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Masala Dosa with Coconut Chutney

A South Indian fermented rice batter crepe filled with spiced potato curry and served with coconut chutney.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 30 ingredients
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Why it works: Ghee and coconut work together. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and 180 recipes mention both. The science ↓

The recipe

Ingredients

Contains: milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Soak the parboiled and uncooked rice together in water.

  2. Separately, soak the dal and fenugreek seeds together in water.

  3. After 3-4 hours, drain and reserve the water.

  4. Grind the rice separately in a blender to a fine paste, adding some reserved water as needed until the mixture is of batter consistency.

  5. Add salt, some water if necessary, and mix both together thoroughly; keep overnight to ferment.

  6. The next day, check the batter; if too thick, add some water and mix so that it is of a pouring consistency.

  7. If parboiled rice is not available, soak 2 1/4 cups of uncooked rice.

Cook the dosas

  1. Heat a skillet and grease with some oil.

  2. Pour a ladleful of batter and spread as quickly as possible into a thin circle.

  3. Pour a little oil (about 1/2 teaspoon) all around the crepe and on the centre as well.

  4. Cook until the dosa is done, then turn over and cook the other side until crisp.

  5. Set the dosas aside.

Make the potato curry and chutney

  1. Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil for the potato curry. Season with the mustard and gram dals.

  2. Add the chopped onions, green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, chili powder, and turmeric powder.

  3. When the onions are browned, add the potatoes and salt, and mix thoroughly.

  4. Add the coriander leaves and lemon juice, if desired, and mix well.

  5. Heat the oil for the chutney, add the asafoetida, red chilies, and then the dal. Fry until the dal turns brownish. Remove from flame.

  6. Grind this mixture with the grated coconut, salt and tamarind to a slightly rough paste. Add a little water to make the chutney of a spreadable consistency.

Assemble and serve

  1. When required, reverse the prepared dosa and place on a skillet.

  2. Spread approximately 1 tablespoon of chutney evenly all over the dosa.

  3. Carefully place 2 tablespoons of potato curry in the centre, fold the left a third over the centre, and then the right side over the left (or, just fold it any way you like!).

  4. Sprinkle a little ghee or butter. Roast for a minute or two.

  5. Remove from flame and serve immediately.

  6. Alternatively, stuff the dosa with the potato curry only, and serve the chutney as a dip.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Ghee + coconuttop 10% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together180 recipes
  2. Ginger + turmerictop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together2,775 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Fenugreek + turmerictop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together229 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Potato + oniontop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together9,019 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Rice + coconuttop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,048 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Parboiled rice
Gives the batter structure and crispness when fried.
Uncooked rice
Adds body and texture to the batter alongside the parboiled rice.
Split black gram dal
Adds protein-driven structure and helps the batter ferment and rise.
Potatoes
Provide starchy bulk and soft texture to the filling.
Onions
Caramelise when browned, adding sweetness and depth to the curry.
Tamarind
Adds sourness that balances the chutney.

The step that matters

Spreading the batter thinly and quickly. A thick layer of batter cooks unevenly and stays soft, so the dosa will not crisp. Spreading it fast in a thin circle on a hot skillet lets it set into a crisp, even crepe.

Flavor stand-ins for the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, fenugreek, ghee, potato, onion, ginger, turmeric):

  1. Tomatobetter flavor fit
  2. Carrotbetter flavor fit
  3. Capsicumabout as good a flavor fit
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, fenugreek, ghee, potato, onion, ginger, turmeric. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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