Dosas, according to The New Laurel's Kitchen (which isn't that new as it came out in 1986) are "a classic South Indian pancake". The cookbook goes on to describe it as a different way of thinking about meal preparation as you start two days in advance. That doesn't make them hard to make, it just means you need to plan in advance.

First, let me get the usano idea of a pancake out of the picture.