Dosa History

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Origin

The origins of Dosa has been widely discussed in various literatures and books. A few of them are listen below:

First reference to Dosa occurs in the Tamil Sangam Literature from around 6th century AD. The sanskrit classic Manasollasa written in 1051 AD by Western Chalukya king Somesvara III describes Dosai.
Modern writers have differing and contradicting views on the origin of Dosa. While English food writer Pat Chapman, Lisa Raynor and Indian writer Thangappan Nair state in their books that Dosa originated in Udupi, Karnataka, they do not mention its reference in Tamil sangam literature.
Eminent food scientist K. T. Achaya says Dosa has a two thousand years history in Tamil country.
Edward Farnworth mentions its first reference in Tamil Sangam literature in the sixth century A.D.

Variations of Dosa

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Home made Neer dosa with thick coconut chutney

Though dosa typically refers to the version made with rice and lentils, many other versions of dosa exist and are popular in varying degrees. This is sometimes specific to a region in India. Other types of dosa include:^[14]^[15]^[16]

Egg dosa - a dosa spread with an omelette.
Chilli dosa - chilli powder is spread on the dosa.
Open dosa - chutney powder is spread on the dosa while cooking. Before serving spiced & mashed potato is placed on top.
Onion dosa - chopped and sautéd onions are spread on the dosa.
Ghee (thuppa/neyyi) dosa - ghee is used instead of oil while frying the dosa.
Butter dosa - butter is used instead of oil while frying dosa and a small amount on top of it while serving.
Roast - the dosa is spread thinly and fried until crisp.
Kerala Dosa - a different kind of traditional dosa, that is small, thick, soft and spongy.More like a pancake and somewhat similar to appam, with the difference that it is flat and that dal is used in the batter.External Image
Family roast - a long dosa which can be spread over 2 or 3 feet.
Paper dosa - a long and very thin delicate dosa which can be spread over 2 feet.
Green dosa - a dosa stuffed with fresh vegetables and mint chutney.
Chow-chow dosa - a dosa stuffed with (Indian flavored) Chinese noodles.
Cheese dosa - a dosa stuffed with cheese.
Masala dosa - a dosa stuffed with spiced potatoes (famous in South India).
Methi dosa - a dosa flavoured with fenugreek.

Oothappam - Thick round dosa in Tamilnadu.
Set dose - a popular type of dosa in Karnataka, which is cooked only on one side and is served in a set of two to three, hence the name.
Benne dose - similar to masala or set dosa but smaller in size. Served with liberal helpings of butter sprinkled on it. Said to have originated in the Davanagere district of the state of Karnataka
Cabbage dosa - a dosa made out of cabbage. Paste is prepared with rice, red chillies, Asfotedia and Turmeric. Once the batter is ready, cabbage cut into small pieces is added to the paste and left for about 30 mins. Once this is done, the batter is poured and the dosa is made crisp.
Neer dosa - a dosa prepared from rice unique to Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada districts.
70 MM Dosa - similar to Masala Dosa, but it is bigger in size, about 60 cm in diameter.
American chopsuey dosa - Dosa served with a filling of fried noodles and tomato ketchup.

Masala dosa

Masala dosa as served in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Masala dosa showing potato masala filling

The ubiquitous Indian dish, masala dosa has its origins in Udupi, Karnataka.^[17] A masala dosa is made by stuffing a dosa with a lightly cooked filling of potatoes, fried onions and spices. It wraps the dosa around an onion and potato curry or sabji.
Before it was invented, plain dosa was served with potato curry (batata bhaji) without onions in a separate cup. During a shortage of potatoes, method was created where potato was mashed and sauteed with onions together with other spices. This was then placed inside the dosa instead of a separate cup. This was done to hide the onions which are not eaten by orthodox Hindus and Jains.^{[citation needed]} People enjoyed this new dosa. It came to be known as "Masala Dosa", from the sautéeing of spices (masala) during the preparation of the bhaji.^{[citation needed]}

Udaya Prod

Dosa History

Origin

Variations of Dosa

Masala dosa