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Recipe card
About Konkani Mushti Dosa (Polo, Dose)
Mushti Polo is a traditional breakfast recipe in Konkani cuisine, Mangalore Udupi region. It is called mushti polo, where mushti means ‘handful or fistful’ and polo means dosa, “Handful of nutrition.” Musti polo is called mushy dose or avalakki dosa in Kannada, Atukula Dosa in Telugu, Aval Dosa in Tamil, or Rice pancakes in English. In mushti dosa recipe, except for rice, all the other main ingredients (urad dal, coconut, and poha) are a handful of measures. When the dosa batter is ground to a smooth consistency and fermented, you can make perfect mushti dosas every time. Traditionally, mushti dosa is thicker than other South Indian dosas and is cooked only on one side. A perfect musti dosa should have a lot of holes on its surface, like set dosa, surnali dosa. The addition of coconut and poha when grinding the batter makes this dosa extremely soft and airy at the top and gives it a crispy bottom when cooked on one side. However, when I prepare this at home, I make both thick dosas, as well as thin, crispy versions. Mushti polo or dosa tastes the best when served with hing coconut chutney. This was my guest post for Vidhya’s Vegetarian Kitchen. You can follow Vidhya on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter.
Ingredients
Rice: Dosa rice works the best. You can use raw rice like sona masuri or ponni Poha: I have used thick poha in the recipe; thin ones can also be used. Coconut: South Indians generally like to grate and use fresh coconut to make any dish. If unavailable, use frozen or dried coconut.
Step-by-step instructions
Making of dosa batter
Wash and soak rice, urad dal and methi seeds together for 4 hours and drain them. Wash the poha or beaten rice just before grinding the dosa batter. Now grind together the soaked ingredients, poha, and grated coconut by adding water little by little to form a smooth batter. Transfer this to a big bowl and allow it to ferment overnight. Next morning, add salt to the batter and mix well.
How to cook dosa?
Heat the tava or pan on medium heat. Grease it with a little oil if using cast iron tava. Once the tava is hot and on a medium flame, pour a laddle full of batter and allow it to spread by itself. Drizzle oil around the edges. You will see the holes appearing on the top surface. Cover it with a lid and cook on a medium flame for 2 to 3 minutes or until the dosa becomes golden at the bottom. Repeat the process for the remaining batter. Serve hot with hing chutney and enjoy.
Tips
If the weather is cold, then grind the batter using warm water or preheat the oven to 150 degrees F, switch off the oven, and rest the batter overnight. You don’t need a wet grinder to make this dosa. It works the best in a mixie jar. As mushti polo is traditionally prepared as a thick dosa, do not spread the batter once you pour on a hot tava - like you would generally do with other dosas. I have cooked this dosa in both non-stick and cast iron tava. If the batter is prepared as instructed, these dosas are very easy to handle. Kids generally like to eat crispy dosas, so feel free to take thin, crispy dosas using the same batter. Because you are adding poha, dosa may turn black soon if cooked in high flame. Try to use fistful measurements for coconut, poha, and urad dal, except for rice, to make it the traditional grandmom’s way!
How to serve dosa?
Like any other dosa this dosa can be served with any South Indian chutney. Check out our 5 different chutney recipes that go well with any dosa recipe. To make it hotel-style, serve it with sambar. This tastes good with prawn curry, chicken curry, vegetable korma, etc. You can also serve it with sweetened coconut milk like banana rasayana, mango rasayana, etc.
More konkani breakfast recipes
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