Bisi Bisi Tuppa Dosa / Hot Hot Ghee Dosa.

“Bisi Bisi Tuppa Dosa / Hot Hot Ghee Dosa” served with Molaga podi (Chutney Podi / Gun Powder) and Fresh Homemade Butter … This is a slightly thicker dosa that is fried crisp on both sides while it remains spongy and soft within … Tastes awesome when relished hot from tava with any spicy chutney / side dish of your choice … Yummilicious 

** Tuppa Dosa / Ghee Dosa is a very popular dosa for ages now, but somehow over year people had stopped preparing the same I guess as this dosa turns delicious when roasted with ghee. My Mother used to prepare this when we were children and I loved it hot with a dollop of fresh homemade butter. From childhood I have loved the taste on melted butter on top of my dosa and always have at least one dosa with butter while I relish the other with chutney. Over years somehow for health reasons Mom stopped preparing this one and we literally forgot about it. Those days we never went to restaurants though my father did have his evening snack out, but I don’t think he ever had dosas. 

** Then came a time when almost everything we Konkani Saraswats / GSB’s / South Indians were fond of were attacked by nutritionists. For eg. Coconut was considered bad so was coconut oil, that means no masala curry, no chutney. Almost all the dishes we relished throughout our childhood were suddenly considered taboo. Ghee was simply NO-NO. Eyes literally rolled up if you ever mentioned ghee. And parents, specially Mothers who always wanted the best for their children fell for this trap. They began watching TV advertisements and believed sandwiches and biscuits were better, so the tiffin box was sent with the same. 

** TV had just spread its wings in India somewhere in 1980’s and people began watching it and the advertisements that popped up. Then comes maggi, that was guaranteed and sold by advertising that it was healthy and that could be prepared in 2 minutes. Yes, I too loved it, still do, but frankly I have never been able to prepare it in 2 minutes and it was simply yuck if not eaten piping hot. But children where game to it, fell for those lovely looking children who eat them with glee and when they say it they loved it, so it our children love it. Then came lays chips etc. and off went our good old home made potato chips / wafer / tukdi etc. One after the other giant manufacturer cashed on fast food and Mother’s who had by then started to go out on jobs as more income was necessity of the time for the rising standard of costs had no choice put to go by it. 

** This I guess continued for quite a long time / a lot of years and now in the last few years that “Face book” came into existence, things again went Topsy-Turvy. Nutritionist and Scientists suddenly came to the conclusion that Indian food was best with correct combo of Ingredients. The mix and match of food in thali suddenly became the sort after thing. Coconut Oil was give the green signal not to mention Ghee topped the list. A tablespoon of cow's ghee was considered to improve the health system. Some credit or should I say 99% of the credit goes to Baba Ramadev who almost reversed the system. Suddenly doctors started speaking of limits in eating and every food was fine. Yoga also suddenly began to get promoted and people went ga-ga over it leaving aside the aerobics. Again, Mothers were in delima as to what to feed the family. I know many of you must be wondering what I am talking about, I am trying to tell all my friends here that “ Our Grandma was always right and so were our Ancestors and so is our Mother”. 

** My Grandma and then my Mother always insisted on typical Indian Food for consumption and not falling for all these traps, while once in a way everything was fine. She always was against moving over to roti and completely removing eating rice from diet. And now the dietitian says exactly the same. My Mother always said that everything when consumed in limits was fine and that a person should leave out laziness and be active in life which would burn calories naturally. She always said, that all our ancestors Men and Women had lived long without any ailment, ate proper meals 3 times a day with a lot of physical activity that kept them on toes. My Mother herself followed this and I must say is still active at the age of 86 and can give me a run in kitchen her favorite destination. But we never ever listen to our Mother, Do we? We fall prey for new items and neglect that which is in our house. It is within us now to build the coming generation stronger and healthier by installing in them good behaviour and food habits. 

** Coming back to “Tuppa Dosa” it began to catch the fancy again over the years as now Tuppa ie Ghee was considered good enough for health. I heard from many how tasty tuppa dosa was and was really eager to try this out when I went to my home town Mangalore a few years back. I told my hubby come what may, this time I want to try out Tuppa Dosa and we went to relish the same. Somehow the appearance of the dosa when placed before me put me off as the top side looked sort of burnt instead of crisp. I insisted that we send it back, but my hubby would not do so. So we quietly ate it, it was good, but had not reached the expectations I had. Hubby cribbed saying he would rather have had his favorite Masala Dosa instead. That was it, somehow Tuppa Dosa took a back seat and I never somehow gave it a try, which was a mistake. Many of my friends had shared recipe, but nothing appealed much.

** When my friend Nandini Kini who has an awesome food Blog Kini’s Kitchen of her own posted Tuppa Dosa, I was really impressed looking at the same, the dosa was thicker than the normal ones and was fried crisp on both sides (correct texture) when the center looked soft and spongy. Nandini had shared the recipe, so there was now no more excuse or looking back but just had to go ahead and try the same. I immediately soaked the ingredients and followed exactly her recipe without any variations or changes. The next morning, I was sort of worried to see that the batter had fermented a lot and was almost on the verge of falling out, though I did store it overnight in a large vessel. I mixed it well and added in rest of the ingredients that were supposed to be added the next day and the batter was back in form … Well rest is history. 

** This Crisp exterior and soft within “Tuppa Dosa / Ghee Dosa” is there to stay in my kitchen. Though the next time I would love to relish this with some spicy chutney or some equally yummy side dish for lunch. I am also going to try out some different versions of the same, now that they are eagerly cropping up in my mind and waiting to be tried. Well you all know by now that once a idea crops up in mind, it has to end up either in the kitchen or in my "Thoughts and Notes" file. Trust me it’s such a pleasure to cook something tasty and look at the beaming faces of your dear one’s when you serve them with love. So do try this out and enjoy with your family and friends. A huge bunch of “Thanks to Nandini Kini” who shared this awesome recipe. We loved the dosa very much Nandini, Stay Blessed … Simply Yumz. 

** Here is the recipe to Bisi Bisi Tuppa Dosa / Hot Hot Ghee Dosa ….. 

** Ingredients : 

Urad Dal / Black Gram Dal : ½ cup 

Ordinary Raw Rice : 2 cups 

Methi / Fenugreek Seeds : 1 tsp. 

Poha / Povu / Thin Beaten Rice : 1 cup 

Maida / APF : 1 tblsp 

Cooking Soda : a small pinch 

Sugar : A pinch 

Salt to taste 

Ghee : For removing the dosa. 

** Soaking of Methi : Soak methi seeds in ¼ cup of water in a small cup for an hour or so, just before you start grinding the batter. This is to be used while grinding the dosa batter. I do not add the methi along with the dal’s coz. When we drain off the water, the health and medicinal properties of methi seeds are also lost through it. You can use lukewarm water if you have only 10-15 mins time at hand only. It will give similar result. 

** Note : Almost everybody I know, even my Mom soaks the methi seeds along with the urad dal while soaking the same. So it is not necessary to follow my method of soaking separately. You may do so along with other ingredients too. 

** Wash the urad dal and rice together and put it in a bowl along with plenty of water for soaking for at least 4-5 hours. Drain off the water and wash once again. Keep this ready aside. 

** Sprinkle water over poha and make it wet so that the poha soaks in water properly and gets mashed properly. Do not add in excess water, just to make it wet properly. Prepare this just before you start grinding for the dosa. 

** Put washed and kept ready urad dal and rice in a mixer grinder or wet grinder along with the soaked methi seeds along with the water in which it is soaked and grind to a smooth batter with say about 1-2 cups. Please do not add in more water. This is a thick dosa and addition of more water will make the batter thin. 

** When the batter has become smooth without any grains left add in the mashed poha and further grind till all the ingredients are well mixed and the batter turns to a very smooth consistency. Remove the batter in a large vessel, cover with a tight lid, and keep it to ferment overnight or for atleast 8 hours. 

** Note : Keep this a batter in a large vessel, as the batter rises on fermenting. Though I had kept the batter in a vessel larger 4 times in size of that of batter. Next morning the batter had reached the top and was about to fall through. Another hour it would have. So I suggest you keep it in a large vessel, lest the batter overflow and the batter gets wasted. 

** Next morning or after 8 hours once the batter has fermented add in maida / APF, salt to taste, sugar and beat the batter well. The mixture should become smooth. Keep this aside for 5-10 minutes, for the sugar to get melted. Now add in the cooking soad and mix well. The batter is now ready to be prepared into dosas. Remember the batter should be thick like that of Idly batter, so do not add In water. 

** To Remove the Dosa : Heat a Dosa pan to smoking point, lower the heat to minimum, add a drop or two of ghee and and spread well with spatula or spread it evenly with tissue paper with a light press. Do not press too hard, as the tava is hot, your hands may be burnt, and you may remove all the applied ghee in the pan. I use this method of spreading with tissue to ensure there is no excess ghee, as well as there is a thin layer / film of oil on the Tava. 

** Note : Here throughout removing and seasoning the pan we are using ghee instead of oil which is the normal practice while removing the dosa. This is so coz. as in the name itself spells this is Tuppa Dosa / Ghee Dosa ie Dosa roasted with ghee. 

** Now, add a cupful of batter with a rounded spatula in the center of the tava and spread evenly into a round circle of about 8 inch diameter, just like how you prepare the masala dosa. Use light motion, do not press the spatula too much lest the dosa will tear. Also, see to it that the dosa is spread thick. Remember this is a thick spongy textured dosa. 

** Increase the heat to medium, add a tsp of melted ghee all round the edges of the dosa and let cook uncovered till crispy and evenly browned on the bottom side. The top side will give you a full look full of holes. Check the picture posted on the tava above. Now add in about half a tsp of melted ghee on top of the dosa in drops and gently flip over the dosa with a flat spatula. Remember this dosa is fried crisp with ghee on both sides. 

** Once the top side is flipped, all it tastes is about a minute or so to get crisp fried. Do not over fry or burn the dosa as it looses taste. Now gently remove the dosa and put it on a serving plate. Repeat the procedure with remaining batter and remove the required amount of dosas in similar pattern as mentioned above. The remaining batter should be put in the fridge in a large box immediately for further use later on or else the batter will turn sour. 

** “Bisi Bisi Tuppa Dosa / Hot Hot Ghee Dosa” is done and ready to be served. You have to serve this tuppa dosa hot directly from tava to plate or else it looses its taste. Best if served with any chutney of your choice. I Served the dosa with Spicy Molaga Podi / Gun Powder topped with coconut oil and fresh homemade Butter. However, you may serve with any spicy side dish of your choice too that you prefer. 

** This Tuppa Dosa / Ghee Dosa turned out very delicious and awesome and I am going to try out some different versions of the same that are eagerly cropping up in my mind and waiting to be tried. Till then, try this out and enjoy with your family and friends and yes do send me a mail or leave in a comment of feed back if possible. Any suggestions are also welcome. 

** You can use the search option for "Dosa or Chutney" where you will get many types of dosa dishes prepared. Do try out various types of dishes to relish with dosa / Idly / roti etc. or with dal-chawal too. Enjoy the dishes with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible.

** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of similar type in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. You can also go to my page (add on the left side of blog) and leave a message and I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible … Thank you. I have also started a food group for "Konkani Saraswats" by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" the link of which is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring".