Rawa dosa (semolina pancake)

Ingredients

• • 1 cup coarse semolina

  • 1 generous tbsp yoghurt

  • 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

  • 1/2 small onion, finely diced

  • 1 small green chilli, finely sliced

  • 1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger

  • 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves (optional)

  • Ghee

Method

• 1. Add the yoghurt, salt and about 1 cup of hot (not boiling) water to the semolina. Mix well, cover and set aside at room temperature for several hours or overnight.

  2. Add the remaining ingredients, except the ghee, together with enough water ( about 1 to 1 1/2 cups) to form a thin batter.

  3. Heat a non-stick frypan and brush lightly with ghee. When hot, pour about half a ladle of the batter in the centre of the pan. The batter will spread and should form tiny holes. Turn the heat down and with a pastry brush, lightly dab the edges of the dosa with ghee.

  4. Once the edges start to brown and become crispy, gently lift and flip the dosa with a fish slice. Turn up the heat slightly and cook until the underside also starts to brown. Transfer to a plate. Don't worry if the first one or two dosas break when turning them over. The trick is to have the pan hot when you pour the batter, but immediate turn the heat down and allow the dosa to cook over a gentle heat. Once you've flipped the dosa, you can increase the heat to finish cooking the second side.

  5. Repeat with the rest of the batter, greasing the pan and stirring the batter well each time. For each dosa, cook the first side over a low heat and increase the heat once you've flipped the dosa.

Serving suggestions

Serve with sambar (spicy South Indian dhal) or with 'wet' coconut chutney and podi (made from dry roasted urad dhal which is ground to a fine powder with dried chillies, asafoetida and salt) with ghee.