Potato Masala For Dosai/Poori
This is the ubiquitous stuffing that goes inside the crispy golden folds of dosai (please don’t call it pancakes). Also a popular side dish for pooris, specifically in the southern parts of India, called poori masal. Favorite of almost anyone, it’s a very simple dish to make.
Servings Prep Time
4servings 15mins
Cook Time
10mins
Servings Prep Time
4servings 15mins
Cook Time
10mins
Ingredients
  • 4-6medium potatoes
  • 1big white onionI prefer white onions in this; red onions would clash with their color
  • 2inch piece of fresh ginger root
  • 3-4green chilies
  • 1tbsp Salt
  • 1small lime, juicedoptional
  • 1/2tsp garam masala
  • 1/2tsp Turmeric powder
Tempering Ingredients
  • 2tbsp oil
  • 1tsp Mustard seeds
  • 1tbsp chana dal
  • 1tsp urad dal
  • 1sprig Curry leaves
  • 1/2tsp Hing
  • 1/2cup cilantro for garnish
Instructions
  1. Pressure cook/boil potatoes until fork tender; Overcooking is completely fine. Let cool, and peel
  2. Chop onions into slivers, chilies into rounds, roughly mince or grate ginger
  3. Heat oil in a baanali/kadai
  4. When hot, add mustard seeds, and let splutter; followed by chana and urad dal, and hing; let the dals get golden
  5. Add onions and a pinch of salt, saute until translucent; add green chilies and ginger; saute
  6. Add turmeric and curry leaves, toss everything together
  7. Now crumble potatoes or mash with a potato masher, so that there aren’t any big pieces, add to the pot, with the rest of the salt
  8. Give it a good mix, and cook for a few minutes, covered. If you like it dry, skip the next step
  9. Some folks like this to be a little runny/semi gravy like. If you do, add about half a cup of hot water, mix thoroughly, and cook covered for a couple of minutes
  10. Turn off the heat; sprinkle the garam masala, drizzle lime/lemon juice, and garnish with fresh finely chopped cilantro
  11. Serve inside dosai, or with pooris.
Recipe Notes

Pressure Cooking Tips:

Potatoes cook roughly in the same time as rice; that would be your guide for cooking time.

I always pressure cook potatoes, either in a pressure cooker or now, in the Instant pot. In the pressure cooker, it cooks in roughly 8 mins. With the instant pot, through experimenting with different times, I found that the rice setting (12 mins by default) cooks it perfectly for this curry, with letting it drop pressure naturally (NPR). QPR or quick pressure release left the potatoes partly undercooked in spots, and resulted in the curry being a bit hard in parts.

(If you want it to hold its shape for the potato roast, cook it about 2 minutes less or do a quick pressure release and don’t let it sit to release pressure naturally.)

 

Video For Mysore Masala Dosai

This is a very simple curry to make, and except for the tempering ingredients, you get everything in a regular store.

I like this curry dry, but my husband likes it a bit runny, so we compromise and settle for an in-between texture.

Great for Sunday brunches!