Challa Attu – The Truly Cool Dosa

Challa Attu literally means a cool dosa; challa means cool and attu means dosa in Telugu. It derives its name from the buttermilk (traditional cooling agent) that it contains in plenty.

Challa attu is a great favourite with my family. It is very easy to make and is done in a jiffy. We make this often in summer because it needs a healthy dose of sour buttermilk that is available a plenty because of the heat.

While you can have it as a breakfast item, I prefer to have it as a snack in the evening as it is a bit heavy.

You can see that the Challa Attu is a variation of Rava Dosa. Challa Attu is soft and fluffy, while the Rava Dosa is   crisper. Also, Challa Attu needs lesser time to cook as also lesser amount of oil.

How to Make Challa Attu

Ingredients

1. Rice Flour – 1 Cup
2. Maida/Refined Flour – 1/2 Cup
3. Sour Curd – 3/4 Cup
4. Water – 2 Cups
5. Green Chillies – 4 to 6
6. Onion (optional) – 1 small
7. Jeera/Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp
8. Salt to Taste

Method to Make the Batter

1. Sieve the rice flour, maida, and salt together.
2. Churn the sour curd and water together to form butter milk.
3. Pound together the green chillies and jeera to form a coarse paste.
4. Add to the buttermilk.
5. In a large bowl, gradually add the buttermilk to the flour mix while stirring constantly.
6. Mix well till it forms a smooth batter and there are no lumps.

Method to Make the Attu

1. Heat a tava till it is hot.
2. Spread about 1/2 tsp of oil evenly on the surface.
3. Pour a ladle of batter, starting from the outer edge and moving inwards.
4. Drizzle a few drops of oil along the edges.
5. Cook over medium heat for about 5 mins.
6. Using a spatula, loosen the edges and gradually work your way towards the centre.
7. Flip the dosa and drizzle a few drops of oil along the edges.
8. Cook over medium heat for about 2-3 mins.
9. Serve hot with Senaga Pindi Pachadi.

Tips

• Do ensure that the curd is really sour.
• If your curd is not sour, then add about 2 pinches of Soda Bicarb to the batter.
• If you are a novice at making dosas, use a non-stick one for this dosa. It has a tendency to stick.
• The first dosa will always stick. I normally feed the first dosa to the birds. 🙂

Related articles

• Rava Dosa (aahaaramonline.com)
• Pesarattu (Moong Dal Dosa/Green Gram Pancakes) (aahaaramonline.com)
• Senaga Pindi Pachadi (Besan Chutney) – 1 (aahaaramonline.com)
• Chitti Boorelu (aahaaramonline.com)
• Rice Flour Attu (neeluskitchen.wordpress.com)