Unique to the state of Karnataka, the dosas are called ‘Set Dosa’ because they are served in a stack of three. These Dosas are famous in the restaurants and ‘darshinis’ of Bangalore along with Masala Dosa and Rava Dosa. I found an interesting story here as to how the name was coined and why restaurants serve in sets of three.
These are Indian version of savory pancakes that are soft, spongy and fluffy. They are not greasy unlike a regular Masala Dosa.In the restaurants Set Dosas are paired with Vegetable Saagu and coconut chutney while serving. Even though the dosas appear small, they are quite filling. By the time you are done eating two of them, especially with saagu and chutney you would be ready to call it quits.
This is very easy to prepare at home using the basic ingredients. Both my mom and mom-in-law prepare this similar way and serve with red coconut chutney. Since the dosa had good amount of Poha (Flattened Rice) these are called as Poha Dosa/ Aval Dosa.
Category: Requires Soaking, Grinding and fermenting.
Recipe Source: Set Dosa and Saagu
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw Rice (use regular or sona masuri rice)
- 1 cup Urad daal
- 1 cup Poha/ Aval/Avalakki (thick or thin)
- 2 tsp Channa daal
- ½ tsp Methi/fenugreek seeds
Method:
- Soak the rice, urad daal, chana daal and methi in enough water for about 7-8 hours.
- Soak the poha/aval separately in water for about 1 hour.
- After 1 hour drain the water from the poha. Grind all the above soaked ingredients (including the aval/poha) together. Do not use too much water, just enough so that the mixer/grinder motor can move.
- Transfer the batter to a container, cover it tightly and set aside for at least 10-12 hours.
- After that the batter should have been adequately fermented. Add salt and mix the batter well. Add little water if required.
Making Dosas
- Heat a Dosa Tava on medium high heat. Make sure it is lightly greased.
- Sprinkle some water in the center and when the water almost evaporates pour a ladle of dosa batter in the center.
- Spread the batter in a circular motion from the center towards outside. Do not spread a lot. It should have the same thickness throughout.
- Put a spoonful of oil around the edges of the dosa and little on the top.
- Cover the dosa with a lid and cook until the bottom part has browned. Note: I usually do not flip the dosa and cook the top part. This is optional.
- Transfer to a plate. Serve warm with chutney and Saagu!
Never tried set dosa at home…..this looks extremely yum….love to give this a try….
Spongy dosas looks extremely inviting..yumm!
Hi,
I had a quick question about how to get added to the food blog aggregator you are maintaining. I think I submitted a request from the contact us form. Let me know if there is anything else I need to do.
Harini, just added your blog to FoodWorld 🙂
Looks soft & delicious RC! I made them last week but somehow got lazy to take pics. I have never added channa dhal, Amma adds them for Appam though.
The dosas look so soft and spongy..never had it with its regular pair Vegetable saagu,for us it is always chutney or any leftover ‘masla randayi’ especially Bendis or Kolmbho.
The dosas look so fluffy, poha is a good addition to make them so. Love the clicks.
gosh..this does look amazingly delicious….so soft..Im sure I will LOVE them.
Soft and spongy dosas…luv it
Love the dosai series you have going on here. Cornmeal dosa is bookmarked to be tried soon and so is this aval dosai.
Thank you for adding Tamalapaku to Food World.
this brings back some memories for me… looking delicious! will make it now… is this rice raw rice?
Long time since I had them. My MIL used to make this often. I like the soft, spongy taste of set dosas.
Thank you all.
@Rajani, yes you need to soak thhe raw rice. thanks for pointing, I will update in my post.
set dosa looks super fluffy and yum- havent made this in a long time, gotta make it
Wow – I have always loved set doasa in restaurants. Never tried at home. Just took instructions from your recipe and ground the batter today. Can’t wait for yummy set dosas tomorrow! Thanks for posting this!
can i use basamati rice?
Thanks Yahina. You can use basmati rice, however the dosa taste might be a little different. Texture wise should be fine, I think.
thank u for ure response..which rice do u suggest..actly i dint get wot u meant by ona masuri rice..i use ponni rice for lunch..hope u have heard of it
Yahina, I checked and any type of rice should work. Sona masuri is a medium grain rice, here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sona_Masuri
Set dosa is looking very yummy. I can’t wait to try in my kitchen.