3 cups rice (not basmati!), soaked overnight — room temp. water. 1 cup urad dal (a specific type of lentils avail. at Indian grocery stores— no substitution; other dals will not work like this)
Soaked separately overnight — room temp. water
Traditionally, stone grinders (huge mortars) and rolling pestles are used to grind the rice and the urad dal and motorized versions of those are now available at Indian elcetronic stores in D.C. A mixie
or a blender cuts the grains into fine pieces, but does not “mash” them like the stone grinders do. So there is a good deal of difference taste when you use a blender. But still, it is not bad at all if you make sure that you grind the rice really fine. Cover the rice with water just 1/2 “above the rice line in the blender.
Grind till Sssssmooth.
Grind the dal separately, with water that barely covers it. Grind a long time (be patient!), stirring once
in a while and grinding again. When
the dal is ground very well, and small air bubbles appear once you stop running the blender, it is enough. Add more water if necessary. But this should be very thick.
MIx the rice and the urad dal pastes, with 1/2 tsp salt.
Add one tablespoon beaten yogurt, and mix well.
Keep covered to let oit ferment fro at least 5 to 8 hrs or more. (Keep it close to a heater or in any warm place).

Once it has risen, stir briefly, and keep it oin the fridge.

You have the batter now.

Grease a griddle with plain sesame oil or peanut oil if you care about max. flavor; if not use veg. oil. The heat should be medium or slightly higher. When hot (a few drops of water will sizzle gently and disappear), using a metal ladle, pour one ladleful over the griddle; with quick and even and gentle strokes, spread the batter out
with the ladle as if you are drawing concentric circles on the batter. Do it either clockwise OR anticlockwise else you get lumps.
It takes a few tries believe me, and some of us who are trained well in this mess up occasioanlly. drizzle oil around edges, and on top. Once the bottom is cooked, turn it over, and cook the top. Be careful when using your spatula (metal preferred) to take it out to flip it.

This can be served with chilli-dal-spice powder and oil or ghee, coconut chutney, cilantro or mint chutney, onion chutney, or
red garlic chutney, and/or saambar. (If you want their recipes, email me) This is standard breakfast or supper fare for us, growing up in the south.

Else, as in your restaurant, make a filling as follows:

1. Take 2 large boiled potatoes, peel and mash coarsely.
2. Thinly slice one large red onion, 2 cloves of garlic (optional) and 3 or 4 green chillies.
3. Grate a 1″ piece of ginger.
4. Cut up a tomato if you want.
5. Take a sprig of curry leaves and chop them coarsely.
6. Heat some veg. oil, add some fennel seeds, and cummin seeds (1/2 tsp. each) 7. Add 1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds.
8. When they crackle, add the green chillies, ginger, garlic (if used), and onions and fry them with a little salt for a while till
onions are transparent. Add curry leaves.
9. Next add 1/2 pkt of frozen peas, tomatoes (if you choose), and fry for 5 minutes.
10. Add the potatoes, and more salt if desired. stir well till blended 11. Add some chopped cilantro if you want.

When making the dosai, spread the batter out as mentioned earlier, drizzle oil, and keep the skillet or griddle covered (any
cover will do as long as the dosai area is covered; just be sure the cover does not touch the dosai). In less than a minute, the dosai will be cooked with oil on the bottom, and its top will be cooked by the steam that is generated when you cover it. The color is now not the white of the batter but kinda dull; you’ll know)

Turn the heat down, place the cooled filling acrooss the center along the diagonal, and fold both sides overlappingly over it
to form a cylindrical shape. Increase the heat slightly, drizzle more oil, and cook both sides till golden.

Else, place the filling in the center, and fold from three sides, forming a triangle, overlapping and covering the filling.

Cook as above.

If you have left over batter, and really fermented, make “OOTHAPPAM”: Chop some onions, green chillies, and cilantro really well, mix with salt.Soon as you spread out the pancake, sprinkle the chopped stuff on top. Drizzle oil on top, flip it over carefully when the bottom is cooked, and cook the other side. Serve with coconut chutney.

If you are into a health-diet, do not drizzle oil over and around pancake. Just grease the griddle lightly with a paper towel; in this case, cook just one side of the dosai on the greased surface, covering the dosai to let the steam cook the top. This dosa is very soft and tasty.

Back home, we add some fenugreek seeds to the urad dal, soak and grind them together for a superior texture, flavor, and color.

Hope that helps! I have babbled too much, but really, it is very easy to make once you have the batter.

Ingredients:
Aatta – 1 cup
Water – 1/2 cup
Salt – A pinch
Grated coconut – 4 tbsp.
Brown sugar or jaggery – 4 tsp.
Method:
Mix water & salt along with Aatta & make a smooth (without lumps) batter of dosa consistency. Then take the pan (oil it a bit if it’s not non stick) pour 1 ladle of batter & make a dosa. If you are not fat conscious pour 1/2 tsp. of ghee over the dosa while making it. Once dosa is done on both sides, take out spread the coconut & brown sugar/jaggery on it, fold like you fold a masala dosa & put it once more on the pan so that it becomes hot . With 1 cup aatta you could make 4 dosas. Eat immediately, what I mean is it tastes better when it’s still warm.

:: Ingredients
Rice flour and urad flour- 3:1 ratio
Salt to taste
Ghee
For masala :
Potato -3 (cooked with 1/2 tsp turmeric and salt)
Onions
Ginger a small piece
Mustard -1/2 tsp
Urud dhal – 1/2 tsp
Channa dhal – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Oil

:: Method
Mix both the flours together with some water. Add salt to taste. Cover and keep it
in a warm place for about 7-8 hrs to ferment.
Heat a flat pan (Thava) and Grease it with a spoon of oil. Add some water in the
dosa batter and make it into a thin batter. Pour 1/2 cup of the batter in center of
the pan (tava) and quickly spread with outward spiral motion to form a thin
pancake of about 8 inches in diameter. Place 2 tsps of potato masala in the
center. Dot the edges with a tsp of ghee and cook until golden brown. Using a
spatula carefully fold the dosa and remove from the pan. Repeat doing this with
the remaining batter to make more dosas. Serve hot with chutneys or sambar
For masala:
Heast oil in a pan. Add the mustard, when it cracks add urud &channa dhal.Add
the mashed potatoes. Cook for sometime.Add curry leaves

:: Ingredients
Sprouted Green gram ½ cup
Rice 1 cup
Salt As per taste

:: Method
Make sprouts out of Moong.
Soak rice overnight.
Grind rice and sprouts adding enough water. Add salt.
Heat a nonstick griddle and apply oil on it. Pour about 4 tbsn of batter cook
covered till done on both sides.

:: Ingredients
Rice 2 cups
Coconut grated 1/2 cup
Coconut oil
Salt 1/2 t.spoon

:: Method
Wet grind rice, coconut and salt finely.
Mix 4 t.spoons of the ground flour with 1/2 cup of water, and
bring this to a boil and mix it with the remaining dosa flour.
Make regular dosas with coconut oil.

:: Ingredients
ParBoiled Rice- 1cup
Sour Curd- 1cup
Salt

:: Method
Soak Rice in water for 3 hours.Drain water and grind it with curd and salt.If
required add little water.The batter should be very fine paste for good result.
Make the dosas. Serve hot with chutneys.

:: Ingredients
Carrot 1 medium (chopped)
Curry leaves 1 sprig
Pottukadala 1 cup
Small onions 10
Pepper ¼ tspn
Salt as per taste
Butter ½ tspn

:: Method
Grind all ingredients except butter to get a coarse paste adding little water.
Heat a nonstick griddle and apply butter. Take 4 tbsn of batter and spread into a
4 inch thick circle. Cook covered on both sides till browned. Serve hot. With
chutney.

:: Ingredients
Rice 2 cups
Aval 3/4 cups
Urad dhall 1 tspoon
Salt to taste
Oil

:: Method
Soak rice, aval and urad dhall in water for 1 hour.
Grind the above well. Add salt into it..Cover and keep for 10-12 hrs.Make like
normal dosa. Close the dosa with a
cover and let it cook for a few minutes. Do not turn the dosa.
Serve it hot with chutney.

Long Grain rice 4 cups
Uncle Ben’s Converted rice 2 cups
Urad dal whole 1 cup
Salt Acc to taste.
Big Capsicum 1 no chopped finely
Onion 1 no chopped finely
tomatoes 2 nos chopped finely

Methods :

Soak the long grain rice for 6-7 hrs & urad dal for
an hour.Dry grind the Converted rice.

Grind the soaked rice to a coarse paste & urad to a
fine paste. Mix all three,add salt & let it ferment
atleast for a day.

Heat a griddle & make a round shape with a laddle
full batter. Sprinkle all three veges & apply little
oil roung the edges.

After a couple of minutes flip them to the other
side & let it cook.

Serve hot with Chutney or Sambharar