A dosa, also called dosai, dosey, or dosha, is a thin

pancake A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying w ...

South Indian cuisine South Indian cuisine includes the cuisines of the five southern states of India—Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana—and the union territories of Lakshadweep, Pondicherry, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands ...

made from a fermented batter of ground black lentils and

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

. Dosas are popular in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

as well as around the world. Dosas are served hot, often with

chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce ...

and sambar.

History

Butter Dosa served with coconut chutney and sambhar

Dosas originated in South India, but its precise geographical origins are unknown. According to historian

P. Thankappan Nair Parameswaran Thankappan Nair is an Indian scientist, independent researcher, historian and Malayali author based in Kolkata, India, who has written extensively on the history of Calcutta in the English language. He has published 61 books, with ...

, dosa originated in the town of

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

in present-day

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

. However, according to

food historian Food history is an interdisciplinary field that examines the history and the cultural, economic, environmental, and sociological impacts of food and human nutrition. It is considered distinct from the more traditional field of culinary history, ...

K. T. Achaya, references in the

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...

suggest that dosa was already in use in the

ancient Tamil country Tamiḻakam ( Tamil: தமிழகம்; Malayalam: തമിഴകം), refers to the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil ...

around the 1st century. Achaya states that the earliest written mention of dosa appears in literature of present-day

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, in the 8th century, while the earliest mention of dosa in the

Kannada literature Kannada literature is the corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, a member of the Dravidian family spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script. Attestations in literature span one and a half ...

appears a century later. In popular tradition, the origin of the dosa is linked to Udupi, probably because of the dish's association with Udupi restaurants. The Tamil dosai is softer and thicker. The thinner and crispier version of dosa was first made in present-day Karnataka. A recipe for dosa can be found in '' Manasollasa'', a 12th-century Sanskrit encyclopedia compiled by

Someshvara III Someshvara III (; ) was a Western Chalukya king (also known as the Kalyani Chalukyas), the son and successor of Vikramaditya VI. He ascended the throne of the Western Chalukya Kingdom in 1126 CE, or 1127 CE. Someshvara III, the third king in t ...

, who ruled from present-day Karnataka. After the

Independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

, South Indian cuisine became gradually popular in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

. In

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, the Madras Hotel in Connaught Place became one of the first restaurants to serve South Indian cuisine. It arrived in Mumbai with the Udupi restaurants in the 1930s.

Names

Dosa is the

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

name of a variety of South Indian names for the dish, for example dosai in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

, dosey in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

and dosha in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

. The standard transliterations and pronunciations of the word in various South Indian languages are as follows: } , , dōse , , , - , ml, ദോശ , , dōśa , , , - , ta, தோசை , , dōsai , , , - , te, దోశ , , dōsa , , , -

Nutrition

Dosa is high in

carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may o ...

s and contains no added

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

s or saturated fats. As its key ingredients are rice and black gram, it is a good source of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

. A typical homemade plain dosa without oil contains about 112 calories, of which 84% is

and 16% protein. The fermentation process increases the vitamin B and

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) ...

content.

Preparation

A mixture of rice and black or green gram that has been soaked in water is ground finely to form a batter. Some add a bit of soaked

fenugreek Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiarid crop. Its seeds and leaves are common ingredients ...

seeds. The proportion of rice to lentils is generally 3:1 or 4:1. The batter is allowed to ferment overnight, before being mixed with water to get the desired consistency. The batter is then ladled onto a hot '' tava'' or griddle greased with oil or ''

ghee Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from India. It is commonly used in India for cooking, as a traditional medicine, and for religious rituals. Description Ghee is typically prepared by simmering butter, which is churned from ...

''. It is spread out with the base of a ladle or bowl to form a pancake. It can be made either to be thick like a pancake, or thin and crispy. A dosa is served hot, either folded in half or rolled like a wrap. It is usually served with chutney and sambar. The mixture of black grams and rice can be replaced with highly refined wheat flour or

semolina Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains (such as rice or corn) as well. Ety ...

. File:ಸಂಪಣೆ.JPG, Rice batter File:Dosa-Preparation.jpg, Batter poured on a tava or griddle File:Dhosai making.jpg, Batter being spread uniformly File:Dosa ready 1.JPG, After being cooked for some time

Serving

Dosa can be stuffed with fillings of

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

and sauces to make a quick meal. They are typically served with a vegetarian side dish which varies according to regional and personal preferences. Common side items are: * Sambar *

Chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce ...

Idli podi Idli podi, chutney pudi, or milagai podi ( ta, இட்லிப் பொடி; ml, ഇഡ്ഡലി പൊടി; te, కారం పొడి: kn, ಚಟ್ನಿ ಪುಡಿ) is a coarse spice powder, originating from the Indian subco ...

or ''milagaipodi'': a lentil powder with spices and sometimes desiccated coconut, mixed with sesame oil or groundnut oil or

* Indian pickles * Potato Curry

Variations

Masala dosa Masala Dosa, also called Masale dosey ( ಮಸಾಲೆ ದೋಸೆ ), is a South Indian dish. It is a type of dosa and has its origin in Udupi cuisine of Karnataka. It is made from rice, lentils, Urad dal, Chana dal, fenugreek, puffed rice ...

is a roasted dosa served with potato curry, chutney and sambar; while Saada (plain) dosa is prepared with lighter texture, paper dosa is a thin and crisp version. Rava dosa is made crispier using semolina. Newer versions are Chinese dosa, cheese dosa, paneer dosa, pizza dosa and so on.A Dosa Lesson From a Professional - A Good Appetite, Melissa Clark, ''New York Times'', 6 October 2017
/ref> Though dosa is typically made with rice and lentils, other versions exist. File:Masala Dosa from Kochi, Kerala, India -2069313.jpg, Masala dosa served traditionally with chutney, sambar, sauteed potato filling File:Tomato Dosa chutney.jpg, Uttapam is one of the many varieties of dosa prepared in India and served for breakfast. File:మినప అట్లు (2).jpg, Urad plain dosa File:గోధుమపిండి అట్టు (2).jpg, Wheat flour dosa File:Dosa (Plain).jpg, Plain dosa File:Paper Masala Dosa.jpg, Paper roast, a wafer-thin crispy dosa, served in restaurants File:Amini Ghee Roast.jpg, Ghee roast File:Butter Dosa.JPG, Butter dosa, known as benne dose in Karnataka. Predominantly famous as "Davanagere benne dose" associated with Davanagere district. File:Pesarattu and Ginger chutney.jpg, Pesarattu (moong dal dosa) and ginger chutney in Andhra Pradesh File:NeerDosa.jpg, Mangalorian neer dosa popular in South Canara districts, Karnataka File:Kambu adai.JPG, Kambu (bajra/pearl millet) dosa File:Rava Dosa of Salem.jpg, Rava dosa made from sooji rava flour, more popular in Karnataka and Udupi restaurants in Mumbai File:Aate ka dosa.jpg, Godi mau dosa (wheat dosa) File:Ragi dosa.JPG, Ragi dosa made of ragi flour mixed with small portions of rice and urad dal File:Onion Chilli Tomato Uthappam.jpg, Uthappam or utthapa, a version with onion, chilli and tomato File:Methi dosa on a pan.jpg, Methi dosa on a pan, known as vendhyam dosai in Tamil Nadu File:Masala Dosa 02.jpg, Masala dosa at a street food center in Bengaluru File:Table Dosa.jpg, "Table dosa" which covers almost half of the table File:Indian dosa masala.jpg, Indian street dosa masala in Varanasi, India File:Onion Dosey.jpg, Onion dosa, with coconut chutney and aloo curry File:Set Dosey.jpg, Set dosa, a set of 3 dosas with coconut chutney, curry and Mangalore bajji

Related foods

* Uttapam: a thick relatively soft crepe mostly topped with diced onions, tomatoes, cilantro or cheese, sometimes described as an Indian pizza * Pesarattu: made from

green gram The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, served with a ginger and tamarind chutney * Appam: a pancake prepared from patted rice batter, served with sweet coconut milk * Chakuli pitha: batter contains more black gram and less rice flour * Apam balik: made from a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar, baking soda, coconut milk and water * Jianbing: a Chinese dish *

Bánh xèo ''Bánh xèo'' (, ) is a crispy, stuffed rice pancake popular in Vietnam. The name refers to the sound (from ''xèo'' – 'sizzling') the rice batter makes when it is poured into the hot skillet. It is a savoury fried pancake made of rice flour, ...

: a Vietnamese dish * Lahoh: a Somali dish * Injera: an Ethiopian dish made with fermented batter of teff grains, a gluten free grain

References

{{Malaysian cuisine Andhra cuisine Articles containing video clips Burmese cuisine Fermented foods Indian breads Indian fast food Karnataka cuisine Kerala cuisine Malaysian breads Mangalorean cuisine Pancakes Singaporean cuisine South Indian cuisine Sri Lankan pancakes Tamil cuisine Telangana cuisine Vegetarian dishes of India