Paper Dosa
How to make crispy dosas:
Take a tava – while some prefer non-stick, authentic dosas are made in regular tavas.
Heat the flame in medium and place the tava on the hob for approximately 1 minute until the tava becomes hot and ready to use.
Sprinkle a few drops of water with your fingers on the hot tava and if the water droplets sizzle and evaporate quickly, the tava is ready for dosas.
Now add 2-3 drops of oil on the tava and use a kitchen tissue on the tava to spread the oil all around the tava – be careful not to burn your fingers!
Simmer the gas a little bit and take a ladle of dosa batter, pour it on the centre of the tava and gently spread it wide circling from inside.
If there are pockets of holes in the dosa, then it means the water quantity is more than required.
The dosa should spread thinly and evenly and easily.
Add a few drops of oil across the circumference of the dosa and leave it for 20-30 seconds before using a flat ladle to flip the dosa over.
Be patient with the first dosa – if that sticks and doesn’t come out well it’s ok and doesn’t necessarily mean all dosas will break.
Repeat the process of clearing the crumbs from the tava with a tissue, sprinkling oil and water and spreading the oil with the tissue and pouring dosa batter again.
Dosas are best eaten straight from the tava as they retain their crispiness for a short while before absorbing moisture and softening up.
Get the kids grab their plates first and lick the sambar while you start making dosas, so they can have it sizzling hot, paper thin and butter crisp.
You can add potato-onion masala stuffing, cheese or paneer or simply sambar and chutney… enjoy the crispy dosas!
Prepared, tried and tested by: Robin Singh
