Where it comes from
Udupi cooks carried the dosa out of temple kitchens and into every Indian city. The batter is a living thing — rice and urad dal ground together and left overnight, where wild fermentation does the work that yeast does elsewhere.
Method
- 1
Grind the batter
20:00Grind soaked urad dal with fenugreek to a light, airy paste, then the rice to a fine grit. Fold together with salt.
- 2
Ferment overnight
Leave covered in a warm spot for 8–12 hours until it has risen and smells faintly sour. Do not stir it down hard.
- 3
Make the potato masala
12:00Temper mustard seeds and curry leaves, soften onion and chilli, add turmeric and crumbled potato with a splash of water.
- 4
Spread the dosa
03:00Pour a ladle onto a hot, lightly oiled tawa and spiral it outward from the centre. Drizzle ghee at the edges.
- 5
Crisp and fold
02:00Cook until the underside is lace-brown and lifts on its own, spoon potato down the middle and fold. Never flip a masala dosa.
Cook's notes
- A tawa that is too hot makes holes; wipe it with a halved onion between dosas.
- Cold weather means a slower ferment — use the oven with only the light on.
