The famous Mumbai street food, jini dosa, in my way! Here is my spicy and less cheesy, and less buttery homestyle jini dosa rolls with chunky vegetable filling.
As you all know, this year, I am sharing different dosa varieties in alphabetical order, and every month I have been sharing three recipes. This April, I will be sharing dosa starting with J, K, and L, and that’s the blogging marathon theme for this week. Let’s start with jini dosa.
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What is jini dosa | jini roll dosa
Jini dosa is one of the popular fusion dosa recipes, and it’s a well-known street food recipe in Mumbai. We prepare a spice filling with vegetables, stuff it inside the dosa, top it up with a generous amount of cheese, roll it, and cut it into small pieces. You can find many different versions of this jini dosa, but here is my guilt-free version of homestyle jini dosa.
Homestyle jini dosa
I don’t try to make restaurant-style food at home and ask/expect homestyle food in the restaurant. :-) I enjoy restaurant food, and when I recreate them in my kitchen, I add my spin and make it my way, of course, with less fat and sodium.
Are you wondering why I am calling this homestyle dosa?
- I cook the filling separately and spread it on the dosa. I am not mixing and cooking the filling on the dosa like in street food stalls.
- My dosa is not greasy. I haven’t loaded it with butter or cheese.
- The filling is chunky and loaded with vegetables.
- My filling is not creamy or smooth, and along with sauces, I have more vegetables.
- I did not make any special dosa batter for this recipe. I used my regular idli-dosa batter recipe.
Like every other homemade recipe, you can customize the recipe to meet your dietary specifications and needs.
Ingredients required
For the base
Dosa batter: For the jini dosa, the main ingredient is the dosa batter. I used my homemade idli-dosa batter. I used brown idli rice to make the dosa instead of the regular one. Any dosa batter which is spreadable works well for this jini dosa.
For the filling
Oil and butter: I used butter and oil to saute the vegetables. For a vegan version, skip the butter and use only oil.
Vegetables: We need onion, green chilies, garlic, capsicum, and cabbage. I have orange and yellow bell peppers for the color. You can use any one color and green is perfectly fine too.
Sauces: I have used Schezwan chutney, tomato paste, and tomato ketchup. I did not use fresh tomatoes, so I went with tomato paste.
Spices: Garam masala and pav bhaji masala adds that required kick to the filling. And obviously, we need salt too.
Toppings
Cheese: I used a grated and mixed cheese blend. Cheddar or Mexican cheese blend is my favorite option. But mozzarella works too. I did not use any other toppings. You can add some spring onions and cilantro for added flavor.
Please check the recipe card for detailed measures.
Versatile jini dosa filling recipe
The jini dosa filling is versatile, and you can use it as a sandwich filling or mix it with rice or noodles to make fried rice or noodles recipe.As we are making the filling separately, you can prepare it well ahead or batch cook it as a part of your weekend meal prep and use it in different dishes.
Frequently asked questions
If you are making the dosa in a cast iron pan, using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dosa into strips and carefully roll them, as shown in the video. If you are using non-stick tawa, roll the dosa, transfer it to a cutting board, and cut them as shown in the video. Alternatively, you can transfer the unrolled dosa to the cutting board and cut them into strips, and roll the dosa.
Depending upon the dosa size, the filling amount varies. Add a sufficient amount of filling so that it covers the entire dosa. If you add too much filling, don’t cut the dosa into strips and roll them. Instead, fold them and serve. Hey, it’s homestyle dosa, and make it the way you want.
I am not sure how the street food vendors prepare the dosa batter. But I went with my regular idli dosa batter. We need a well-fermented and spreadable dosa batter; you can either use the homemade or store-bought dosa batter. I haven’t experimented with this dosa with instant or no-ferment dosa varieties.
If you are using a chunky filling like mine, spreading the dosa super thin like paper dosa won’t work. The filling will break the dosa. So spread it even but not so thick. If your filling is creamy and not chunky, go for a slightly thin dosa.
My personal choice would be mild cheddar or Mexican cheese blend. You can use cheese of your choice. Trust me, even without the cheese; the dosa is delicious.
Dietary specifications and serving suggestions
This jini dosa is a nut-free and gluten-free dosa. Make sure the sauces you are using are gluten-free. Skip the butter and cheese for a vegan version.
This dosa doesn’t need any separate side dishes. But feel free to serve it with coconut chutney or mixed nuts chutney.
Yield – With the below measure, assuming you add approximately 2 to 3 tbsp of filling for each dosa yields 6 to 7 jini dosa rolls.
VVK Tips & Variations
- Once the dosa tawa is hot, reduce the heat to medium and add the dosa batter. Cook the dosa in medium to medium-low heat and reduce the heat to low before adding the filling and the cheese. Cook in low flame till the cheese melts, and then roll the dosa. Do not cook in high heat. Cooking in medium to medium-low heat is the key here.
- Instead of Schezwan chutney, you can add sriracha or Schezwan sauce, and instead of ketchup, you can add the tomato-chili sauce. The amount of the sauce depends on personal choice and preference.
- I did not use any tomatoes and instead went with store-bought tomato sauce. You can add two small ripe tomatoes, cook until they are mushy, and then add the vegetables.
- Finely grate the cabbage and chop the bell peppers for a smooth and creamy filling. Cook till the vegetables are soft, mash them using a potato masher, and bring it to pav bhaji-like consistency.
Watch me make jini dosa
How to make jini dosa
Prepare the filling
- Combine the Schezwan chutney, ketchup, and tomato paste, in a bowl. Mix well and set it aside.
- Heat a pan and add oil and butter. Add the chopped onion, garlic, and green chilies when it’s hot.
- Add the cabbage, bell peppers, and salt when the onions are soft. Mix well and cook the veggies for 5 to 6 minutes until the veggies soften a bit. I kept my filling chunky and crunchy.
- Now add the sauce, garam masala and pav bhaji masala.
- Mix well, cook for 3 to 4 minutes, and turn off the heat. Add the cilantro and set it aside.
Prepare the jini dosa
- Heat a well seasoned cast-iron pan, and when it is hot, reduce the heat to medium-low. Take a spoon/ladle full of batter and pour it onto the pan. Spread it evenly. Spread some oil around the edges; ½ tsp should be sufficient. Let the top side cook.
- Now take two to three tbsp of the prepared filling, add it to the dosa, spread it evenly, and let it cook for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Then add the cheese.
- (Refer video) If using a cast-iron pan, at this stage, using a pizza cutter, cut the dosa into strips.
- Now carefully roll the cut strips(one by one) and remove them from the pan.
- If using a non-stick pan or if you are not comfortable cutting and rolling the dosa rolls on the pan, take the dosa and place it on the cutting board and roll it and roll the dosa and place the rolled dosa on the cutting board and cut them. Enjoy the dosa immediately.
Recipe notes
- Use any dosa batter of your choice. You should be able to spread it; that’s the key.
- Adjust the spices, sauces, and vegetables to taste.
Explore other dosa varieties
PS: If you try this jini dosa, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it ASAP. Follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas! Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more recipe updates! You can also sign-up for my newsletter for weekly updates.
📖 Recipe
Jini Dosa | Homestyle Jini Dosa Rolls
Equipment
- 1 Saucepan or kadai
- 1 Tawa or Griddle
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml; 1 cup = 240ml;
- 2 cups dosa batter
- 3 tsps oil for the dosa. ½ tsp for each dosa
For the filling
- 1.5 tbsp ketchup heaped
- 2 tbsp Schezwan chutney
- 1.5 tbsp tomato paste heaped
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp oil
- ½ tbsp butter
- ¾ cup onion chopped
- 3 green chilies finely chopped or to taste
- 2 garlic cloves chopped (approx 4 grams)
- 1 cup cabbage shredded
- 1 cup bell peppers chopped
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp pav bhaji masala
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
Toppings
- ¾ cup cheese grated approx 2 tbsp for each dosa
Instructions
- Combine the Schezwan chutney, ketchup, and tomato paste, in a bowl. Mix well and set it aside.
- Heat a pan and add oil and butter. Add the chopped onion, garlic, and green chilies when it’s hot.
- Add the cabbage, bell peppers, and salt when the onions are soft. Mix well and cook the veggies for 5 to 6 minutes until the veggies soften a bit. I kept my filling chunky and crunchy.
- Now add the sauce, garam masala and pav bhaji masala.
- Mix well, cook for 3 to 4 minutes, and turn off the heat. Add the cilantro and set it aside.
- Heat a well seasoned cast-iron pan, and when it is hot, reduce the heat to medium-low. Take a spoon/ladle full of batter and pour it onto the pan. Spread it evenly. Spread some oil around the edges; ½ tsp should be sufficient. Let the top side cook.
- Now take two to three tbsp of the prepared filling, add it to the dosa, spread it evenly, and let it cook for 15 to 20 seconds. Then add the cheese.
- If using a cast-iron pan, at this stage, using a pizza cutter, cut the dosa into strips.
- Now carefully roll the cut strips(one by one) and remove them from the pan.
- If using a non-stick pan or if you are not comfortable cutting and rolling the dosa rolls on the pan, take the dosa and place it on the cutting board and roll it and roll the dosa and place the rolled dosa on the cutting board and cut them. Enjoy the dosa immediately.
Video
Notes
- Use any dosa batter of your choice. You should be able to spread it; that’s the key.
- Adjust the spices, sauces, and vegetables to taste.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Our favorite fusion dosa and love the drool worthy clicks! The flavors sound amazing!
Thanks Radha.
awesome clicks. The jini dosa is a rage here in Mumbai, amongst the city dwellers. Good to see a homemade version for this !
Thanks :-)
Impossible to just stop with two. Love this dosa and it’s been forever since I made it. Time to make some Dosa batter. Beautiful pictures, Vidya
:-) Thanks