Set dosa & kayi chutney - spongy & soft

A Very Happy Navaratri/Dasara to all my readers. It is great to see blogs busy with Navaratri celebrations and the prasada dishes. I have not started my Navaratri celebrations yet and will come back later in the weekend to tell you all about the goodies and celebrations.

Back to today's special - Set dosa, Why am I posting this during Navaratri? What is the relation you may ask. Nothing really, other than the fact that my family is game for this soft and spongy Dosa anytime of the year (and day). Also since I didn't make ahead any Navaratri dishes and don't plan to get my act together until later this week, here I am with my everyday Dosa but with a difference that will make you drool.

I have many non-South Indian and non-Indian friends who adore Dosas, these Indian pancakes (yeah, yeah, whatever.. since I can't seem to find a good word in my vocabulary that can actually do justice to these culinary marvels, let us go with pancakes for now) are a fixation with many of them. But for someone like me who grew up eating varieties of Dosas regularly, I find it hard to sometimes decide on a particular type of Dosa when I have my dosa loving guests. Most of them are exposed to the Dosa seen commonly in Indian restaurants and do not know the array of dosas that can be made at home. I usually fall back on the regular dosa unless it is a small group I can try something new on.

You find set dosa on the menu regularly in Mysore, Bengaluru restaurants though they seem to have morphed over years especially in the newer places catering to different palates, I saw a cheesy set dosa on my last visit. These are thick, soft and spongy not to be confused with the Uttappams which are made with regular dosa batter over fermented on purpose or by accident. Set Dosas have their own separate batter and ingredients that give the unique texture to it. Over the years I have experimented with many variations of set dosa recipes with poha, baking soda/eno fruit salt, sour yogurt, puffed rice & saboodana. While most of them give you a near hit recipe, I am very pleased with this one here and have been making my Set dosas with it.

Set dosas get their name as they are served in sets of 3 (or sometime 4 if the size is small) stacked one on top of other. These dosas are never cripsy or even browned in color, you only see a few light golden spots on the dosa. Set Dosas are served with the typical saagu in restaurants which is spiced liberally with cinnamon & cloves and a side of coconut chutney. I served mine with an extremely simple and delicious chutney, look for the recipe below. My daughter who usually touches her dosa to the chutney (since I give her the 'eat it now or else' mommy glare :-)), actually eats visible amounts of this chutney with anything.

What do you need to make Set dosas? 
Makes about 20-22 Dosas of 6-inch diameter
1/2 cup urad dal
1/2 cup saboodana/sabbakki
3 cups rice (I used sona masoori)
1/4 cup thick poha/avalakki
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)

How do you make Set Dosa? 

• Wash & soak all the ingredients in water for 5-6 hours. 
• Rinse and drain water.
• Grind into a smooth batter using water to make a thicker than regular dosa batter but slightly thinner than idli batter. 
• Add salt, mix it well, set aside to ferment overnight (atleast 12-14 hours in warm weather).
• Heat a flat dosa griddle, pour a ladle full of batter and spread it lightly into a thick circle. 
• Cook for a minute and half and flip it over and cook for half a minute before taking it off. 

Notes:

• Keep the heat at medium and let the dosa cook for a minute or so without getting burnt or browned. 
• Do not let the batter ferment to become sour, set dosas are mildly sweet. 
• Original recipe tells you to soak the ingredients separately, I have made this many times and don't find a difference whether I soak them separately or together. Make your own choice. 
• If your batter has fermented right, you will see small holes developing in the dosa immediately after the batter touches the hot griddle. 
• Do not spread this dosa thin, it needs to have meat and be soft. 
• I din't use any oil on this dosa and used my non-stick griddle thus making it a healthier too. 

Coconut Chutney - Take 1 cup hurigadle (chutney dal), 1/2 cup grated coconut, 3-4 green chilies, a small piece of ginger, 1/2 Tsp chopped onions and salt to taste and blend them into a smooth chutney adding water. 

You can use garlic instead of onion if you love the flavor (that is what my friend does where I tasted this first). Adjust the amount of green chilies based on your heat tolerance.