Dosai (Sth Indian fermented rice pancake)

3 cups long grain rice (not Basmati)
1/3 cup black gram dal (washed urd dal)
1/3 cup Bengal gram dal(yellow split peas, channa dal)
1/3 cup red gram dal(pigeon peas, toor dal)
salt to taste
ghee for shallow frying
water for soaking and for making up the mix

Wash rice in several changes of water and drain. Add enough water to cover by about 4cm and soak overnight. At the same time, soak the dals in 2 cups water overnight as well. Drain the rice and put into a blender.*

Add 1 ¾ cups of water and blend to a fine paste. Put this paste in a bowl (large) as the batter doubles in volume. Drain and blend, slowly adding ½ cup water. Place this paste in the bowl as well.

Salt and set mixture aside for about 10 to 15 hrs till the batter ferments and becomes bubbly. We usually get the batter ready on a warm morning, place the bowl outside, and when the mix is ready, we either have dosais for dinner or place the mix in the refridgerator till the following day.

Heat a heavy cast iron frying pan or a griddle and put a dob of ghee to melt. When it starts to smoke, measure out a ladleful of batter and spread as you pour. Then use a butter knife to push out the dosai pancake till it is as thin as you can manage. The traditional way to do this is to pour the batter in and then quickly spread it out with a circling spiralling motion of the bottom of the ladle. Cook till the dosai is golden. Turn over and cook the second side till golden as well.

Serve with the potato curry (recipe below) folded inside.

*It isn’t easy to blend soaked grains and dals. But if you blend in short bursts and use a plastic spatula often and have a robust blender this does work. Just be careful not to burn out the motor. You can get a special blender from Indian food stores (the Sumeet brand) made specially for grinding soaked grains, dals, spices and heavy duty wet mixes. This kind of labor intensive recipe is hopefully something you would like to try during these holidays.

Potato curry filling for Dosai

5 potatoes
2 tbsp ghee
2 cloves garlic (opt)
½ cm piece ginger
level tsp cummin seed
level tsp fennel seed
1 tsp mustard seed
leaves from one stalk of curry leaf
black pepper freshly ground (opt)
1 level tsp turmeric
salt to taste

Steam potato till it is done (potato can be whole or chopped in cubes depending on how much time is available). Chop ginger fine, and garlic if used. Fry mustard seeds in hot ghee till they pop and then throw in the curry leaves and rest of seeds plus the turmeric and pepper. When the ginger garlic mixture is well cooked, then put in the potatoes and salt to taste. Serve inside individual dosais or to the side.