No description of our food adventures in South India would be complete without a special tribute to the dosa. As I wrote about in the South Indian summary, the dosa is a large, savoury pancake that is a staple of South Indian food.

The batter is usually made the day before the dosa is cooked, allowing time for the ingredients to ferment. Once the batter is ready, the dosa is very quick to make. A circle of batter is poured onto a hot grill and fried on each side for about 4 minutes . The filling is pre-prepared, and usually added at the end.

Dosas come with either sambar or dahl, and coconut chatni on the side.

The standard dosa is fairly thick and smooth, and chock full of filling. However, there are other types.

Rava dosas are made with semolina rather than rice flour. The batter is thinner, and seems to have more air bubbles, as the rava dosas have a slightly thinner texture with small holes through them.

Paper dosa

Another popular variation is the paper dosa. I only ordered a paper dosa the one time because when it came out it was twice the size of the plate. I don’t know if they are usually this size… but I was too scared to try and order again.

What do you do when your food is bigger than you are?

Paper dosas are much thinner than the standard or rava dosa and consequently are quite brittle. Mine struck me as more oily than the other types of dosas - possibly because the thinness of the batter made it easier for the oil to soak right through the pancake. While not my first choice of dosa, this one was certainly a scene stealer when it was brought out to our table in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

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