Soak 1 cup urad dal and 2 cups long grain rice overnight (to be soaked separately). Grind urad dal till smooth. Grind rice till smooth. While grinding, add water little by little, just enough to make a smooth mixture.

Mix rice and dal together. Now add water to get a batter of pouring consistency .With practice, you'll know how much water to add during grinding. It is better to start with just enough water and add as you go along. Add salt. Let the batter ferment.

It usually ferments overnight when left outside, on a pleasant day. On a warm day, you might want to keep a close watch as it may bubble over. When the batter has risen and has bubbles in it, you have dosai batter. You do not have to wait till it doubles in size (please don't!!). Batter is ready to use when it has bubbles in it and no longer smells raw.

Heat pan. The test you can perform is sprinkle some water on the pan. If the water evaporates immediately, pan is hot enough.

Take a round utensil, say a ladle, and put a ladleful of batter in the centre of the pan. Immediately spread the batter in a circular motion starting from the centre, to get a crepe.

Remember, you have to be pretty fast in spreading the batter, otherwise it will start cooking instantly. The idea is to get thin crepes.

Drizzle veg or canola oil around the edges. If you use nonstick, you could reduce (or eliminate) the oil. In that case your dosai will be drier, and dosai may not come off of the pan easily.

Wait till the dosai browns and becomes a little crisp around the edges. Carefully loosen the dosai from the pan and flip.

The ease with which dosai will come off the pan depends on how hot the pan is. The hotter the pan, the easier it will be . However, there is a greater chance of burning the dosai. So you might have to adjust the temperature while the dosai is cooking.

It is also easier to dislodge the dosai if you use a really thin spatula with a sharp edge in the front to do the flipping.

Let it brown a little on the other side. Date: Fri, 30 Jul 93 18:43:23 Edt

Converted to Mm format by Dale & Gail Shipp, Columbia Md.