Dosa (food) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Dosa

Dosa with sambar and chutney
Type	Pancake, crepe
Place of origin	India
Region or state	Udupi, Karnataka
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Rice and black gram
Variations	Masala dosa, rava dosa, ghee roast dosa, neer dosa and many more

A dosa is a yummy, thin pancake from South Indian cuisine. It's made from a special fermented batter of ground black gram (a type of lentil) and rice. Dosas are now popular in other parts of South Asia too. People usually eat dosas hot, often with tasty chutney and sambar.

History of Dosa

Plain dosas with tasty sauces

Butter Dosa served with coconut chutney and sambhar

Dosas first came from South India. No one is completely sure exactly where they started. Some historians, like P. Thankappan Nair, think dosa began in a town called Udupi in Karnataka.

But another food historian, K. T. Achaya, says that old writings from the 1st century, called Sangam literature, already talked about dosa (calling it dosai) in the ancient Tamil country. Achaya also says the first time dosa was written about was in the 8th century in Tamil Nadu. It appeared in Kannada writings about 100 years later.

Many people connect dosa with Udupi because of the famous Udupi restaurants. The dosa from Tamil Nadu is usually softer and thicker. The thinner, crispy dosa was first made in Karnataka. You can even find a recipe for dosa (called dosaka) in a 12th-century book called Manasollasa. This book was put together by Someshvara III, a ruler from Karnataka.

After India became free, South Indian food slowly became popular in the North. In Delhi, the Madras Hotel was one of the first places to serve South Indian dishes. Dosas also came to Mumbai in the 1930s with Udupi restaurants.

Names for Dosa

Dosa with chutney and sambar and a potato filling

Dosa served with sauteed potatoes.

"Dosa" is the English way of saying the name of this dish. It comes from different South Indian names. For example, it's called dosai in Tamil, dosey in Kannada, and dosha in Malayalam.

Here's how the word is written in different South Indian languages:

Dosa and Your Health

Dosa has a lot of carbohydrates, which give you energy. It doesn't have extra sugars or unhealthy fats. Since it's made from rice and black gram, it's also a good source of protein.

A plain homemade dosa, made without oil, has about 112 calories. Most of that (84%) is carbohydrates, and 16% is protein. The special way the batter is made (fermentation) also helps to increase the vitamin B and vitamin C in dosa.

How to Make Dosa

First, you soak rice and black or green gram in water. Then, you grind them very finely to make a smooth batter. Some people add a few soaked fenugreek seeds too. Usually, you use 3 or 4 parts rice for every 1 part lentils.

The batter is left to ferment overnight. This means it sits and gets a little bubbly, which makes it light and fluffy. The next day, you mix the batter with water until it's the right thickness.

Then, you pour a ladle of batter onto a hot tava (a flat griddle) that has a little oil or ghee on it. You spread the batter out with the bottom of a ladle to make a thin pancake. You can make it thick like a regular pancake or very thin and crispy.

Dosa is served hot, either folded in half or rolled up like a wrap. It almost always comes with chutney and sambar. Sometimes, people use wheat flour or semolina instead of black grams and rice.

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  Rice batter

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  Batter poured on a tava or griddle

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  Batter being spread evenly

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  After being cooked for some time

How Dosa is Served

Dosa can be filled with vegetables and sauces to make a quick meal. They are usually served with a vegetarian side dish. What you get on the side can change depending on where you are or what you like. Common side dishes include:

• Sambar (a lentil and vegetable stew)
• Chutney (a flavorful sauce)
• Idli podi or milagaipodi: a spicy lentil powder mixed with oil or ghee
• Indian pickles
• Potato Curry

Types of Dosa

There are many different kinds of dosa! Masala dosa is a popular one, served with potato curry, chutney, and sambar. Saada (plain) dosa is lighter. Paper dosa is super thin and crispy. Rava dosa is made with semolina and is also very crispy.

Newer types of dosa are also being created, like Chinese dosa, cheese dosa, paneer dosa, and even pizza dosa!

While most dosas are made with rice and lentils, there are other versions too.

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  Masala dosa served with chutney, sambar, and potato filling

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  Uttapam is a type of dosa served for breakfast.

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  Urad plain dosa

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  Wheat flour dosa

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  Plain dosa

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  Paper roast, a super thin and crispy dosa

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  Ghee roast

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  Butter dosa, called benne dose in Karnataka.

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  Pesarattu (moong dal dosa) and ginger chutney in Andhra Pradesh

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  Mangalorian neer dosa from Karnataka

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  Kambu (bajra/pearl millet) dosa

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  Rava dosa made from sooji rava flour

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  Godi mau dosa (wheat dosa)

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  Ragi dosa made of ragi flour

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  Uthappam or utthapa, with onion, chilli, and tomato

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  Methi dosa on a pan

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  Masala dosa at a street food center

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  "Table dosa" which covers almost half of the table

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  Indian street dosa masala in Varanasi, India

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  Onion dosa, with coconut chutney and aloo curry

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  Set dosa, a set of 3 dosas with coconut chutney, curry, and Mysore Bajji

Masala Dosa

Masala dosa is a very popular type of dosa often found in restaurants. It tastes a bit different from dosas made at home. It's usually served with a potato curry, chutney, and sambar.

Foods Like Dosa

There are other dishes that are similar to dosa:

• Uttapam: This is like a thick pancake made from the same batter as dosa. But unlike a crispy dosa, uttapam is soft and often topped with chopped onions, tomatoes, or cheese. Some people call it an Indian pizza!
• Pesarattu: From Andhra Pradesh, this is a dosa-like dish made from green gram. It's usually eaten with a ginger and tamarind chutney.
• Adai: From Tamil Nadu, this is a dosa-like dish made from a mix of lentils (toor dal), rice, curry leaves, red chillies, and asafoetida. The batter is not fermented. People often eat it with jaggery or aviyal.
• Appam/aappam: A pancake made from rice batter. The middle is thicker, and the edges are very thin. It's served with sweet coconut milk.
• Jianbing: A dosa-like dish made in China.
• Bánh xèo: A dosa-like dish made in Vietnam.
• Chebab: A rice pancake from the Middle East.
• Injera: An Ethiopian dish made with fermented batter from teff grains.

See also

In Spanish: Dosa para niños