pasta shells with broccoli

Pasta is one of the simplest, easiest and heartiest at my table. Unfortunately, my tummy can't handle a lot of it, so, I make it sparingly.

Usually, I just throw some veggies and flavoring; sometimes it is tomato or marinara sauce, sometimes white sauce with spices like rosemary, oregano and such.

This recipe has pasta shells, garlic, broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, pepperoncini, pine nuts and some mushrooms. The sauce is like a white sauce, starting with a roux of sorts, and has mustard for flavoring.



Ingredients
3 cups cooked pasta shells(or farfalle, or penne), al-dente*
1 cup broccoli florets, blanched
1 cup sliced button mushroom, sauteed
1 cup chopped pepperoncini
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
4 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
4 garlic cloves, sliced thin
salt to taste
olive oil as needed
* 1-2 cups cooked pasta should be plenty depending on the variety of pasta used;
for the sauce:
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk, preferably warm or at room temperature
3 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Jack Daniels Horse-radish mustard (optional)
1/2 cup of pasta water reserved, or just warm water
a few sprigs of parsley

Preparation

1. heat a large shallow pan gradually, add the flour and dry toast till it turns pale brown, lower the heat a little if needed so as not to burn the flour; then add the garlic, mustard and the warm whole milk a little at a time, stirring constantly; allow to simmer and reduce a bit; add a little water, as needed, if the sauce gets too thick
2. add the broccoli, 'shrooms, sun dried tomatoes and pepperoncini to the pan with the sauce and toss gently; adjust salt to taste; add the pasta a little at a time so there is enough sauce to coat it all; stir in parsley and some olive oil to give it some clean flavor, wetness and shine
3. garnish with toasted pine nuts;serve warm with garlic bread or other starters

Cranberry Pearl Onion Sambar

Sambar, along with rice, is a dish I grew up eating pretty much at every meal about 90% of the time. I like the variety involved: add veggies in season, vary the spices a bit, omit the toor dal to make 'vatral kuzhambu' (aka vetha kozhambu), add coconut-coriander-seeds-dry-red-chilies paste to make 'araichu vitta sambar' and so on.

Sambar, in general, uses cooked toor dal, sambar powder and tamarind. As I ran out of toor dal at home, I used brown lentils and was quite happy with the results: it had the body and flavor of sambar, the heartiness of dal, tartness from the cranberries and a nice rich brown color from the brown lentils.

This recipe here is quite unconventional, so, probably my mom would not appreciate it as much :-)


Ingredients
1 cup fresh cranberries
6-8 pearl onions, peeled whole
1 cup chopped carrots (optional)
2 cups cooked brown lentils, coarsely mashed
2 Tbsp tamarind concentrate*
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder (optional)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3-4 Tbsp sambar powder** (either make at home, or use store-bought)
salt to taste
5 cups of water
coriander and curry leaves for garnish
2 Tbsp canola oil (or any oil)
tempering: 1 tsp each urad dal and mustard seeds
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* tamarind concentrate that i use in my recipes is found in asian stores - sometimes sold as sour soup mix - here is a picture of what i use
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** sambar powder spices (this is a slightly non-traditional mix)
1 cup coriander seeds
1 cup dry red chilies
1/2 cup chana dal
1/2 cup toor dal
1/8 cup fenugreek seeds
2 Tbsp whole black pepper
2 2" piece of chinese/indian cinnamon bark
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 cup curry leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. if making sambar powder at home, dry roast all the sambar powder ingredients, one at a time;combine them and grind them to a fine powder and set aside; can double the quantities and store the sambar powder in airtight containers, or even vary the proportion a bit to get a slightly different flavor - primary ingredients are coriander seeds and dry red chilies and the two dals, the rest is more to suit individual tastes; and from what my mom taught me: try to use (a) equal quantities of coriander seeds and dry red chilies; (b) equal quantities of the dals; BUT, ratio of (a):(b) is 2:1
   
2. heat the oil in a cooking pot, add the tempering: urad dal first and when it starts turning light brown add the mustard; when mustard seeds splutter and die down add the pearl onions, carrots and asafoetida powder and sautee for a bit
3. add the tamarind concentrate and water, a little salt, sambar powder, cover and let it cook over medium-low till onions are cooked, and it reduces a bit; sambar can be thick or thin - i prefer it thick and hearty; if making it thin, add more water and adjust spices so it doesn't feel dilute and bland
   
4. add brown sugar, cranberries and cooked lentils; simmer on medium-low heat till flavors meld and cranberries are cooked but not mushy; adjust salt to taste
   
5. off heat, garnish with coriander and curry leaves; alternately, the curry leaves can be added at the tempering stage itself to render it slightly crispy, and infused with sambar flavors
6. serve warm with rice and sides such as snake gourd, snake beans and zuccini or even a simple potato dish.
   

Vangi Baath: Eggplant Rice

Eggplant happens to be a favorite of mine and I try to cook it in a few different ways to keep it interesting.

This eggplant rice (vangi baath) recipe uses a blend of spices that can be made in larger quantity and stored for later use.

Ingredients

spices
1 black cardomom
1 star anise
3-4 cloves
1 tsp whole black pepper
1-2 tsp cumin seeds
4-5 Tbsp coriander seeds
6-8 dry red chilies
2 2" piece of Chinese/Indian cinnamon bark
1 Tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
4-6 Tbsp dry powdered coconut (unsweetened)



1/2 large globe eggplant, sliced thin
1/2 medium onion, sliced thin
2 cups cooked basmati rice
a few cilantro and curry leaves for garnish
salt to taste
2 Tbsp oil

tempering: 1 tsp each urad dal, mustard seeds


Preparation

1. Dry toast the spices, let them cool a bit, and grind them to a fairly fine powder; set aside
2. heat oil in a pan, add the tempering; when mustard seeds sputter and die down, add the eggplant, onions and some salt and sauté till eggplant seems cooked through but not mushy
3. add the cooked rice and stir a bit, then add the spice powder from step 1 a little at a time till the rice is as spicy as you'd like, adjust salt to taste
4. stir well till spices and rice seem well incorporated into the eggplant-onion mixture
5. off heat garnish with cilantro (or curry leaves, if available), serve warm

mysore bonda

'Bonda' and 'Vadai' are fried indian snacks, usually served with a few chutneys, like coconut chutney or mint chutney, or even with sambar.

There are quite a few versions of vadai* - masala vadai, keerai vadai, ulundhu vadai and so on.
* Not to be confused with 'vadaam' - vadaam is a different class of food, falls closer to the pappadam, appalam category.

There are quite a few versions of Bonda: some use chickpea flour batter to coat the mashed vegetable filling (like potato bonda), some just use urad dal or rice flour.

The bonda in this recipe is sometimes referred to as Mysore Bonda, uses just urad dal and no filling. The batter used for this bonda recipe can also be used for vadai, with slightly different add-ons.

Ingredients
1 cups urad dal, soaked for about 1 hour
3 Tbsp cup finely diced fresh coconut
1 Tbsp whole black pepper
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
4-5 curry leaves, finely chopped
salt to taste
oil for frying

Preparation

1. drain the soaked urad dal as best as possible, grind it into a fluffy paste, no lumps - usually, I let it run in the wet grinder for about 30-40 mins; there is no need to add water as the soaking absorbs enough water, and any excess water sort of ruins the batter; the consistency is sort of like a fairly thick pancake batter but fluffier and held together better
   
2. add the coconut pieces, black pepper, asafoetida, salt and curry leaves, stir the batter well; set aside
   
3. heat oil for frying (about 370-375 F) seems to work; in general, when the oil starts to shimmer and wisps of smoke appear, I just try to drop a tiny piece (a 1/2 cm diameter ball) of the batter - if it rises up to the surface within 2-3 seconds and then browns in about 6-8 secs, i believe the oil is hot enough for frying the first batch
4. drop roughly shaped balls of the batter, a few at a time without crowding the pan; the outside should gradually get crisp and brown while the inside cooks well; if the oil is too hot, outside crisps up fast and the inside stays raw; if the oil is not hot enough, the result is usually a greasy and unsavory bonda
5. after each batch, it is a good idea to test the oil for its hotness before throwing in the next batch; usually, a perfect mysore bonda has crispy crunch on the outside and a spongy, soft inside that is completely cooked
   
6. serve warm with chutney, along with hot tea or coffee; this is one of my favorite tea time snacks :-)
   

pepper rasam

Rasam is one of my favorite comfort foods. There are several different rasam recipes like lemon-lime rasam, paruppu rasam, pepper rasam, thippili rasam and so on. Some use toor dal, some don't. Some use tomatoes, some don't. Some are pretty watery like a thin soup, some are hearty and thick. The spices used make one rasam different from the other, but, in general many families in south india have their own special rasam recipe, and have their own secret "rasam powder" formula:-)



This pepper rasam recipe is quick and easy to make and is one of my favorites. I like to just drink it sometimes, especially when I have a stuffy nose and head, but, it makes a nice simple meal with rice and sides like simple potato side or snakegourd side or snake beans and zuccini side.

Ingredients
4 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
1 medium tomato, diced
2 Tbsp canola oil (or ghee, i find ghee tastes better)
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
4-5 curry leaves, chopped, chiffonade (optional)
1 Tbsp whole black pepper
4-5 dry red chilies
4-5 garlic cloves
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp brown sugar
salt to taste
water as needed
tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds

Preparation

1. in a mortar and pestle, pound the cumin, black pepper, dry red chilies and garlic into a fairly smooth powdery paste
2. if using fresh tamarind, shell it, soak it in hot water and extract pulp, discard seeds strings and skin, if any
3. in a cooking pot, heat the oil/ghee and add the tempering*, when mustard seeds stop spluttering, add the pepper paste from step 1 and the tomatoes and sautee for a minute or so till the spices bloom
4. add about 4-6 cups of water, tamarind pulp/concentrate, brown sugar, salt to taste; let it simmer till tomatoes are cooked well and the rawness of the tamarind is gone; amount of water determines how thin or thick the rasam turns out
5. off heat, garnish with cilantro/curry leaves; serve warm with basmati rice, or as an appetizing soup
   * traditionally, tempering is done last, in a separate tempering "ladle" of sorts and poured over the hot dish and allowed to sizzle; this works best, even tastes a little better; but, doing the tempering first has become a short-hand procedure for some of my cooking as I find it more convenient
   

simple potato side

This is another one of my favorite sides to have with rasam and rice whenever I feel like eating some hearty comfort food.

Ever since I read that potatoes are close to perfect food, with potential health benefits, I try to make it at least once a week. A lot of times, I use potatoes as thickener in some of my curries - pressure cook them, mash them to a smooth paste and add them to the curry that needs thickening.



Ingredients
4 medium Russet Burbank ('Idaho') potatoes *
few cilantro leaves for garnish
2-3 tsp cayenne pepper
1-2 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder (optional)
salt to taste
tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp split dehusked urad dal
2 Tbsp canola oil
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* usually, i pressure cook a bunch of potatoes and crumble them to largish chunks and freeze them for later use; it saves time to just thaw them in the microwave and use as a thickener, or for making this dish

Preparation

1. pressure cook the potatoes, or cook them on stovetop till they are cooked through but not too soft; peel skin; roughly crumble them to fairly largish chunks;set aside
   
2. heat oil in a pan, when oil shimmers, add the tempering ingredients - urad dal first, and when it turns brown add the mustard seeds and when it starts to spatter, add the cumin seeds; keep a screen lid handy to prevent a mess from mustard seeds jumping everywhere
3. add the crumbled potato chunks, turmeric, asafoetida, paprika, cayenne, salt; stir well to coat the potatoes; leave heat on medium-low and let the potatoes develop a sort of crust from the oil and the spice coating; stir occasionally to brown evenly
   
4. off heat, garnish with cilantro, serve warm with roti or rice
   

rava onion dosai

Traditional dosai batter requires soaking, grinding, fermenting; but, this rava onion dosai batter is sort of quick to make and keeps for a day or two in the fridge.

Ingredients
2 cups sooji rava, dry roasted to a light brown color
1 cup rice flour
1 cup all purpose flour (or, maida)
1 cup finely minced onions
4 Tbsp chopped curry leaves and cilantro (optional)
3 green chilies finely chopped (optional)
salt to taste (say about 1 Tbsp, more or less)
3 cups water (more or less)
oil as needed

tempering (optional) :
heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan, add 1 tsp mustard seeds and 1/2 tsp cumin seeds; when mustard seeds spatter, remove from heat and add it to the rava onion dosai batter, stir well.

Preparation

1. combine all the ingredients, except water, in a bowl
2. add a little water at a time and start kneading into a dough; gradually add more water and stir or knead well till there are no lumps and a fairly thin batter is formed
3. heat a non-stick pan on medium, pour about 1/2 cup of batter and swirl it around till it forms a thin layer
4. when bottom side is cooked, flip and cook the other side of the dosai
5. brush the pan with oil as needed to ensure dosai lifts off the pan without struggle
6. rava onion dosai is a soft crepe type dish, it usually does not get very crisp and is best eaten hot
7. serve warm with mint chutney, or coconut chutney, or even 'dosai milagai podi' (a versatile lentil+spices powder)

Thai-inspired Yam Curry

I think Yam is sometimes confused with Sweet Potato here - at least at the grocery store, the yam they sell tastes just like sweet potato.

The yam I remember from my younger days in India was a lot different - more roundish (not elongated), yellowish inside (not orange), neutral flavored (not sweet), with tough brown skin (not thin pinkish skin).

In any case, this yam recipe is inspired by thai flavors.

Ingredients
1 yam, cut into chunks
1 bunch spring onions, cut into 4" long pieces
1 bunch baby bok choy, cleaned, roughly chopped
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
for sauce:
2-3 Tbsp tamarind concentrate or, fresh tamarind
1 medium shallot
1/2 stalk lemon grass
4-6 fresh chilies (i used red balloon chilies from my garden)
2" piece of ginger
1 Tbsp brown sugar (optional if yam is sweet)

Preparation:

1. if using fresh tamarind, shell it, soak it in hot water and extract pulp (remove the seeds) to get approximately 8 Tbsp; combine the sauce ingredients and blend it to a smooth paste
2. heat oil in a pan, add the yam chunks, some salt, some water and cook till half-done
3. then add the sauce, bok choy and some more water, cover and cook till yam is cooked through but not mushy
4. add the spring onions, stir well, adjust salt to taste and cook for a few minutes till spring onions soften
5. serve warm with steamed rice
   

Indian Baby Eggplant Curry

We harvested the last of the calliopes and Ichiban (my two favorite eggplant varieties) from our garden a few weeks ago even though they were just baby-sized. We didn't think the plants would last long enough to ripen to full size with this cold wet weather.

The small Indian Eggplant would be perfect for this dish. Slit and stuff with the spice-paste/masala and cook in tomato-based sauce.

Ingredients
6 baby or indian eggplant, each about the size of a grade A large egg
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion, diced
chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
3 Tbsp canola oil
salt to taste
water as needed
spices for cooking:
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper powder
1 Tbsp brown sugar
for masala paste:
1/2 medium yellow onion coarsely chopped
2" piece of fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
1 Tbsp garam masala
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Preparation

1. in a blender, combine the ingredients for the masala paste, with 1 Tbsp of oil and blend it to a smooth paste; set this masala paste aside
2. slit the baby eggplants up to about 1/2 cm from the stem, without breaking up the stem, into roughly lengthwise quarters
3. gently separate at the slits, while holding the stem tight, and slather on the masala paste into the slits of the eggplant, in a thin layer, taking care not to break apart the eggplant; set aside
4. heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a pan, add the diced onions and a pinch of salt and any remaining masala paste left over after slatherting/stuffing the eggplants; sautee till onion turns translucent
5. add the can of diced tomatoes and the rest of the spices, stir till well-incorporated to form a gravy of sorts, adjust salt to taste
6. gently place the 'stuffed' eggplants into the gravy so they are mostly submerged in the gravy, cover and let it simmer over medium low heat till eggplant changes color and looks done - cooked through but not mushy, adding water as needed
7. when eggplant looks done, off heat, stir gently, garnish with cilantro and serve warm with rotis or naan or basmati rice

Green Tomato Dal (Koottu)

With the cold setting in, our vegetable garden is withering, so, we had to harvest all the green tomatoes. I have not found green tomatoes sold in stores (tomatillos aplenty, of course), but, maybe I haven't been looking in the right stores...

"Dal" (dhaal) in general is a wonderful side or main dish, served with rotis or rice, or eaten as a soup by itself. Dal dishes can be made with either moong dal or toor dal, although moong is my favorite. I love the versatility and heartiness of moong dal.

"Koottu" is a south indian term referring to a certain style of making sides - while this recipe is strictly not a traditional koottu, I use the terms dal and koottu interchangeably as my method of preparation of each sort of overlap.

Instead of green tomato, any suitable vegetable can be used to make this koottu/dal: i like opo squash, chayote squash, red ripe tomatoes, ash gourd, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, or even tomatillos as alternatives.


Ingredients
2 cups dry split yellow moong dal (not the whole green moong)
2-3 medium green tomatoes,cut into chunks
1 medium yellow onion,diced
3-4 green chilies, finely chopped
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves

2 Tbsp cilantro/coriander leaves for garnish
2 Tbsp fresh or bottled lemon juice
3 Tbsp grated coconut (dry or fresh)*

1 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (optional)
2 Tbsp oil
salt to taste
water as needed

for tempering
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp split (dehusked) urad dal - optional
*can be omitted without seriously compromising the outcome

Preparation

1. pressure cook the moong dal, or just boil 6 cups of water and add the moong dal and let it cook till it gets mushy; set aside
2. heat oil in cooking pot, when oil starts shimmering, add the tempering - urad dal first, and when it starts turning light brown, add the mustard seeds, then cumin seeds; mustard seeds will spatter, keep a screen lid handy and cover the pot, turn the heat down if needed so as not to burn the tempering
3. when spattering dies down, add the chilies, ginger and onions, a little salt, turmeric, asafoetida and sautee; the smell of ginger and onion sauteeing after the tempering is very appetizing
4. then add the green tomato chunks, a little water, cover and let it cook till green tomatoes are a little soft
5. add the cooked moong dal, coconut, more water if it is too thick or dry, adjust salt to taste and cover and simmer till green tomatoes are well done, but not mushy, and the dal has the consistency of a thick soup
6. off heat stir in lemon juice and garnish with cilantro leaves
7. serve warm with basmati rice, or roti, assorted indian achar (pickle) or pappadam
8. alternately, cook the dal with more water so it has a hearty soup consistency and just have it as a soup - makes a great filling, healthy dinner on cold winter nights

Ginger Tofu Eggplant

Combination of eggplant and tofu, with ginger and garlic is quite heavenly.

Pan-fried or baked tofu, infused with flavors from marinating overnight, makes a great addition to simple vegetable dishes. It can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to a week, or frozen for a little longer.  I like the Extra Firm tofu and bake it so the texture gets chewy and firm.

Marinate the tofu cubes in a simple ginger-soy sauce-chili marinade and leave it in the fridge overnight. Bake in a 375°F oven for about 10-12 minutes.

Ingredients:
1/2 large globe eggplant, cut into fairly big cubes
8 to 10 cubes of pan-fried marinated tofu
1 cup coarsely chopped spring onions
1 Tbsp fresh grated (or julienned) ginger
2 to 4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 Tbsp crushed red pepper
2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp cornstarch + water as needed for thickening the sauce

garnish:
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
3 Tbsp finely chopped spring onions for garnish
2 tsp sesame seeds (toasted, if preferred)

ginger-soy-sesame sauce:
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
4 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
2 tsp cayenne pepper (less if you prefer)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp sesame seeds (toasted, if preferred)
1 finely chopped green chili (optional)
1 Tbsp black bean paste (optional)

Preparation:

1. Mix the sauce ingredients and set aside
2. Heat oil in a wok or pan, add the garlic, ginger, saute briefly, then add the eggplant chunks and crushed red pepper
3. Add the sauce and stir well to coat and cook till eggplant is almost done - cooked through but not mushy; add the pan fried tofu chunks and toss it around a bit till sauce is well incorporated and eggplant is done; thicken with corn starch if the sauce is too runny
4. Garnish with chopped sesame seeds, spring onions and cilantro; serve warm with steamed rice

Marinated Pan-fried Tofu

This is a versatile ingredient in many of my favorite dishes that I decided to dedicate one post to it entirely.

I like Extra Firm tofu for this; the size of the chunks and the marinade depends on my mood and the dish I want to use them in; I usually make a few batches of marinade and reserve some for later use or to be used as sauce as in ginger-soy-eggplant-tofu dish

Here are a couple of options:

ginger-soy-sesame marinade:
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
4 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
2 tsp cayenne pepper (less if you prefer)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp sesame seeds (toasted, if preferred)
1 finely chopped green chili
1 Tbsp black bean paste (optional)


red-chili-soy-sesame-oil:
3 Tbsp red chili paste (or sambal oelek)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp mirin

Preparation

1. cut the tofu into chunks and marinate for 10-15 minutes, if desired
2. alternately, add the marinade and refrigerate it overnight or for about 8 hrs - shake it once or twice to spread the marinade around
3. heat about 2 Tbsp oil in a pan, place the tofu cubes without crowding the pan too much, leave heat in medium and pan fry till sides turn brown - turning the tofu chunks as needed so they are evenly fried on all sides
4. pan-fried tofu refrigerates well - lasts about 4-5 days, but freezes fine too - lasts about a month or so (i've not stored it longer than that, so am not sure if it will last longer...)
5. toss it with noodles or in ginger-soy-eggplant-tofu dish

dosai : rice crepes

There are quite a few variations of dosai and i hope to be posting a few of them over the next few weeks... this is one of my favorite 'tiffin'/snack items.

This recipe here involves soaking, grinding and fermenting rice and urad dal - which is the traditional recipe i learnt from my mom. Some other recipes using other methods and ingredients like semolina are quicker - like rava dosai, maida dosai etc. and i hope to be sharing them here soon.

Ingredients
for dosai:
1 cup urad dal (de-husked, i.e., black skin removed)
4 cups parboiled rice (sometimes sold as 'puzhungal arisi' in indian stores)*
water as needed
salt to taste
oil for greasing the pan

*i've tried basmati rice, and jasmine rice instead and they do turn out alright for home-made dosai, but, i prefer puzhungal arisi whenever it is available

Preparation

1. soak urad dal and rice separately for about 4 hours; i've tried soaking for 6-8 hrs or even overnight, and didn't find a significant difference in how the dosai turned out eventually; however it might make a difference in helping the grinding process - when soaked longer, many standard blenders handle grinding better than otherwise
2. drain the water, grind urad dal in wet grinder (or heavy-duty blender) and let it get soft and fluffy (usually i let it run for about 30-35 mins in the wet grinder); set aside in a large-ish bowl
   
3. then drain and grind the rice as well, and add it to the bowl with the ground urad dal; use very little water for grinding, preferably leave the batter thick and sort of sticky
   
4. cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place for several hours or overnight till it ferments well - you can smell the sourness (sort of like sourdough smell) and notice the rise in the dough/batter; i've found that fermentation makes a difference in taste and texture of dosai
   
5. when ready to make the dosai, stir the batter thoroughly, scoop a few ladles out onto a separate bowl, add a little water at a time to get to a pouring consistency, add some salt to taste - experiment with this 'diluted' batter's consistency till you find the best one that helps spread the batter evenly and without struggle;
   
6. heat a non-stick pan or griddle, pour about half a cup of dosai batter and spread it around to form a nice round shape; when underside seems done (the sides usually start lifting from the pan), flip the dosai and cook the other side
7. i've found the need to grease the non-stick pan between dosais to help them come off the pan without much struggle; also, i save the thick fermented dough/batter as-is in the fridge for later use; i find this more convenient than diluting the whole batch of fermented dough/batter and saving it for later
   
8. serve warm dosai with mint chutney, or coconut thogayal and sambar