How to Know Your Dosa from Your Dosakaya!

September 18, 2023

Spread the love

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Dosa and dosakayamay sound alike in name but are very different other than they are , two favorite Southern Indian dishes and have come to gain a local following. Let us introduce you to them both.

Dosas are the large, thin pancake from southern India, made from a fermented batter of rice and lentil flours. Everyone remembers the whimsically shaped dosas once they have seen them. The two most common resemble a very crisp crepe or a puffy mushroom cap.

Dosakaya is lesser known outside of India and southeast Asia. It is a veggie very much like a sweet cucumber or zucchini. Because out has a very neutral taste like these two, dosakaya is usually used in dishes such as dal or curries with slightly spicy seasoning.

A dosakaya dal at Banana Leaf Redondo Beach

Goat curry with dal at Banana Leaf, Redondo Beach

Dosas in the shape of cylinders can be eaten plain (paper dosas, our friend Barbara Hansen’s favorite way) or filled with potatoes or other vegetables. And they can be made in several shapes

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_3307.jpg — An extra long cylinder dosa at Annapurna vegetarian restaurant

They can be prepared extra long at Annapurna vegetarian restaurant or in other shapes. This is a conical shape dosa with a “cap” and chutneys and sauces.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2015-07-16-17.18.22-1.jpg

Another favorite dosa is a pillowy version that look like a mushroom head is shown below. It is just as much fun to eat it as it to see it!

To read more about Annapurna, please see:

Rare Southern Fare at Annapurna Indian Vegetarian in Culver City

Best South Indian Breakfast at Annapurna

Making a dosa outside on the grill at Banana Leaf in Redondo Beach

A potato and pea stuffed cylinder dosa “wrap” at Banana Leaf in Redondo Beach

Cookbook author Faye Levy with an extra generous dosa “wrap” to share

In the kitchen with a dosa at Mayura Kitchen

To read our article on a dosa cooking class at Annapurna, please see:

Mayura Chefs Teach Cooking Secrets of Famous Southern Dosa

Banana Leaf will be offering performance dosa breakfasts on the first and Saturday of the month. Lessons will also be offered. Watch for them and special celebrity guest chefs, and come and join in the fun.