Malleswaram Podi dosa is a popular dosa in the Malleswaram area of Bengaluru. It is a thin, crispy benne dosa sprinkled all over with a special gun powder and generously dossed with butter or ghee. It is served with coconut chutney, aloo palya and sambar.
Malleswaram Style Podi Dosa Recipe
The first time I had this dosa is in Delhi, It was love at first sight, or rather love at first bite. The dosa is crispy on the exterior and soft and spongy in the centre. I had Malleswaram dosa which is a unique crispy dosa loaded with spicy podi and ghee which was even better.
Jump to:
Me and my husband loved it so much which inspired me to try it at home. Past few months I have been experimenting with variety of ingredients and measurements. Finally settled with this recipe, the batter is easy to make, turns out perfect, and tastes great. But what makes Malleswaram dosa special is the gun powder that is sprinkled all over the dosa.
About Malleswaram Style Podi Dosa Recipe
Malleswaram dosa is a special kind of podi dosa made with benne dosa batter. The dosa itself is super crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. But what makes it special is the unique gun powder or idli podi that is sprinkled all over the dosa. And the insane amount of butter or ghee that is used to cook the dosa.
Unlike our Podi Uthappam, this dosa uses lots of idli podi and generous amount of ghee. The idli podi is not that spicy too, it is pretty mild in taste. The idli powder is made with chana dal, urad dal, chillies, curry leaves.
But what makes it special is the addition of tamarind, jaggery and coconut. The idli podi tastes slightly tangy and sweet.
When I first tasted the dosa, it almost looked like a thick paste of idli podi and ghee is applied all over the dosa. They were so generous with the idli podi and ghee. That’s what made the Malleswaram style dosa even more special.
Similar Recipes
What makes the dosa special is it is thin and crisp golden brown colour around the edges with thick and soft interior. Be generous with the idli podi and amount of ghee or butter to cook dosa. This style of dosa has become popular at several Bengaluru breakfast spots because the ghee and podi which makes it seriously addictive.
Follow the steps mentioned below to ferment the dosa batter really well which helps with the colour. To make the dosa even more special, add a dollop of potato masala to make masala dosa. Potato masala is called as aloo palya here in Karnataka.
Malleswaram-style podi dosa is so unique that it uses different variations. Some restaurants spread a thin smear of red chutney over the dosa before sprinkling the podi.
When I recreated this dosa, I sprinkled podi generously over the dosa and drizzled with ghee. But some restaurants make paste of idli podi and ghee and apply that all over the dosa.
Ingredients
- Benne Dosa Batter – The batter is made with idli rice, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, poha, and chana dal. The batter is let to ferment overnight. This helps create deep golden colour dosa.
- Urad Dal – I used whole white urad dal to make idli podi. When you roast it gets golden brown in colour and gets aromatic.
- Split Chana Dal – split chana dal adds taste and you have to roast them really well.
- Curry leaves – be generous with curry leaves. Make sure to use fresh curry leaves.
- Dry Red Chillies – depending on your taste, you can add more or less to taste. Kashmiri chillies add colour to the podi.
- Asafoetida – purely to aroma and helps with digestion.
- Coconut – use dry coconut also known as copra is used. You can use desiccated coconut too.
- Flavourings – jaggery, salt, tamarind are the flavouring for this idli podi.
- Ghee – be generous with the ghee or butter to cook dosa till golden brown for flavour and taste.
Step by Step Pictures
Making Dosa Batter
1)Take rice, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, poha and chana dal in a bowl.
2)Wash rice and dal, Rinse them 2 times. Strain the water.
3)Cover with water and allow them to soak for 6 to 8 Hours or overnight.
4)Next day strain the soaked rice and dal using a slotted spoon.
5) Add directly to a blender jar. Pour little water and grind to a slightly smooth mixture.
6)Make sure the batter is thick and not too runny.
7)Now pour the batter in a bowl. Repeat with remaining rice.
8)Once all the batter is ground, add salt. It helps with the fermentation.
9) Mix the batter using your hands which helps with the fermentation. Now cover it with a plate. Set aside to ferment for 6 to 8 hours. During summer season the fermentation happens even faster.
10)After 6 to 8 Hours, The batter will be well fermented and almost more than double the volume.
Making Gun powder (Idli Podi)
11)Now to make the podi, take urad dal, chana dal, dry red chillies, curry leaves, in a kadai.
12)Roast on low medium heat until light golden.
13)Add in asafoetida and roast again till light golden in colour and aromatic.
14)Roast the asafoetida till it is aromatic.
15)Now the dal is well roasted.
16)Now add in the coconut and roast till golden brown.
17)Remove this from heat and allow to cool completely.
18)Now take this in a blender, add in tamarind, salt, jaggery and powder till slightly coarsely ground.
19)You can grind it as per your liking. Remove from the blender, cool it for 10 minutes. Store in an air tight container.
Cooking Podi Dosa
20)I removed some batter to a separate bowl before adding water. Gently mix the batter using a ladle. If the batter looks too thick, you can add some water to make it slightly loose.
21)Now heat a cast iron dosa pan on high heat. Once the pan is hot, sprinkle some water over the tawa. It will sizzle, so stay back.
22) and wipe it well with a paper towel. I prefer using a clean cloth. This helps reduce and maintain the temperature.
23)Now the pan is seasoned. Don’t apply oil on the tawa, the pan has to be dry and seasoned when you pour the batter.
24)Also make sure you have your ghee or butter ready. Here I am using buffalo ghee, I like to melt it slightly before adding in the dosa.
25)Now take the batter and pour in the centre of the pan. Give pressure and make it into a slightly thick round. Don’t spread it too thin. Benne dosa has to be slightly thicker. Also giving pressure helps the batter stick really well to the dosa pan, which helps with the even golden colour.
26)Sprinkle generous amount of the idli podi all over the dosa. I used around 3 to 4 tablespoon of idli podi.
27)Drizzle butter or ghee all over the dosa and cook until golden brown on the base. By this time the top will be cooked.
28)Gently fold the dosa.
28)Remove the dosa using spatula and serve hot with chutney.
Expert Tips
- The speciality of malleswaram dosa is in the podi. You have to be generous with the podi and ghee when cooking dosa.
- Idli podi and dosa batter can be made 2 days in advance.
- You can store the podi at room temperature for upto 10 days.
- Use generous amount of ghee or butter to cook the dosa.
- Always choose cast iron tawa to cook this dosa for even colour.
Serving and Storage
Benne Podi dosa tastes best when served hot with coconut chutney, idli podi or sambar. Leftover dosa batter can be stored in fridge and used throughout the week. Remove the batter from fridge atleast 30 minutes before cooking.
📖 Get Recipe
Malleswaram Style Benne Podi Dosa Recipe
Malleswaram Benne Podi dosa is a popular dosa in the Malleswaram area of Bengaluru. It is a thin, crispy benne dosa sprinkled all over with a special gun powder and generously dossed with butter or ghee. It is served with coconut chutney, aloo palya and sambar.
Ingredients
For Gun Powder (Idli Podi)
Instructions
Take rice, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, poha and chana dal in a bowl. Rinse them 2 times. Cover with water and allow them to soak for 6 to 8 Hours or overnight.
Next day strain the soaked rice and dal using a slotted spoon and add directly to a blender jar. Pour little water and grind to a slightly smooth mixture. Make sure the batter is thick and not too runny.
Now pour the batter in a bowl. Repeat with remaining rice. Once all the batter is ground, add salt and mix well into the batter using your hands which helps with the fermentation.
Now cover it with a plate. Set aside to ferment for 6 to 8 hours.
After 6 to 8 Hours, The batter will be well fermented and almost more than double the volume. Gently mix the batter using a ladle. If the batter looks too thick, you can add some water to make it slightly loose. This is your dosa batter
Now to make the podi, take urad dal, chana dal, dry red chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida in a kadai. Roast on low medium heat until light golden. Now add in the coconut and roast till golden brown. Remove this from heat and allow to cool completely.
Now take this in a blender, add in tamarind, salt, jaggery and powder till slightly coarsely ground. Remove from the blender, cool it for 10 minutes. Store in an air tight container.
Now heat a cast iron dosa pan on high heat. Once the pan is hot, sprinkle some water over the tawa and wipe it well with a clean cloth. This helps season the tawa.
Now take the batter and pour in the center of the pan. Give pressure and make it into a slightly thick round. Don’t spread it too thin. Benne dosa has to be slightly thicker. Also giving pressure helps the batter stick really well to the dosa pan, which helps with the even golden colour.
Now sprinkle the top generously with the prepared podi. I used ¼ cup of the podi for one dosa. Be generous with the podi. Drizzle lots of melted ghee all over the dosa and cook until golden brown on the base. By this time the top will be cooked. Gently remove the dosa using spatula and serve hot with chutney.
