Neer dosa/ Tellavu

This is a Mangalore delicacy served with coconut chutney, coconut-jaggery mix or sambar. Being a Mangalorean I am privileged to post the recipe of Neer Dosa. It is easy to prepare except the step of spreading the dosa batter on tava which needs little expertise. Here is a basic Neer dosa recipe which can be altered by adding ingredients like cucumber or coconut which gives a different taste. Usually, this is prepared for breakfast and can be carried in lunch box as it will not be hardened after hours, like other dosas.

Ingredients:

Dosa Rice – 4 cups

Salt – 1 tsp (to taste)

Grated Coconut – ½ cup (optional)

Water as required

Oil/ Ghee for preparing dosa

Method:

Batter: Wash and soak dosa rice for 4-6 hours. One can use only dosa rice or combination of dosa rice & red raw rice (1:1 propotion). Wash again after soaking and drain water completely. Grind Rice, coconut (optional) and salt in a mixer or wet grinder to smooth paste adding required amount of water. Using a wet grinder enhances the taste as it can finely grind. Dosa should be prepared with the fresh batter or refrigerate the batter until you prepare dosa. It should not be fermented.

Making dosas: Adjust the consistency of the batter by adding enough water. It should be of running consistency (watery/Neer) than any other dosa batter, hence the name. But, requirement of water depends on quality of rice. So make the consistency of batter not too watery initially, check by preparing one dosa if it comes out clean from the tava/ griddle. It should not stick to tava. You can add water if dosa is hard and brittle. Refer the image.

Now it is the tricky phase of spreading the dosa batter on heated tava/ griddle to prepare dosa. Iron griddle/ tava is best suited for this dosa than non-stick tava. Heat the tava on medium flame. Apply ghee/ oil neatly all over the tava. Pour one ladle of batter on tava without touching the ladle to the tava. Fill the large gaps if any. Cover the lid and cook for 1 to 1.5 minutes. The dosa is ready when the extra water is evaporated and if it comes out clean from the griddle. Remove from the tava and serve hot with any chutney/ sambar/coconut & jaggery mix (Bella-kai suli). You can also store it in a hot box or box with lid closed. Stored breakfast dosa can still be very good to consume as evening snack.