Dosa batter in Taiwan

Dosa is a kind of pancake made from fermented batter. The batter is usually made from rice and black gram. It is south Indian food and quite popular one.

Some of my friends in Taiwan have been asking me how to make dosa batter in Taiwan, as we  get only basmati rice here and not the traditional parboiled rice . Also, it takes long time to soak rice, urad dal separately and grind . Instead ,I have used rice flour which is available here and urad dal to make dosa. Also, we dont need a grinder . We can grind it just in normal mixer.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice flour - 600 gms(Please check the picture I have given to find which type of rice flour to buy)
Whole Urad dal(Whole black gram, skin removed.) - 3 cups(120 ml cup)
Salt - 3 teaspoon
Fenugreek powder - 2 table spoon
Water- As required.

METHOD:
1. Below is the picture of rice flour packet ,you need to buy. It is usually available in all kind of pulses and grains shop available in Taiwan. Usually these shops are located near morning vegetable markets. Each packet is 600 gms . Pour the contents of a single packet in a big vessel and add about approximately 3 to 4 cups of water and mix well with your hands and remove all lumps and set aside.

2. In another vessel, add 3 cups(Check below the size of cup i used. It is 120 ml cup) of urad dal and add water till it get completely immersed in water. I used whole urad dal, which i got from india. You can also buy urad dal from Indian stores here in Taiwan.

3. Soak urad dal for about 2 hours. If you are using fenugreek seeds instead of fenugreek powder, you need to soak it along with urad dal. Else, you can add it when you grind urad dal. Once urad dal get soaked, drain the water and grind portion by portion, by adding water in to a smooth paste. 

4. Now, add the urad dal paste to rice flour which you have kept already . Also add salt,fenugreek powder and mix all well for about 10 minutes using your hand. Fenugreek powder  gives a good texture and flavor for dosa. It takes about 10 to 12  hours hours approximately to ferment . Later you can make tasty and crispy dosas or uthappams.

Note: During winter, it is hard to ferment dosa batter in Taiwan. After making the batter, I usually keep it inside the microwave oven without turning it on. Temperature inside the oven is usually warmer than outside. It takes about 15 to 18 hours to ferment during winter.

Check my blog for how to make coconut capsicum chutney  .