Neer Dosa Recipe

Neer dosa is a traditional Mangalorean Karnataka breakfast dish made of just water, rice and salt as main ingredients. Tastes best with spicy curries and chutneys. Vegan and gluten free.

Neer means water in Kannada, Tulu and many south Indian languages. Dosa is the traditional south Indian crepe made for breakfast and there are so many varieties of it. So the name typically translates to water dosa.

These dosas are super soft, lacy and they just melt in mouth. Here we are not using any urad dal or other lentils as we do in regular dosa recipe. Also this batter does not require any fermentation. Just soak, grind and enjoy dosas 🙂

I make neer dosa whenever I want something super easy yet delicious in less time. The only task you have to remember is to soak raw rice, but I have got you covered with an instant method where you can use rice flour 🙂

These dosas taste wonderful served piping hot with spicy curries. Traditionally neer dosa is served with Mangalorean chicken curry but it also tastes very good with chutneys or sagu.

About This Recipe

Neer dosa is one among the many many varieties of south Indian dosa. The batter for this dosa is made of just rice, water and salt. Some recipes call for some coconut for flavor and taste. I sometimes add coconut if I have it handy otherwise just rice and salt it is.

The batter for neer dosa is super thin and has very watery consistency. Thin batter when poured from a height on a hot cast iron tava forms a lacy intricate pattern and resultant dosa is super soft and delicate.

While it is a very straight forward recipe with simplest of ingredients, it does takes some practice to make neer dosa perfectly.

It takes some trial to get the consistency if the batter perfectly and make these dosas. I have shared all the tips and tricks I have learnt over the time and those will also help you to get this recipe right.

Now these dosas are super light and not very filling on their own. So I mostly serve these with a spicy veg or paneer curry and a chutney. See serving suggestions for ideas.

If you are looking for an easy meal in less time do try this neer dosa recipe and enjoy. It is

very soft

has melt in mouth texture

vegan and gluten free

delicious with spicy curries

easy no fermentation recipe

How To Make Neer Dosa Recipe

Making Neer Dosa Batter

Pick and rinse 1.5 cup rice well. Soak it in plenty of water for 6-8 hours.

After soaking, drain excess water in a colander and take the soaked rice in a mixer jar. Add 2 tablespoons grated coconut if using.

Grind the rice to a very very smooth paste adding water as required. Do not add lot of water while grinding.

Transfer the dosa batter to a large bowl. Now add 2.25 cups to 2.5 cups water and mix well. The batter should be runny and thin. Make sure by checking the consistency.

Making Mangalorean Neer Dosa

Heat a non stick pan or cast iron tawa first. If tawa is unavailable you can use a pan. Once the tawa is hot add few drops of oil and spread with a tissue or a small onion or potato slice.

Take a ladle full of batter, about 1/4 cup. Pour the batter as an uneven circle. Begin from the edges and finish towards the center just like rava dosa. As you pour the dosa will form lacy intricate holes and patterns.

Cover the pan with a lid and cook for a minute. Do not flip neer dosa.

After about a minute the edges will come off by itself which means dosa is cooked. Now using a spatula fold the dosa intoa triangle or just fold into half.

Remove the dosa to a plate. Make dosas from the remaining batter similarly. As you cook place the dosas side by side on a large plate, do not stack. These dosas are super soft so if you stack they will stick to each other.

Serve neer dosa warm with any curry or chutney.

Method 2- Instant Neer Dosa With Rice Flour

This is an easy cheat’s version of this neer dosa which you can make in less than 30 minutes. While I any day prefer the detailed method, I do follow this when I forget to soak rice or want to make something quick and tasty.

However you will have to use super fine rice flour for this recipe. If you have the habit of homemade rice flour for idiyappam or chakli you can easily use that. Else use store bought super fine rice flour. Now to the method.

Add 2 cups rice flour to a wide bowl. Add salt to taste and 3 cups water. Mix very well without lumps. Make sure the batter consistency is very thin and watery. We also need a very smooth batter.

Use this batter to make neer dosas as explained above.

Serving Suggestions

Unlike regular dosa made with urad dal, these neer dosas are very light. So I suggest you serve this with a good filling gravy if serving as a main meal. Paneer ghee roast, veg sagu, korma, stew, tiffin sambar go very well this neer dosa.

These dosas also taste good with spicy chutneys like tomato chutney, onion tomato chutney, vegetable chutney, coconut chutney. It is a wonderful breakfast option.

Neer dosa stays soft even after cooling, so you can pack these in lunch box as well.

Tips To Make Best Neer Dosa

Soaking rice well is the first important tip in this neer dosa recipe. Only when you soak the rice well you will be able to grind it very smoothly.

While grinding do not add lot of water to the blender jar. If you add more water, rice will be blended properly. Just make a very smooth paste first to which we will add water and make neer dosa batter.

If you are making neer dosa for the first time, it might take few trials to get the exact quantity of water. It depends on the quality and age of the rice, how well it is ground etc. You may need 1/2 cup more or less than what is mentioned in the recipe sometimes.

Make sure the batter is very thin, almost watery to get that lacy dosa with intricate holes in neer dosa.

Always pour the batter from a height on the hot pan to get lacy pattern and holes.

As with any thin batter, it tends to settle down at the bottom. So stir the batter very well before making every dosa.

Adding grated fresh coconut lends a wonderful flavor and a very mild sweet taste to this dosa. If fresh coconut is not available you can add 1/4 cup thin coconut milk to the rice batter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which rice is best for neer dosa?

In south India we use medium shot grain rice like sona masuri or ponni for this recipe. However you can use any aged rice like basmati rice, thai jasmine rice for this. Do note that the dosa will have the taste and flavor of the rice used.

Why is it called water dosa?

Neer means water in Tulu so it is the exact translation. As the batter is so thin like water, it gets the name.

Which pan is best for neer dosa?

I prefer to use cast iron pan or tawa for this dosa. It should be very well seasoned one. You can also use non stick pan to make it easily.

More Dosa Recipes

Coconut dosa

Masala dosa

Set dosa

oats dosa

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