Traditionally, an Indian dosa is a crepe made from a batter of lentils and rice, which are soaked, blended, and then fermented overnight—all before they even see a frying pan. This is a quicker version called a rava dosa. It’s faster because it uses farina and lemon in lieu of the whole fermented-lentil-batter thing. It hits the spot in under 30 minutes and is very versatile on your plate!
Ingredients
1/2 an onion (optional)
1 handful of cilantro (optional)
1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 cup of white rice flour
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
1/4 cup of wheat farina cereal/cream of wheat (you can also use rava-semolina flour)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 tablespoons of lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
cooking spray or about 3-5 tablespoons of oil for frying (total)
Steps
Slice the onion and roughly chop the cilantro, if using.
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix all the ingredients (except the oil) with 1 1/2 cups of water. This is your dosa batter. (The batter should have a consistency that is between pancake and crepe batter.)
Over medium to high heat, spread 1 teaspoon of oil in large nonstick frying pan (at least 10”) and heat the oil for about 1 minute (you can also use cooking spray). Pour about 1/2 a cup of the batter in the pan. Using the back of a spoon, quickly spread the batter so that it resembles a thin pancake or crepe. Allow the dosa to fry for about 1-2 minutes. Once the bottom is a dark golden brown, flip the dosa over and cook the other side. (Just like with pancakes, the bottom will not brown the same way the top does but when the batter no longer oozes out, the dosa is cooked—about 1-2 minutes on each side.)
Repeat the process for the remaining batter.
Serves 2-4. These are best eaten hot off the stove. You can eat them plain, or with ketchup or barbecue sauce. Or try a variety of add-ons (as pictured): drop an egg into the middle of your dosa while it's frying up; or top the fried dosa with a scoop of canned beans and drizzle with yogurt and hot sauce.