This is a pancake style dosae made with rice and lentils. The batter does not require fermentation but it resembles a fluffy pancake with the addition of poha, or avalakki. It gets its name from the fact that it is served as a set (or a stack) of dosae, similar to stacks of pancakes, in restaurants in Bangalore. This type of dosae does not require much oil to cook, and the batter does not require a lengthy fermentation time, making it an ideal type of dosae to make when you are short on time. Note that this is not a crispy type of dosae.
Set Dosae
Ingredients
- 1 handful Urad dal
- 2 cups Rice
- 1 cup Poha
- 1 tsp Methi seeds
- 1/2 tsp Salt to taste
Equipment
- High powered blender – such as a Vitamix
- Non stick tava or griddle
- Ladle with a rounded cup – such as a soup ladle
- Flat spatula
Instructions
To make the dosae batter
- Transfer the urad dal, rice, poha, and methi seeds to a bowl and cover with water. Set aside for a minimum of 5 hours. .
- Once the dal and rice are fully soaked, drain the water and set aside.
- Transfer the soaked dal and rice mix to a high powered blender and make a smooth paste using a little bit of the leftover water as needed. It is better to add a little water at a time, since there is no easy way to fix a batter that is too thin.
- Empty the contents of the blender to another large bowl or other container such as a dutch oven.
- Add salt to the batter and mix well. Dilute the batter with water until you have a pourable consistency similar to a pancake batter. Set dosae batter is ready to use. At this point you can transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to make the set dosae.
- The batter can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, but it is best used within 2-3 days.
To make the set dosae
- Heat a non stick tava or griddle on medium low heat.
- Brush a 1/4 tsp of oil so the entire tava is coated.
- Pour a 1/4 cup of batter and spread into a circle similar to making a pancake. Make sure you don’t spread it too thin on the tava.
- Cover and cook the dosae for 2-3 minutes or until the underside of the dosae turns a golden color and the top is set. If the bottom of the dosae is browning too quickly, turn the heat down and cover the pan until the top is cooked through.
- Transfer to a plate and serve immediately with chutney, sambar, or potato neer palya.
Notes
- Making set dosae is similar to making pancakes and they should be soft and fluffy just like a pancake.
- If your dosae doesn’t spread, but seems to lift up as you spread, then your tava is too hot. Lower the heat for the next dosae by sprinkling a few drops of water on to the tava with your fingers and turning the heat down a bit.
- While restaurants like to serve dosae with sambar and multiple chutneys always, it is not always eaten this way in south India. You can skip making the sambar altogether and just serve with a chutney, chutney powder, or belladapaka, a syrup made with jaggery.
- Dosae must be served hot and cannot be made ahead of time and reheated. So if you are making these for a crowd, consider using more than one tava at a time.
- If you are using store bought dosae batter, you may skip straight to the section on making dosae.