Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Away from the grind : Didir Dosa

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I bought some Urad dal flour back in January. I bought it because I had read a recipe then, which required it. After some days, when I again saw the recipe to make that dish, I realised that I didn't really fancy making it. (Does this happen to you too?) As a result, the Urad dal flour stayed in the pack, unopened, at the back of the cabinet...until I saw it again, when I emptied the cabinet to clean it thoroughly. This time I was determined to use it, and started looking for recipes on the net.

This thing called the internet is perhaps one of the best things to have happened to mankind in the recent years. (Now that was a 'pearl of wisdom', Maa Vaishali Devi!) Although I did not find too many recipes, which ask for Urad dal flour (perhaps there aren't too many anyway?), the one that I found is reeeaaaally good. It is for this Dosa, Didir Dosa. I found the same recipe at a few sites. The one site, which I like the most, is this. The only thing that none of the sites told me is *why* the Dosa is called so. I am sure that one of you will know. :)

This Dosa has two very good qualities.
1) It requires no grinding at all. Which means that bachelors or people on the move or people who are just starting a household and do not have all the kitchen gadgets yet can also make great Dosas.
2) Moreover, the no-grind batter gives you perfect Dosas. I think the pictures are proof enough. :)

The recipe is very uncomplicated too. Let me tell you how.

Recipe for Didir Dosa

I do not really remember how many Dosas I made, but it made four adults so full that they almost skipped lunch. :)

Ingredients:

3 cups rice flour
1 cup Urad flour
salt to taste
water for the batter

oil for the griddle/Tava when making Dosas

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Rice flour & Urad flour - Can you tell which is which? :)

Method:

1. Mix both flours and salt. Add enough water to make a soft, lump-free paste. Please make sure that it isn't too runny.

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Batter to be fermented yet

2. Leave the batter to ferment for at least 8 hours or overnight. Once the batter rises, check the taste again for salt.

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Risen batter

3. For making Dosas, heat a Tava. Pour a ladleful of the batter in the centre and spread it with the back of the ladle moving in concentric circles. Spread a few drops of oil at the edges of the Dosa. For step-by-step fotos, see here. Once the edges of the Dosa start *lifting themselves* from the Tava/griddle, slide a spatula beneath it, fold it in half and take it out.

If you want to serve it like the 'Topi Dosa' that they serve in Udupi restaurants in India, make one cut in the Dosa from the centre through to the edge. Fold it with both hands to make it look like a party hat. Like this.

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'Topi' Dosa

Serve it with this chutney or any other chutney of your choice. I served it with this.

I'd like to take this 'hat' along to Nandita's. For her Weekend Breakfast Party...er...Blogging. :)

48 comments:

Meena Kandlakuti said...

Vaishali,

dosa is looking great..really thanks for sharing..though known one..thanks for reminding me..i will store this for a lazy day..:-))

Anonymous said...

Vaish, I know it is one of your funny questions. But still want to answer it. "Didir" in Konkani has a means instant. We had a chutney which could be made in one or two steps, mix everything and it was ready, no grinding and no extra efforts. Your dosa is also same category, so called diDir dosa :D.

One of my friend from Andhra used to make this a lot. It tastes great. Thanks for reminding.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for the grammar mistakes. I meant "Didir means instant"

Anonymous said...

Came across your site from a comment left at http://outofthegarden.wordpress.com. The Dosa looks great and your presentation in the form of hat is amazing...

Sushma
http://www.sunkiran.com

Pavani said...

Hi Vaishali,
That dosa looks yummy.. No grinding makes even better. Thanks for the recipe.

Anonymous said...

That is one great looking dosa. Recipe sounds easy too. Thanks for sharing.

Nabeela said...

yum yum yum!!! those dosas look PERFECT!!!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this one Vaishali - now I can begin to use the urad flour I bought. I tried soaking and grinding once and I hate to admit what a disaster that was :)

Anonymous said...

Hi!
Dosa looks yummy ! Thanks for sharing a nice recipe.

Anonymous said...

Vaishali-- this is lot easier to do --I spend lot of time in grinding- and the next tedious part- which is cleaning the grinder-- for a lazy person like me this is just perfect:)

Anonymous said...

Hi Vaishali..Didir in Tamil (pronounced dhideeer) also means (3 guesses?!) instant! My mom used to serve the not-so-didir dosai with a didir sambhar..manna! *sigh*

Love yr blog. Would love it even more if u posted everyday :-D

Menu Today said...

Hi Vaishali,
After seeing your "Didir Dosa", I want to store urad and rice flour. Thanks for sharing.

Krithika said...

Maa Vaishali Devi, your didir dosa looks fabulous ! Love that cone.
Shilpa is right. Didir means 'instant' in this context.

Anonymous said...

Dosas that are Incredibly Delicious and Impressively Represented. Totally fantastic topi dosa.
AnontheOriginal

Prema Sundar said...

Hi Vaishali,
I have tried this dosa when I first came to USA. I did not have any mixer or grinder with me that time. My husband loves dosa very much and so I used to prepare dosa this way..It sure is an easy way to prepare dosa. Topi dosa looks great..

Anonymous said...

hm.. no grinding dosa for a lazy day!! Your topi dosa is so tempting!! Make me udipi sick :))

FH said...

WOW!! Vaishali !! Restaurant style folding there!! Looks deliciously tempting, invite me, please!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Vaishali,
I too have a packet of Urad flour....I brought it to make instant vadas. It didn't turned out good. I didn't know what to make untill now with that flour. Dosa looks fine and crisp....will give it a try. Thanks a lot....

Anonymous said...

Dhidir in Tamil means instant.
Here is the recipe for you for Didir Idlis too. 1 cup urad flour, 3.5 cups rice rava (also known as idli rava in indian stores). Mix with water, salt and a few grains of powdered fenugreek. Ferment and make dhidir idlis.
Dhidir Medhu vada: 1 cup urad flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder or baking soda, chopped onions, curry leaves, ginger, salt as per taste. Make a thick batter with as little water as you can (consistency should be like vada batter), deep fry the vadas and enjoy.

Vaishali said...

Oh yes, it's a great recipe for lazy days, Meena.

Thanks for that info, Shilpa. I didn't know that this word exists in Konkani too. Actually, you could blame my husband. I asked him, but he didn't know. :(
And hey, don't worry about the grammar mistakes. :)

Thanks for dropping by, Sushma.

'No-grinding' is indeed the USP of this dish, Pavani, isn't it?

Thanks, RP.

Do you reckon, Nabeela? Thanks. *shy grin*

Was the method with grinding a disaster, Linda? Really? Maybe you want to share it with us? Maybe we could find out why?

Bhargavi, you have a cool blog. I am adding you to my blog roll straight away. :)

Priya, washing the grinder can really be such a pain. I know it. :(

Thanks for the explanation as well as the sweet words, Shvetha. You want me to post everyday? I wish I could. I really do wish. :(

You are nice, MT. As usual. :)

Hahahaha...so, you acknowledge my *godly* powers, Krithika? Hehehehe.... :)

Hey Anon, that's a cool idea. So, DIDIR is now an abbreviation, huh? :)

Prema, the recipe is so handy for when you don't have your kitchen in place, isn't it?

Jayshree, I too looooove Topi Dosa.

You like it, Asha? But I am not as good as you really. Thanks anyway. :)

Hope this recipe helps you use up the rest of the Urad flour, Madhu.

Anonymous said...

hey vishali..
it was a real nice recipe..so i am not going to grind anymore i guess!!!!!

Unknown said...

Well, everyone has already told you what dideer means-im surprised it means the same in Konkani as Shilpa says...Your dosas do look pretty crispy and you even managed to make a hat out of it!

Thanks for the entry!

Smitha said...

Vaishali,

I have tried many of your recipes,like the bottle gourd peel chutney etc.They taste really good. Your presentation style is just excellent.
I have a similar recipe for didir idlis which I will post soon in my blog.
www.plate2palate.blogspot.com

Mamatha said...

Vaishali,
Your dosas look perfect! Thanks for the tip for making Topi dosas.

Deepa Culinary World said...

Vaishali,

Your dosai makes me cry.You know why it remins my mother.My mother makes yummy dosas & I use to simply sit & eat hot hot dosas in tones.

your presentation is very good.

KA said...

Vaishali
Can I have a topi too??

Anonymous said...

Hi Vaishali,

I used to make this. Love your dosa-topi snap. I just posted a similar recipe for idli. try it, in case you have not yet used up your udad dal flour and wondering what to do with the rest.

Ashwini said...

"Hats of to you" Vaish for the presentation....:-) (I am so thrilled with my own wit right now!!!!)

Vaishali said...

Anon, thanks a lot for the detailed comment. You know what, I tried making idlis like that immediately after I made these Dosas. Have taken pictures. Will blog about them sometime. Instant Medu Vada looks interesting, I must say.

So you want to abandon grinding altogher, Maneka? ;-)

Nandita, to be honest, I feel like a fool now. I seem to be the only one now knowing the meaning and neither the recipe. Everybody else seems to be making these dosas regularly. :(
Anyway, looking forward to the roundup now. :)

Visited your blog, Smitha. It is great. And I love the name. :)

Thanks for stopping by, Faffer.

Deepa, awwwww...I did not want to make you cry. I am sure, Mummy will make Dosas for you on your next visit to her place, ok? Now smiiiiile! :)

Arjuna, hehehehe...sure. Take this one... :)

Just saw your post on that idli, Hema. Thank you so much for letting me know about it.

Ashwini, hahahaha...Hat off to your wit. ;-)

Anupama said...

Wow so many people have left comments and I'm jut seeing your post right now. Well what can i say? Thanx a ton for this Didir Dosa. I am still quite a novice where idlis and dosas are concerned. So this is a welcome recipe.

Anonymous said...

Vaishali - your didir dosa looks really crispy. yummy!
I have tagged you for a meme. Hope you'll play. Link:
http://ahaar.blogspot.com/2006/09/meme-nyt-article.html

Anonymous said...

I enjoy your blog. I came here from Shilpa's link.

This is a fantastic recipe. I have another recipe for Idli using udrad daal flour. It's called "Busy Woman's Delight" . It's from the book "South Indian Tiffin" by Vijaya Hiremath.
4 cups Rice Rawa/Idli Rawa
1 cup Urad Daal flour
1 cup curd
3 tsp Fruit Salt
Salt to taste
1. Mix rawa, flour, curd and salt. Add water to make a thick batter. Leave overnight
2. Next day add fruit salt just before preparing. Beat batter till frothy
3. Steam for 10 minutes in Idli
cups

Vaishali said...

Anupama, in that case, this is a perfect recipe for novices. Because you can concentrate only on the 'making Dosa' part of it without worrying about the grinding.

Thanks for tagging me for the meme, Mandira.

Rajasi, thank you so much for the Idli recipe. I am sure going to use it. Btw, I tried making some *instant* versions of Idlis after this Didir Dosa experiment. Will blog about them soon. Thank you again.

Luv2cook said...

wow...that seems like my kind of dosa...no grinding of the lentils..i del.icio.us 'ed it :)

Anonymous said...

Wow. I just bought udad daal powder because I am fed up of instant mixes. They somehow dont come off even off my non stick pan. And please someone share if I add fruit salt/yeast to make it really instant, will it taste the same? Another question, what should be the ideal temperature to expect a good fermentation?

Anonymous said...

I inadvertantly posted as anonymous. I am not anonymous when it comes to praising a good recipe :)

Anna (Morsels and Musings) said...

pretty styling. i like the cone shape!

Anonymous said...

Wow! that's as easy as a dosa can get. Thanks for the recipe and the Topi dosa looks really yummy.
And also "Didir" in Kannada means instant too. Its pronounced as Dhidir.

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Swarna said...

u know wht like u was thinking of using up urad dal flour and came across ur site going to try tonite
...lets see...dosas look yum
thanks

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summermobile said...

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Unknown said...

This thing called the internet is perhaps one of the best things to have happened to mankind in the recent years. (Now that was a 'pearl of wisdom', Maa Vaishali Devi!) Although I did not find too many recipes, which ask for Urad dal flour (perhaps there aren't too many anyway?), the one that I found is reeeaaaally good. It is for this Dosa, Didir Dosa.
http://www.meizu-mx5.com/

Sangeetha said...

Try out the different flavours of Dosa recipes at dialbe.com