A thick, soft, spongy fermented rice and urad dal pancake — the specific breakfast of the Konkan and Saraswat communities of coastal Maharashtra. Slightly thicker and sourer than a dosa, softer and more cake-like. Made from a batter fermented overnight.
Ingredients
1.5 cups raw rice — soaked 4 hours
1/2 cup urad dal — soaked 4 hours
1/4 cup cooked rice (left-over or freshly cooked and cooled — adds sourness)
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds — soaked with the urad dal
salt
oil for the griddle
Method
Grind the batter: Drain the soaked rice and urad dal with fenugreek. Add the cooked rice. Grind together, adding water gradually, to a smooth, flowing batter — slightly thicker than dosa batter.
Ferment overnight: Transfer batter to a large vessel (it will expand). Cover and rest at room temperature 8 to 12 hours. In warmer weather it ferments faster.
Check the fermentation: The batter should be visibly risen, bubbly and smell pleasantly sour. If not sufficiently fermented, rest 2 more hours.
Add salt: Add salt just before making — adding salt too early slows fermentation.
Heat the griddle: Heat a flat griddle on medium-low. Apply a few drops of oil and spread with a cloth.
Pour the batter: Pour a large ladle of batter onto the griddle. The amboli batter is thicker than dosa — do not spread it. It will form a thick, irregular round naturally.
Cover and cook: Cover the griddle with a lid. Cook on medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the surface changes from wet and shiny to set and dry with small holes forming.
Do not flip: Unlike a dosa, amboli is cooked only on one side and served with the smooth bottom side up.
Remove: Slide off the griddle with a flat spatula.
Serve: Serve immediately with coconut chutney, shengdana chutney or with a bowl of fish curry or chicken rassa for dipping.
Note: Amboli is the traditional rice pancake of the Konkan coast and the Saraswat Brahmin community of coastal Maharashtra — a community of fisherfolk and traders whose food culture bridges the Konkan and Karnataka traditions. The amboli is softer, thicker and more sour than a dosa due to the addition of cooked rice to the batter which enhances fermentation and sourness. It is a specifically coastal preparation — the interior Maharashtra communities eat bhakri rather than amboli.