Dosa Vs Thosé

Ever Since I ate my first Dosa, I was trying to figure it out the difference between Sri Lankan Thosé and dosa. When I googled this I found that Dosa and Thosé is same. Because Thosé is actually an Indian Food. The difference I found in Dosa and Thosé is that Dosa is crispy and thinner while Thosé is thick and no crisp. But the way we Sri Lankans make Thosé  , is different from Indian Dosa though actually Dosa and Thosé have to be same. Both of these food got almost the same recipe. Then I wondered why I always felt there is difference. So I searched more about this. At Last I figured out what makes the difference in taste.  Both are same traditionally. But the difference comes with 2 ingredients which are used in making both dosa and Thosé. It’s the Rice and Urad Daal. When we make Dosa , we use Urad Daal (Hindi) or Ulundu (Sinhalese) or Black Gram (English) and Rice grind and make it into a paste. But we use the flour form of both rice and Urad Daal for Thosé most probably in Sri Lanka.  

Recipe for Dosa

Ingredients  

• 3 cups rice
• 1 cup skinless split urad daal 
• 3/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil

Preparation

Wash the rice and urad daal well. Add the fenugreek seeds to the mix and fill enough water in the rice-daal bowl to cover them about 2" deep. Soak overnight. The next morning, drain all the water from the rice and Urad daal. Now put some in a food processor and grind - adding very little water if necessary - to a smooth yet slightly grainy paste. When all the rice-daal mix is ground like this, put it into a large mixing bowl and add enough water to make a batter. The consistency of the batter should be such that it thickly coats a spoon dipped in it.Now add salt to taste and keep the Dosa batter aside in a warm, dark spot, covered, for 6-8 hours. After this fermentation, stir the batter well. It is now ready to make Dosas.

Put some cooking oil in a bowl and keep ready. Fill the bawl upto the 3/4 level with Dosa batter. Gently pour this batter onto the center of a pan - just as you would for a pancake - till the bowl is empty.

Now begin to spread the batter in sweeping circular motions to form a pancake. When the upper surface begins to look cooked (it will no longer look soft or runny), flip the Dosa. By this time, ideally, the surface that was underneath should be light golden in color. Allow to cook for 1 minute after flipping.

The Dosa is done.So Roll it and Enjoy the taste with Sambar or Coconut Chutney. 

Recipe for Thosé

• 1 cup Urad daal flour
• 2 cups white rice flour
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp baking soda
• a pinch of fenugreek seeds 

Preparation

Mix all ingredients and cover and keep aside for at least one hour. The batter should not be too thick. Almost like a pancake consistency.(add water as needed) Mix the above to the batter. Heat a pan until very hot. Apply  oil with a pastry brush. Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle and spread it around with the back of a spoon. Flip over and cook the other side.The Thosé  is done.So Roll it and Enjoy the taste with Sambar or Coconut Chutney. 

So Enjoy! :) 

Recipes and Pictures courtesy : indianfood.about.com and srilankanrecipes.info

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