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Dosa
	; Dosa
Origin
Alternate name(s)	Dose, Dosay, Dose, Dosai, Dhosha
Place of origin	India
Region or state	Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu
Dish details
Main ingredient(s)	rice batter and urad bean
Variations	masala dosa, rave dosa, onion dosa, neer dosa

For the term as used in Ayurveda, see Dosha.

The dosa (see spelling variants below) is a crepe made from rice and black lentils. It is a typical dish in South Indian cuisine, eaten for breakfast or dinner, and is rich in carbohydrates and protein. It is generally believed that dosa had its roots in the Temple Streets of Udupi, Karnataka.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]. Dosa is also noted in the Tamil Sangam Literature from 100 BC to 300 AD^[7] ("idaichangam" literature) and later, around 6th century AD^[8]^[9]^[10]

[edit] Spelling

There are various ways of transliterating dosa: dhosha, dosay, dosai, dhosai, tosai, thosai, or dvashi. In different countries it is spelled in different manners; for example, in Malaysia and Singapore it is spelled thosai, because of the different way in which Tamil is transliterated in South-East Asia.

[edit] Preparation

Regular dosa batter is made from rice and split skinned urad bean (black lentil) blended with water and left to ferment overnight. A modified form of the same batter can be used to make idlis.

Characteristically the rice is very finely ground, more so than in idli batter. Furthermore, the rice to lentil ratio varies in both. The rice can be uncooked and/or parboiled. The urad bean and rice can be replaced with highly refined wheat flour to make a maida dosa or semolina for a rave dosa.

The batter is then ladled in small amounts onto a hot greased tava, where it is spread out into a thin circle and fried with oil or ghee until golden brown. This is the case in a very short time. The dosa may then be folded in half and served or rolled as in a wrap, but in both cases it is cooked on a single side. Alternatively, it may be flipped to cook on the other side and then served.

[edit] Serving methods

Though sometimes considered a breakfast dish, dosas are also eaten at other times of day. Those with wheat allergies or gluten intolerance will find the dosa a nice addition to their diets. They can be stuffed with vegetables, meats and sauces to create a quickly prepared meal.

Dosas are typically served with a side dish 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, dal, green chilies, and mint or coriander (cilantro)
dry chutney pudi or powder of spices and desiccated coconut
Indian pickle
milagai podi, fry dry chillies, dal, asafoetida, salt and grind coarsely
chicken or mutton curry (commonly served in non-vegetarian households in Tamil Nadu and Kerala)
curd with chilli powder topping
muddha pappu (dal) with large amount of ghee (the traditional way of eating dosa in many parts of Andhra Pradesh)
Fish Curry / Meen Kozhambu (commonly served in non-vegetarian households in Tamil Nadu

[edit] Variations of Dosa

Home made Neer dosa with thick coconut chutney

Though dosa typically refers to the version made with rice and lentils, many other versions of dosa exist and are popular in varying degrees. This is sometimes specific to a region in India. Other types of dosa include:

Egg dosa - a dosa spread with an omelette.
Chilli dosa - chilli powder is spread on the dosa.
Open dosa - chutney powder is spread on the dosa while cooking. Before serving spiced & mashed potato is placed on top.
Onion dosa - chopped and sautéd onions are spread on the dosa.
Ghee (thuppa/neyyi) dosa - ghee is used instead of oil while frying the dosa.
Butter dosa - butter is used instead of oil while frying dosa and a small amount on top of it while serving.
Roast - the dosa is spread thinly and fried until crisp.
Family roast - a long dosa which can be spread over 2 or 3 feet.
Paper dosa - a long and very thin delicate dosa which can be spread over 2 feet.
Green dosa - a dosa stuffed with fresh vegetables and mint chutney.
Chow-chow dosa - a dosa stuffed with (Indian flavored) Chinese noodles.
Cheese dosa - a dosa stuffed with cheese.
Masala dosa - a dosa stuffed with spiced potatoes (famous in South India)

Rava dosa served at a restaurant in Guntur.

Rava dosa - made with rava or semolina, which doesn't need fermentation and is usually considered a fast snack/tiffin.
Wheat dosa - made with wheat flour, and served with coconut chutney, mysore masala dosa
Vella dosa - a sweet dosa made of jaggery with ghee/neyyi.
Ragi dosa - made of ragi or millet flour, usually considered "a poor man's fare".
Muttai dosa - eggs are added to the regular batter; the word muttai in Tamil means "egg".
'oothappam'/Uttapam - Thick round dosa in Tamilnadu.famous variety is onion oothappam.
Set dose - a popular type of dosa in Karnataka, which is cooked only on one side and is served in a set of two, hence the name.
Benne dose - similar to masala or set dosa but smaller in size. Served with liberal helpings of butter sprinkled on it. Said to have originated in the Davanagere district of the state of Karnataka
Cabbage dosa - a dosa made out of cabbage. Paste is prepared with rice, red chillies, Asfotedia and Turmeric. Once the batter is ready, cabbage cut into small pieces is added to the paste and left for about 30 mins. Once this is done, the batter is poured and the dosa is made crisp.
Neer dosa - a dosa prepared from rice unique to Dakshina Kannada,Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts.
70 MM Dosa - Similar to Masala Dosa, but it is bigger in size, about 60 cm in diameter.
American chopsuey dosa - Dosa served with a filling of fried noodles and tomato ketchup.

^[11]^[12]^[13]

[edit] Masala dosa

Masala dosa as served in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The ubiquitous Indian dish masala dosa has its origins in Udupi, Karnataka.^[14] A masala dosa is made by stuffing a dosa with a lightly cooked filling of potatoes, fried onions and spices. It wraps the dosa around an onion and potato curry or sabji.

Masala dosa showing potato masala filling

Before it was invented, plain dosa was served with potato curry (batata bhaji) without onions in a separate cup. During a shortage of potatoes, method was created where potato was mashed and sauteed with onions together with other spices. This was then placed inside the dosa instead of a separate cup. This was done to hide the onions which are not eaten by orthodox Hindus and Jains.^{[citation needed]} People enjoyed this new dosa. It came to be known as "Masala Dosa", from the sautéeing of spices (masala) during the preparation of the bhaji.^{[citation needed]}

Variants of Masala Dosa: Due to the huge popularity of masala dosa, many variants exist for differing tastes. The following are some of the variants.

Mysore masala dosa: Masala dosa with chutney spread inside along with bhaji .
Vegetable masala dosa: Instead of potatoes, peas and other vegetables are mashed to make bhaji.
Rava masala dosa: Rava (semolina), especially the Bombay Rava ^[15], is used to instead of rice.
Chinese Masala dosa: Noodles and other Chinese ingredients like schezwan sauce are added.
Paneer Chilli Dosa: The dosa is stuffed with sauteed cottage cheese (paneer) and capsicum (Bell pepper).
Palak Masala Dosa: The dosa is coated with a thin layer of puréed spinach, and filled with the traditional potato/onion mixture.
Masala dosa with one or two fried eggs served on top of it (no doubt related to the egg hopper - see also the egg dosa below).

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 peculiarity lends itself to a unique taste. The red chutney usually has generous amounts of garlic (traditionally garlic is not used in masala dosa especially in the Brahmin community), and adds a nice flavor to the dosa when it is fried with ghee. In recent times this has become popular in other parts of Karnataka. Davanagere benne masala dosa is another variant of the masala dosa from Karnataka. It is named after Davanagere in Karnataka. It is prepared by adding liberal doses of butter (benne) and also a potato filling (palya) that is unique. It is devoid mostly of any extra ingredients and is just mashed potato. The Rava dosa or Rave dosay is another variant which is made from semolina. Ragi dosa and Ade or Aday dosa are other variants that are native to Karnataka.

Dosa is made in every part of South India and the Dosas prepared in North India are generally of the Karnataka type^{[citation needed]}.

Instant dosa

Packs of readymade "instant" dosa batter are available all over India. These are typically available in 500g and 1 kg denominations, and are ready to be spread onto a hot plate (in some cases requiring addition of salt or water first). Typically, instant dosa batter can also be used to make idlis.

[edit] Similar foods

Pesarattu - a dosa-like preparation prepared from moong dal; Andhra special. The variations include a) making from soaked whole moong seeds (along with green cover), which gives a greenish tint to the pesarattu, and, b) making with yellow coloured moong dal (green cover removed and dal is refined), which gives a fine golden yellow tint to it when roasted. Both these forms are famous in Andhra Pradesh, and are typically served with chutney made from Ginger and Tamarind.
Adai - a dosa-like dish prepared from a combination of dals namely Urad, Channa & Moong dal.
Appam or Aappam or oothaappam — a pancake prepared from a combination of patted rice (Avalakki), rice & yogurt. The primary differences between an appam/aappam and a dosa are that an aappam is thicker (up to 5 times as thick as a dosa), can (optionally) contain curd, dough differs in ratio of Rice and urud dhal and is more well-ground than dosa batter, the centre is thicker and the outer rim is very thin (whereas a dosa is more or less uniformly thick).

[edit] Media

A color film with sound showing a plain dosa being prepared

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dosa

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on

Dosa

[atimes-0] ttp://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FA24Df05.html

[1] ttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=orHWFRMKf4EC&pg=PA40&dq

[2] ttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=dFm-WunfbmoC&pg=PA132&dq

[3] ttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=BuvwbcTTx2MC&pg=PA255&dq

[4] ttp://books.google.com/books?id=swNuAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Dosa%22+%22indigenous%22+%22Karnataka%22&dq=%22Dosa%22+%22indigenous%22+%22Karnataka%22&pgis=1

[5] ttp://books.google.com/books?id=orHWFRMKf4EC&pg=PA21&dq=%22

[6] ttp://www.hinduonnet.com/seta/2004/10/21/stories/2004102100111600.htm

[7] ttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=7LYHFGLJQNQC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=dosa+tamil+sangam+literature&source=bl&ots=YQU90Q3S-Y&sig=GxjnK3AqOKyq2Kjzleav52CbVFQ&hl=en&ei=GlI6SpfXGYP6kAWRxcicDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#PPA11,M1

[8] www.fermented-foods.net/pdfs/rules.pdf

[9] ttp://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2003/12/22/stories/2003122200180400.htm

[10] ttp://showmethecurry.com/2008/04/01/sweet-indian-dosa-vella-dosai/

[11] ttp://www.themangogrove.com/mangogrove/home.nsf/Web/Dosai?OpenDocument

[12] ttp://www.mahalo.com/Dosa

[13] ttp://books.google.com/books?id=sEhJBfbhTAAC&pg=PA254&dq

[14] Rava Dosa Receipe

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