Kara Dosa (Spicy Dosa)

Here is a recipe I tried last night. The dosas came out so well that I couldn't wait to share it with you. The recipe was taken from the Shastha Foods recipe book. 

Ingredients

2 tbs - Coriander seeds

1/2 tsp - Cumin seeds

2 tsps - Tamarind paste

1/4 cup - Shredded coconut

5-6 (depending on your spice level) - Finely chopped red chilies 

1/2 tsp - Powdered pepper

Gingelly oil

Salt - to taste

Dosa Batter (Recipe given below)

Method for Kara Dosa

Saute all ingredients and grind. Add ground mixture to dosa batter and mix well. Make dosas and serve hot with the chutney of your choice.

Recipe for Idly/Dosa Batter

• 3 cups of parboiled rice/idli rice
• 1 cup whole black gram dal/urad dal
• 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
• Water for soaking and grinding.
• Salt to taste

Soak dal and fenugreek seeds together and soak the rice separately for about 4-5 hours.  Grind the dal first, adding small amounts of water, making sure it becomes a smooth paste. Grind rice into a smooth batter, adding water occasionally, and add to the dal mixture. Add salt, mix well and let the batter ferment(preferably overnight). In colder regions, it helps to place the batter in the oven and leave the light on, as the light gives enough warmth for the batter to rise. In case your oven does not have a light, preheat the oven at about 250 degrees Farenheit, switch off and place the dough inside. Once the dough has risen well, you can use the batter for making idlys. The freshly fermented batter will give you light and fluffy idlys. After two or three uses, you can use the same batter for your favourite dosas. If the batter feels too thick, dilute it with a little water.

Simple Coconut Chutney

Grated coconut

Green chilies

Ginger - sliced

Curry leaves (optional)

Salt

Method

Grind all ingredients together and voila you have a delicious chutney for your spicy dosa.

Chutneys are so versatile that you can easily pick and choose the ingredients that you want to add. The simplest chutney would be the coconut chutney, with green chillies and ginger. But if you want to experiment with flavours, feel free to add coriander leaves/mint leaves/onion/red chillies etc, according to your taste buds.