Chicken Masala Dosa

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A crisp, lacy South Indian crepe wrapped around a fast chicken masala built from rotisserie or leftover chicken. Store-bought dosa batter does the fermenting for you, so all your attention goes where it belongs: getting the pan right and spreading a paper-thin, golden dosa. Served with a five-minute coconut chutney.

Ingredients

• 4 cup prepared dosa batter (refrigerated, from an Indian grocer)
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt (only if batter is unsalted)
• 1/4 cup water, plus more as needed
• 3 tbsp ghee or neutral oil, for cooking

• 3 cup shredded cooked rotisserie chicken, skin removed
• 3 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 12 fresh curry leaves (optional but worth it)
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 3 clove garlic, minced
• 1 serrano chile, thinly sliced
• 1 medium russet potato, boiled, peeled and coarsely crushed
• 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chile powder
• 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chicken broth or water
• 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (frozen and thawed, or dried)
• 1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts or roasted chana dal
• 1 serrano chile
• 1 tsp ginger, chopped
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup cold water, plus more as needed
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

1. Pull the dosa batter out of the fridge 45 minutes before cooking so it comes to room temperature — cold batter sticks and tears. Stir it well, taste for salt, and thin with water a tablespoon at a time until it flows off the spoon like heavy cream and coats it thinly. It should not be as loose as milk or as thick as pancake batter.
2. Make the chutney: blend the coconut, peanuts, serrano, ginger, salt, and 1/2 cup cold water until fairly smooth, 60–90 seconds, scraping down once. Add water a tablespoon at a time to reach a thick, spoonable consistency. Stir in the lemon juice and refrigerate.
3. Start the filling: heat 3 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high. Add the mustard seeds and wait until they pop, about 30 seconds, then add the cumin seeds and curry leaves and stand back — they will spit for 10 seconds.
4. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 7–8 minutes until deeply golden at the edges. Add the ginger, garlic, and serrano and cook 90 seconds more, until the raw garlic smell is gone.
5. Add the coriander, Kashmiri chile powder, and turmeric and stir for 30 seconds in the hot oil to bloom. Immediately add the crushed tomatoes and cook 3–4 minutes, mashing, until the mixture darkens and pulls away from the pan.
6. Stir in the shredded chicken, crushed potato, broth, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook 4–5 minutes, tossing, until the liquid is mostly absorbed and the filling is moist but not wet — it should mound on a spoon without weeping. Off heat, stir in the garam masala, cilantro, and lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt. Keep warm, loosely covered.
7. Heat a 10- or 12-inch cast iron or carbon steel skillet (or a flat nonstick pan) over medium-high for 4–5 minutes. Test it: flick a few drops of water on the surface — they should sizzle and skate, not vanish instantly. If they evaporate on contact, the pan is too hot; pull it off the heat for 30 seconds.
8. Rub the pan with a lightly oiled paper towel, then wipe almost all of it away. Pour a scant 1/2 cup batter into the center and, using the flat bottom of the ladle, spread it outward in a continuous spiral from the center to the edge in one smooth 5-second motion. Don't go back over gaps; they become the lace.
9. Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon ghee around the rim. Cook undisturbed 2–3 minutes over medium-high until the surface looks dry and matte, the edges lift on their own, and the underside is dotted golden brown. Do not flip a thin dosa — it crisps from one side only.
10. Spoon about 1/2 cup filling in a line across the center, fold the dosa over it (or roll it), slide onto a plate, and serve immediately with coconut chutney. Wipe the pan with the oiled towel between dosas and let it re-heat 20–30 seconds before the next one. Repeat for 8 dosas total, 2 per person.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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