water.
12. Again mix well and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes or until the mixture thickens a bit.
12. Then add the chopped boiled potatoes.
13. Mix very well.
14. Season with salt. Also add ¼ teaspoon of sugar for a slightly sweet taste. You can add more sugar if you prefer.
14. And stir again.
15. Simmer over low heat over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
16. Turn off the flame and add the chopped coriander leaves. also add the fried cashews now (if you fry the cashews earlier as mentioned in step 5 above). Mix well.
17. Stir and keep the potato masala aside. the masala potato should be moist and easily spreadable on the dosa. Make sure in the potato masala there is no water. It does not have to be the consistency of curry or sauce. For the masala dosa, this is your basic potato masala.
Make masala dosa
1. Now stir the dough lightly before you start doing dosa. you will also see tiny air pockets in the dough.
2. Heat a cast iron skillet or a flat nonstick skillet. The pan should be moderately hot. Smear a little oil if you are using an iron pan or griddle. Do not spread oil on a nonstick skillet, as you will not be able to spread the dough.
3. Keep the flame low while spreading the dough.
4. Spread the dough in a circular fashion on the dish. over medium heat, cook the dosa.
5. Sprinkle oil on top and edges.
6. While cooking, cover the dosa with a lid.
7. Cook the dosa until its base becomes golden and crispy.
8. When you see that the base has turned golden, place a portion of masala potato on the dosa. If you want you can spread it a bit.
9. Now fold the dosa and serve.
10. Serve the restaurant-style crispy masala dosa hot with sambar and coconut chutney.
