Name: Dosa recipe | How to make dosa batter | Crispy dosa recipe
Prep time: 660 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 680 min
Ingredients: 1 cup raw rice; 1 cup par boiled OR idli rice; 1/2 cup urad dal; 1/4 cup poha; 2 teaspoons methi seeds; Salt; water; Oil (to make dosa)

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Last updated on April 30th, 2020

Dosa recipe, learn to make crispy plain dosa at home from scratch with step by step photos. Dosa is the popular south Indian breakfast with fermented rice and lentil batter similar to idli. Basically these are thin or thick crepes served with an array of chutneys and sambar. Dosa is a favorite among the Indians and there are literally 100 of varieties in tiffin centers and restaurants.

Idli and dosa are our staple breakfast just like every south Indian home. I usually make a basic batter and prepare idli, dosa and uthappam. Here in this post I am sharing the recipe for making dosa at home without a wet grinder.

To make dosa the main ingredients we need are rice and urad dal. Optional ingredients are chana dal,fenugreek seeds, poha and others.

Dosa can be of many types. Ranging from sada dosa, masala dosa, paper roast, ghee roast, restaurant style crispy dosa to humble uthapam which is made usually to finish off the batter. The history of dosa is very interesting.

Looks like dosa has its origin from udupi, Karnataka. Till today crispy dosas or sada dosa from udupi restaurants are very popular. Benne dosa, masala dosa, Mysore masala dosa, set dosa are few more popular varieties. Rice, urad dal and channa dal are rich in nutrients and it is one power packed breakfast to start the day just like idli.

You can make dosa at home easily with a mixer grinder. There are any ways to make and the proportions literally vary from home to home. While I use my soft idli batter to make dosa I also make this special dosa batter once in a while. I prepare this batter especially to make masala dosa.

Making dosa at home is easier than idli. A wet grinder is not necessary for making the batter. A mixer grinder is very much sufficient to make perfect dosa batter. Even the consistency need not be so carefully monitored as in idli recipe.

To make crisp dosa recipe that is golden brown color we usually add some channa dal while grinding batter. Channa dal gives nice flavor and colora. While the idli rice gives the required softness, raw rice is for crispiness and also some color.

To make dosa batter, select good quality idli rice and raw rice. Same goes with urad dal or ulundu, it should be new and fresh. We add a fistful of aval/poha in batter, it really makes difference, adding aval adds taste, it will be easy to spread the dosa. Apart form these methi seeds are added and they are natural coolants.

To make perfect crispy dosa it is necessary to grind the batter really well. First grind the batter with less water, by this way you ca grind the batter to a smooth paste, you can always add more water after grinding. It is better to mix enough water to the batter after grinding itself. I mean do not keep the batter very thick for fermenting, after fermenting you may not be able to mix water and make a uniform batter.

This dosa recipe yields crispy yet soft, golden colored ones. The taste will be very similar to what you eat in restaurants. You can serve dosa with idli sambar, sambar, chutney or milagai podi. Even potato masala is good. I hope all the beginners will try this easy dosa recipe and tell me how you liked it!

Tips for making perfect crispy dosa recipe

1. Grind the batter very smooth. The batter should not be very thick or thin. Keep it little loose than idli batter.

2. Make dosas according to the size of your tava. If your tava is small do not pour more than 1 ladle of batter, if you add more batter you will not be able to spread and you will end up with thicker ones.

3. If you are using cast iron tava, you can sprinkle little water after taking out each dosa and balance the temperature of tava.

4. The temperature of tava is very crucial here. Keep the flame low while pouring and spreading the dosa, increase it to medium while the dosa is cooking. Repeat the same for all dosas. If you keep the flame high while pouring the batter, it will immediately get cooked and will disintegrate when you try to spread.

5. Add oil to the edges after the dosa gets slightly cooked, do not add immediately after spreading the batter.

6. If you are making very thin dosa, it is not necessary to flip over the dosas.

How to make dosa recipe and dosa batter.

1. Measure and wash raw rice,idli rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds. Rinse the poha/aval well.

2. Mix everything together and soak in enough water for 3-4 hours.

3. Drain and take the soaked ingredients in the mixer jar (take according to the size of your jar)

4. Add little water and grind to a very smooth batter.

5. Take the ground batter in a deep bowl.Add salt and mix well Choose the a big bowl so that there is enough space for fermentation.

6. Let the batter ferment for minimum 10 hours.

7. After fermenting the batter, keep it in fridge. Remove the batter from fridge and rest in room temperature at least 1 hour before making dosas.

8. Heat a tava. Once the tava is hot pour a ladle full of batter.

9. Swiftly spread the batter as thin as you want.

10. let it cook for 1-2 minutes. Add oil in the edges. The edges will start to brown and rise slightly. At this point of time you can flip.

11. Flip and cook the other side adding few drops of oil. Serve immediately with chutney,sambar or potato masala.

Dosa recipe – dosa batter recipe card below: