Ghee Dosai

Thin crispy crepe fried in ghee — the Tamil Brahmin approach to the daily dosai uses the same fermented rice-urad dal batter as idli but spreads it in a thin, widening spiral on a seasoned iron tawa (flat griddle), cooks it until the edges curl and the underside turns golden and lacy, and smears a knob of home-churned cow's ghee across the surface as it finishes. The ghee soaks into the hot crepe and turns the edges nutty and slightly caramelised. No oil substitution is accepted in a Tamil Brahmin household; ghee is the only cooking fat for dosai. Eaten with coconut chutney and sambar poured into the folded triangle; the crisp-to-soft gradient from edge to centre is the defining textural quality.