Dosa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Dosa | |
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| Kannada: | Dose(dho-say) |
| Malayalam: | Dosha |
| Tamil: | Dosai |
| Telugu: | Dosa |
The dosa (alternate spellings) is a savoury South Indian crêpe. This snack is phonetically spelt as dose ("do-say), dosa, dosha or dosai in each of the four South Indian states; however, the transcription dosa is now so prevalent that it has been widely accepted by the restaurant industry. This snack, high in carbohydrates and proteins, is a typical South Indian breakfast item.
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[edit] Preparation
Regular dosa batter is made from lentils and rice blended with water and left to ferment overnight. (The same batter, slightly modified, can be used to make idlis.) The lentils and rice can be replaced with highly refined wheat flour to make a maida dosa or semolina for a rava dosa.
The batter is then ladled in small amounts onto a flat, preheated pan, where it is allowed to spread out into a circular shape and is fried with edible oil or ghee until golden brown. The dosa is then neatly folded in half and served.
[edit] Serving methods
Though considered a breakfast dish, dosas are also eaten at other times of day.
The dosa is typically served with a side accompaniment which varies according to regional and personal preferences. More common side items include:
- sambar
- "wet" chutneys, often coconut chutney — a semi-solid paste usually made of coconut, dhal, green chilies, and mint or cilantro.
- "dry" chutney powder of spices and desiccated coconut
- Indian pickle
- milagai podi, a dry spice mixture (the simplest, most traditional dosa side dish)
- chicken or mutton curry (commonly served in non-vegetarian households in Tamil Nadu)
[edit] Masala Dosa
A masala dosa is made by stuffing a dosa with a lightly cooked filling of potatoes, fried onions and spices.
One variant of the Masala dosa, the Mysore Masala Dosa, is served with both coconut and onion chutneys. In Bangalore, the masala dosa is usually served with a red chutney applied to its inside surface; this is a peculiarity that lends it a unique taste and is something that is not found elsewhere. In recent times this has caught on in other parts of Karnataka.
[edit] Dosa variations
Other types of dosa include:
- Egg Dosa - an omelette is spread on the dosa.
- Chilli Dosa - some idlly power is spread on the dosa.
- Onion Dosa - chopped and sautéd onions are spread on the dosa.
- Ghee Dosa - substitute ghee instead of oil while frying dosa.
- Butter Dosa - substitute butter instead of oil while frying dosa and a small amount on top of it while serving.
- Roast - Spread dosa thinly and fry till crisp.
- Family Roast - Long dosa which can be spread over 2 or 3 feet.
- Paper Dosa - Long and very thin delicate dosa which can be spread over 2 feet.
- Green Dosa - Dosa stuffed with fresh vegetables and mint chutney.
- Chow-Chow Dosa - Dosa stuffed with (Indian flavored) Chinese noodles.
Though dosai typically refers to the version made with rice and lentils, many other versions of dosai exist and are popular in varying degrees. This is sometimes specific to a region in India. Some common ones are:
- Rava dosay - made with rava or semolina, which doesn't need fermentation and is usually considered a fast snack/tiffin.
- Wheat Dosai - made with wheat flour, and served with coconut chutney.
- Vella Dosai - a sweet dosai made of jaggery[citation needed], with ghee/neyyi.
- Ragi dosay - made of ragi or millet flour, usually considered "a poor man's fare".
- Muttai dosai - eggs are added to the regular batter; the word muttai in Tamil means "egg".
- Set Dose - A popular type of Dosas in Karnataka. This dosa which is cooked only on one side is served in a set of two and hence the name.
- Neer dosa is a dosa prepared from rice unique to Dakshina Kannada district.
[edit] Media
- Preparation of a Dosa (file info)
- Problems seeing the videos? See media help.
[edit] Trivia on spelling
Due to the different ways of transliterating/translating the term dosa, there exist several alternate spellings. Other common spellings include:
- dhosa (used by Hindi speaking people)
- dosay
- dosai
- dhosai
- tosai
- thosai (used in Malaysia)
[edit] External links
