Dosa recipe - This is the popular south Indian breakfast which is made from fermented lentil, rice batter. The batter is spread on hot tawa to make thin crepes and the cooked till golden brown and crisp.
These are full of protein and carbohydrate. They are usually served as a breakfast or light meal/dinner.
There are many number of varieties of dosa recipe made. But this one is simple and basic one that you will get in any South Indian restaurants.
I usually make idli on first day next day with the leftover batter I make dosa.
The folding part here can be done in many ways e.g. folded in half (as you can see in the photo), folded in thirds or folded in cone shape. Any of this is done while it is hot.
** Note: Basically I use just one versatile batter for all kind of recipes whether idli, dosa or uttapam.
Check out other dosa recipes
Rava dosa // Masala dosa // Mysore masala dosa (Coming soon)
I always use my mixer-grinder instead of wet grinder for making idli dosa batter. It works very well. FYI, I use preethi brand which is the only one (Indian style grinder) available for USA. I have good experience with that.
How to make dosa recipe (Step by Step Photos):
1) Take urad dal and fenugreek seeds in a bowl. Rinse them with cold water or wash them under running cold water. But do not overwash them. We are not looking for clear water, cloudy water is fine too.
2) Take both rice (parboiled rice and regular rice) in another bowl. Here I have used sona masoori rice. Rinse or wash them similarly. Again do not over wash them.
3) Soak them in water for at least 5-6 hours. I have used 1 ½ cup of water for soaking dal and methi seeds. And used 2 ½ cups of water for soaking rice.
4) After the soaking time, the size of dal and rice would increase.
5) Now let’s start with grinding process. I have done this in mixer grinder. You can do the same using wet grinder. Start with urad dal. Drain the water from the dal and reserve the water, we will use this water while grinding.
6) Take dal into the grinder jar. Start by adding ½ cup of water.
7) Grind into the fine paste. As needed you can add little more water, but do not add too much. So total I used ¾ cup of water for grinding dal. The batter should be light, fluffy and smooth.
8) Remove urad dal batter into a large bowl.
9) Next drain the water from the rice and again reserve the water and use that for grinding.
10) Take rice into the grinder jar. If your jar is small then you can do this in batches. Start with ¾ to 1 cup of water and grind.
11) Grind them by adding little water as needed. I used total 1 ¾ cups of water. The batter will be little grainy and that is fine. If you get smooth batter and it is fine too. Sometimes grinder may get heated up, if so wait for some time, let it cool down and start grinding again.
12) Pour this rice batter into the same bowl with urad dal batter.
13) Mix it very well using spatula.
14) Cover the bowl with plate (do NOT use tight fitting lid) and let it ferment without disturbing for about 10-14 hours. If needed you can let it ferment for more hours, upto 24 hours. This time may vary depending of the weather and temperature. Check the tips section below to ferment in cold weather.
15) After the fermentation time, the batter will increase in volume by 2-3 times. You will also notice the sour fermented smell from the batter.
16) Take a look of the inside of the fermented batter. You can see so many bubbles in the light, fluffy batter.
For batter fermentation tips in cold weather, Check out this idli post.
17) Now add salt to the batter. Lightly, gently mix it. Do not stir vigorously. Take required amount of batter in separate bowl and add little water to make thick yet runny consistency of batter. If using leftover batter from the fridge then bring it to room temperature and then make dosa.
18) Heat the cast iron tawa on medium heat. Make sure that your tawa or pan in pre-seasoned well. Or use the nonstick pan.
19) Many times tawa may get too hot. And for making dosa the temperature of tawa should not be too hot or too low. If it gets too hot then sprinkle some water to bring down the temperature. It will sizzle and wipe out the remaining water using paper towel. By doing so the dosa will not stick to the pan.
20) Now pour the ladleful or two of batter in the center of the tawa.
22) Now using the ladle start spread the batter into circular motion.
23) Make sure that it is not too thick or not too thin for crispy version. If it is thick then you will get softer version of dosa. Choice is yours. Both tastes great but we prefer crisp ones.
24) Now drizzle the oil on and around .
25 )Let it it roast for 1-2 minutes on medium low heat or till you notice the bottom is nice golden brown. Adjust the gas heat accordingly and maintain the temperature of tawa. NO NEED to flip and cook other side.
26) Now fold it in half and serve. Repeat the same for rest of the batter.
Because this is the crisp version dosa recipe, so it should be served right away/hot.
Serving suggestion: Serve this crispy, plain dosa with sambar and chutney.
how to avoid dosa sticking to pan?
- If using cast iron tawa, please pre-season it well ahead of time. Or just use the non stick tawa.
- If using the refrigerated or day old batter then bring it to room temperature first and then make dosa recipe. Chilled batter will definitely stick to the pan.
- The temperature of the tawa should be medium. If it's too hot or too low, it will stick. To bring down the temperature of the tawa sprinkle some water and wipe down the remaining using paper towel. But do not sprinkle the water too often rather maintain the temperature by adjusting the gas heat.
- If using non stick pan then do not sprinkle it very often otherwise the coating will get weaken and will starts to wear out.
- The consistency of the batter is also the crucial part. If it is too thin or not fermented well, it will sure sticky to the pan. The consistency should be flowy, runny yet thick.
Dosa recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Whole urad dal
- 1 teaspoon Fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
- 1 cup Parboiled rice (idli rice)
- 1 cup Regular rice sona masoori or gujarat sattar or basmati rice
- 1 ½ cups Water for soaking dal
- 2 ½ cups Water for soaking rice
- ¾ cup Water for grinding dal
- 1 ¾ cup Water for grinding rice
- Salt to taste
- Oil to make dosa
Instructions
Soaking the dal-rice:
- Take urad dal and fenugreek seeds in a bowl. Rinse them with cold water or wash them under running cold water. But do not overwash them. We are not looking for clear water, cloudy water is fine too.
- Take both rice (parboiled rice and regular rice) in another bowl. Rinse or wash them similarly. Again do not over wash them.
- Soak dal/methi and both rice seperatly in water for at least 5-6 hours.
- I have used 1 ½ cup of water for soaking dal and methi seeds. And used 2 ½ cups of water for soaking rice.
- After the soaking time, the size of dal and rice would increase.
Grinding the dal-rice:
- I have done this in mixer grinder. You can do the same using wet grinder.
- Start with urad dal. Drain the water from the dal and reserve the water, we will use this water while grinding.
- Take dal into the grinder jar. Start by adding ½ cup of water.
- Grind into the fine paste. As needed you can add little more water, but do not add too much. So total I used ¾ cup of water for grinding dal.
- The batter should be light, fluffy and smooth. Remove urad dal batter into a large bowl.
- Next drain the water from the rice and again reserve the water and use that for grinding.
- Take rice into the grinder jar. If your jar is small then you can do this in batches. Start with ¾ to 1 cup of water and grind.
- Grind them by adding little water as needed. I used total 1 ¾ cups of water.
- The batter will be little grainy and that is fine. If you get smooth batter and it is fine too. Sometimes grinder may get heated up, if so wait for some time, let it cool down and start grinding again.
- Pour this rice batter into the same bowl with urad dal batter.
- Mix it very well using spatula.
Fermenting the batter:
- Cover the bowl with plate (do NOT use tight fitting lid) and let it ferment without disturbing for about 10-14 hours.
- If needed you can let it ferment for more hours, upto 24 hours. This time may vary depending of the weather and temperature. Check the tips section below to ferment in cold weather.
- After the fermentation time, the batter will increase in volume by 2-3 times. You will also notice the sour fermented smell from the batter.
Making plain dosa recipe:
- Now add salt to the batter. Lightly, gently mix it.
- Take required amount of batter in separate bowl and add little water to make thick yet runny consistency of batter.
- Heat the cast iron tawa on medium heat. Make sure that your tawa or pan in pre-seasoned well. Or use the nonstick pan.
- for making dosa the temperature of tawa should not be too hot or too low.
- Now pour the ladleful or two of batter in the center of the tawa.
- Now using the ladle start spread the batter into circular motion.
- Now drizzle the oil on and around the dosa.
- Let it it cook for 1-2 minutes on medium low heat or till you notice the bottom is nice golden brown. Adjust the gas heat accordingly and maintain the temperature of tawa.
- Now fold it in half and serve.
- Repeat the same for rest of the batter.
Rahul
Hi Kanan,
The recipe looks helpful. I was looking to buy a wet grinder and have been reading online reviews on some of them since I usually have to go to the market to buy Dosa and Idli batter whenever I feel like eating Dosa/Idli. I know you haven’t used a wet grinder to make this batter, but would it be possible for you to suggest a wet grinder I can use weekly to make Dosa batter?
Thank You
Kanan Patel
I can't recommend you the wet grinder as I have never purchased and used one.
I have always been using mixer grinder and blenders. So far these ones are working for me - Indian style preethi mixer grinder, Blendtec and Vitamix.