Dosa recipe, Learn how to make dosa batter at home. This is a detailed post that will guide you to make dosas of all kinds – soft, crispy, restaurant style, home style and healthy dosas. No matter you are a beginner or an experienced cook the tips & tricks mentioned in this post will help you to master the techniques of making the best South Indian dosa.
If you are new to South Indian cuisine, then read on to know more
What is dosa?
Dosa is a popular South Indian thin crepe that is made of fermented rice and lentil batter. History of dosa says that they were made using only rice but with the passage of time, people started to add urad dal / black lentils to give texture and taste.
Dosas became very popular with the rise of udupi restaurants which serve the best dosa varieties – plain, set and masala dosa.
How can I make dosa at home?
Dosa is made by soaking and blending black gram lentils (urad dal) and rice to a batter. Then the fermented batter is spreaded like a crepe on a hot griddle or tawa.
Is dosa healthy?
Yes Dosa is a healthy protein rich breakfast. Urad dal is high in protein & calcium and makes a great food to start our day.
I consider it to be one of the best health foods that can nourish our body so I try to keep the ratio of urad dal more & rice to minimum or only as needed without compromising the taste and crispness.
Idli and dosas are made regularly at my home for breakfast and sometimes even for dinner. There are so many kinds of dosas one get to find on a tiffin or a fast food center menu.
Dosas can be made with so many different ratios of rice and urad dal. I am sharing 4 recipes here on this post which I follow. You may experiment with any of these dosa recipes to suit your taste or need.
Mixer or a wet grinder – which is better?
I do not use a wet grinder though I have one since I personally do not prefer the cleaning and lifting the stone works. Years ago We used to have frequent guests home from India, So we used to make batter once in a week.
It is a good deal to have and use a wet grinder if you have many people at home to eat idli dosa frequently. For the past 3 years I am happy with my mixer grinder though we are a family of 4 and make dosas at least 3 times a week.
The batter rises very well even when ground in the mixer if it is a good one and doesn’t make your batter warm while grinding.
However I have shared making batter in a wet grinder and also in a mixer. All the ratios shared in dosa recipe post will work even if making batter in a wet grinder.
Which kind of rice is suitable for dosa?
There are many kinds of rice available in the market. All the recipes posted here have been tried with raw rice, idli rice and parboiled rice. But you will get the best results with raw rice.
The results with parboiled rice are not the same always. It depends mostly on the weather conditions.
Please note that all parboiled rice are not suitable, only short grain like ponni or sona masuri etc are suitable.
When to add salt?
When to add salt to dosa batter? while grinding, before fermenting or after fermenting is one of the most common question.
This you will have to experiment and check what works good for you since this depends on the climatic conditions and the water used to blend the batter.
In cool places or cold countries, batter takes long hours to ferment without the addition of non-iodized salt. When kept for long hours the batter may turn smelly.
So to avoid the smell it is good to add sea salt before fermentation as it assists in quick fermentation.
But in hot places and hot season, it is good to add salt just before making the dosas i.e after fermentation else the batter turns sour and smelly.
In India most people add salt after fermentation unless living in cool places like Bangalore.
Taste wise yes there is a difference in adding before and after. So please experiment what works good for you.
Recipe 1 – Crispy masala dosa recipe
This recipe yields one of the best tasting brown & crispy dosa. This batter can be used to make masala dosa, crispy plain dosas, uttapam, masala paniyaram and sweet paniyaram. I follow this recipe the most for my regular breakfast.
The masala dosa shown in the first pic is made using this recipe. It can be enjoyed with any Chutney, potato masala or Tiffin sambar.
Typically most proportions yield red to brown color dosa only when made on cast iron tawa, but this dosa recipe yields brown crispy dosas even when made on non stick.
You can find the step by step pictures below along with the link to potato curry recipe and the detailed recipe in the recipe card.
Recipe 2 – Restaurant style crispy flavorful masala dosa recipe
If you have ever wondered how dosas made in restaurant or tiffin centers turn out so flavorful, crisp and delicious, then you will have to put in little more effort and try this karnataka restaurant style masala dosa. These are very aromatic and unique.
Recipe 3 – Soft idli & crispy dosa batter recipe. 2-in-1 batter
These ratios yield good crispy as well as soft dosas and can be used to make soft idlis as well. Just mixing the batter matters. A runny batter yields soft dosas. Making with moderately thick batter, but of spreadable consistency yield crispy dosas.
This can also be used to make masala dosa, paniyaram, uttapam and also soft idli. The only difference from the first recipe is the color. These do not turn as red or brown like the other one but will be golden.
If you like to make your idli and dosa batter in one go in the same blender or wet grinder, then this may be for you.
Ingredients
½ cup whole skinned uraddal
1 ½ cups rice for mixie – 2 cups for wet grinder
¼ tsp methi
2 tbsp poha / avalakki
Non iodized Salt as needed
Recipe 4 – Sada dosa recipe
– can also use the batter for idli if the quality of dal is very good.
These ratios yield good crispy as well as soft dosas. Just mixing the batter matters here as well. A runny batter yields soft dosas. Making with moderately thick batter, but of spreadable consistency yield crispy dosas.
This can also be used to make idli, paniyaram, uttapam. This dosa batter recipe needs just 3 ingredients
Ingredients
½ cup whole urad dhal
1 ½ cup rice
Non-iodized or crystal salt as needed
Recipe 5 – Healthy plain dosa recipe
Healthy, high protein and high calcium dosa. These are made in some telugu speaking homes. Great food for all, including folks recovering from illness, kids and babies above 9 months and even for under nourished.
I make this sometimes when the hubby asks for it since he loves the flavor.
These have a unique flavor & taste of urad dal. If you like it, you may not look for any other recipe.
They must be served right out of the pan as they turn lightly crisp, not as crisp as the other recipes I have shared in this post.
I highly recommend this, If you have babies & kids at home (especially underweight kids). Also good for those looking for high calcium foods and even for breastfeeding mothers.
Ingredients
Half cup whole uraddal
1 cup rice
For more dosa recipes, you can also check
Instant Wheat flour dosas
Set dose
Pesarattu
Cheese dosa
Oats dosa
Ragi dose
Jowar dosas
Dosa recipe
Dosa recipe | How to make dosa batter
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Ingredients for crispy dosa recipe – 1
- ½ cup Urad dal (or whole skinned black gram)
- 1½ cups Rice (Refer notes)
- 1 tablespoon chana dal (or bengal gram)
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds or methi seeds (optional)
- 2 tablespoon poha or attukulu or beaten rice
- rock salt or non iodized salt or crystal salt as needed
- fresh water as needed (do not use lentil soaked water)
Ingredients for plain dosa recipe – 2
- ½ cup whole urad dal or skinned whole black gram
- 1 ½ cup Rice (refer notes)
- ¼ to 1/3 teaspoon methi seeds or fenugreek seeds (makes dosas golden)
- rock salt or Non-iodized or crystal salt as needed
How to make the recipe
Preparation for dosa batter recipe
- Firstly add urad dal, chana dal & methi seeds to a large bowl.
- Rinse them very well several times and discard the water.
- Soak them together in enough fresh water for 4 hours.
- Next add rice to another bowl and wash a few times.
- Pour fresh water and soak separately in ample water for 4 hours.
- Lastly rinse and soak poha just 30 mins before grinding the dosa batter.
How to make dosa batter
- Drain the water from the dals, methi and poha.
- Add them to a blender jar along with salt.
- You can also skip salt at this stage if you live in a hot region.
- Add it to the batter just before you make dosas.
- Pour water just as needed. Grind to a smooth paste until smooth & bubbly or frothy.
- Transfer this to a large pot if using a mixer.
- If using a wet grinder, you can just keep the urad dal batter in the container if making in small quantity as much mentioned in the recipe.
- Drain the water from rice & add it to the jar and then pour very little water.
- Blend to a thick paste. Add this to the urad dal batter and mix well.
- Check the consistency of the dosa batter.
- It must not be very thick or very thin otherwise the dosa batter will not ferment well.
- Check the salt as well and adjust.
Fermenting dosa batter
- Cover the dosa batter and keep this in a warm place until fermented.
- It may take anywhere from 5 to 16 hours depending on the temperature.
- Next morning gently stir the dosa batter once.
- Add water enough to thin it down to make it of a pouring consistency yet thick.
- If making masala dosa, you will have to make potato masala from the link mentioned in step by step photos (step 15).
How to make dosa
- Grease a dosa pan or tawa with few drops of oil.
- If using a iron tawa, grease tawa with oil and a slice of onion. This prevents the dosas from sticking to the pan.
- Heat it until hot enough. Pour a ladle full of dosa batter on the center of the tawa.
- Spread it evenly in a circular shape to get a dosa.
- Drizzle oil and allow to cook on a medium high heat until red or golden.
- Flip the dosa when the edges begin to rise from the pan.
- Cook on both the sides of the dosa if you desire.
- Repeat making more dosas on the hot tawa.
- You can also rub with the cut onion and the pour the batter.
- Serve dosa with chutney and potato masala.
NUTRITION
Notes
Notes for dosa recipe
- What kind of rice to use?
The taste & texture of the dosa depends on the kind of rice used. Here are my latest updates:
You can use 1½ cups regular rice like sona masuri or ponni.
You can also use 1 cup regular rice and ½ cup parboiled rice or idly rice.
You can also use ¾ cup raw rice and ¾ cup parboiled rice or idly rice.
Experiment with the above proportions and find what works for you the best in terms of taste and texture. - You can skip either poha or methi seeds in the recipe. Use at least one of them.
- During summer you can skip both methi seeds and poha if you live in a hot climate.
Preparation for making dosa batter
1. Add dal, chana dal and methi to a large pot.
2. Add rice to another pot.
3. Wash dals thoroughly a few times and soak in ample water for 4 hours. During cold weather they can be soaked up to 6 hours.
4. Wash rice too a few times until the water runs clear. Soak in enough water for 4 hours.
5. Wash and soak poha for 30 mins before grinding.
How to make dosa batter for crispy dosa recipe
6. Add poha to the grinder jar or container. Drain the water completely from dals and add them along with salt and little water. You can also try skipping salt during summer, add it the next morning when you are about to make dosas. It will still ferment well without salt.
I use salt when I grind the dal otherwise my batter doesn’t ferment well. Using dal soaked water turns my batter very sour, so i do not use.
7. Blend until smooth, frothy and bubbly. If needed add more water. But do not make it thin it must be a thick batter. If making in a mixer like me, then transfer this to a large pot. If using a wet grinder, you can just keep it in the container and continue.
8. Drain rice and add to the jar. Add just little water.
9. Blend to a smooth paste.
10. Add the ground rice and mix well.
How to ferment batter for dosa recipe
11. Cover the pot and ferment it for 5 to 16 hours depending on the climate. During hot summers it may rise in just 4 to 5 hours during winters it may need up to 16 hours.
When I grind more batter, I use 2 ceramic pots to ferment and refrigerate. I divide and distribute the batter to 2 pots. Undisturbed batter stays good in refrigerator for few more days without going sour.
12. When i made this, I had to ferment for 16 hours. Singapore is hot most times, but still it takes very long to ferment the batter in my home. During summers do not allow to ferment too much as it leaves a sour smell & taste.
You can refrigerate when it rises a bit. For a good fermentation 4 things matter the most – quality of dal, non iodized salt, temperature and the consistency of the batter.
You can find the details of these on the soft idli post which i shared before.
How to make dosa
13. Add few drops of oil to a tawa / pan. Rub well with a kitchen tissue or cloth until the oil is absorbed. Make sure there is no excess oil on the pan. You can also use a slice of onion to rub the oil.
If using a cast iron or a iron tawa then you will have to season it the previous night for best results.
Dilute the batter by adding little water as needed to make it of a pourable and spreading consistency. You can sprinkle few drops of water and check if it is ready. It begins to sizzle.
Do not sprinkle water often on a hot non stick tawa that’s going to wear out even the best non stick coating. When the pan is hot enough, pour a ladle full of batter in the center of the pan.
14. Spread it evenly in a circular way to make a thin crepe. Add oil or butter towards the edges.
15. When it turns golden or brown , flip it and cook if you like. Not all dosas require cooking on the other side, if needed you can cook. Since i made the masala dosa, i used this potato masala for filling. It is most commonly served with coconut chutney.
Serve dosas hot with any chutney, curry or even with pickle.
Deepika says
Hi dear… I read your all dosa recipe and they are very well explained…i live in Australia… I also make dosas but it becomes more crisp… I take 1 cup urad dal split one, 1/4 tsp methi dana some times i also add chana da and 3 cups of sona masori raw rice..but never add poha.. Rest process is same like yours…. In winters i keep the batter in preheated oven… Now i don’t know why my dosas are so crispy… Please suggest i want less crisp and a lil thick dosa.. Thanks
swasthi says
Hi Deepika,
Thank you. The excess starch in the raw rice makes the dosas hard or extremely crisp. So poha makes it slightly softer yet keeping them fairly crisp. If you are not accessible to poha, you can experiment with more methi seeds. I generally use 1 tsp methi for 1 cup dal & 3 cups raw sona rice. Depending on the weather sometimes it just doesn’t work out even with more methi. Other options
1. For 1 cup dal – 2 cups raw rice and 1 cup parboiled rice. The results are good during cold season and not so good during summers.
2.You can also try with 1 cup dal and 2 cups ready rice flour.
Hope this helps.
Deepika Sharma says
Thank you so much for your reply… This time i will add poha and a little more quantity of methi seeds… Can i add some chana daal… Let’s see the results… Thanks once again
swasthi says
Hi Deepika
Yes you can add chana dal. Yes do give a try. Would love to hear back from you on how the dosas turned out.
🙂
Rasananda Das says
Namaste Swasthi,
Besides enjoying your recipes and the general get-up of your website, I was wondering if you happen to know about a particular nutritional fact that is of concern to me as a doctor: Are you aware that fermented things like idli, dosha, uttapam as well as presumably pickles, have significant amounts of Vitamin B12 that is lacking in most non-fermented vegetarian foods. My question is, you you happen to know any place on the internet where the composition of fermented items like the ones I mentioned are published? Or, can you drect me to some place where there are?
swasthi says
Namaste Dr.Rasananda Das,
Thanks for reading. You can find some details on researchgate.net and Us national library of medicine. I will mail you the details.
Jayeeta says
Hi Swasthi, loved your recipes here. I live in a cold country, please suggest how can I ferment the batter? Also, I have easily available rice powder and urid dal powder, can I use the powder combination, mix with water to use as batter?
swasthi says
Hi Jayeeta,
Thank you. I haven’t tried it anytime but my mom had made them a few times. You can try with 1 cup urad dal flour and 3 cups rice flour. For the fermentation you will have to try with different methods
1. Adding rock salt when you mix the batter.
2. Add half tsp methi seeds powder or 1 cup millet flour or 1/4 cup poha powder while making the batter.
3. Cover and keep inside the oven with the light bulb on until it ferments. Or use fermentation option in your microwave or IP (if you have).
You will need to experiment a lot to know what works in your place. I would say idli dosa batter fermentation needs lot of trials as these are different in each place. Hope this helps.
Shilpa says
Hello Jayeeta,
I live in Pune,in winters when it’s difficult to ferment the batter my mother in law suggested me to leave a clean charcoal piece above the batter….and it always helps 😊
swasthi says
Thanks Shilpa
Just wondering will the charcoal not sink after sometime.
NGH says
Well I have been using Basamati rice for over some 45 years and it works great. The trick in making the Dosa is all fussing you need to do to come out well and delicious I.e. the cleaning, soaking, grinding, fuss over the Tawa spreading oil and wiping it with a wet paper towel and finally adding ghee on the top of the final Dosa
swasthi says
Hi,
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts on basmati rice for dosa. It will surely help the readers here.
Miz says
Hi Swasthi, can you please tell me, in Recipe no 3 ‘ idli + dosa together’, which rice should we use? it is normal rice or parboiled idli rice ? also, can i use basmati instead of normal rice?
swasthi says
Hi Miz,
I use raw rice for this one. Personally we do not like dosa with basmati rice. They do come out good but not tasty I feel.
Vyshnavi says
Please let me know which mixer grinder used in the recipe which is shown in picture? I want to buy one mixer grinder for dosa batter preparation. Suggest me the best company
swasthi says
Hi Vyshnavi,
For dosa batter I use Ultra mixer grinder that comes with 3 jars. It is a heavy duty mixie that does work well. I have been using it for 4 years now. but somehow one of the jar lid broke just after a week of buying it. Currently there is an upgraded model from this brand with better lids. Just check the lids well and if you like go for it. My opinion this works better than many other brands available in India.I have also heard of USHA you can check that. Hope this helps.
Rakhi says
Hi Swasthi,
Thanks for your detailed recipe. Since I started making dosa batter in the wet grinder, my dosa doesn’t turn crispy. I was interested in your recipe 3 where you said 1 & 1/2 cups rice for mixer and 2 cups for wet grinder, just wondering why this difference in quantity? Thanks.
swasthi says
Hi Rakhi,
Wet grinder makes the dal more light, fluffy & airy when compared to the blender or mixer grinder. The quantity of dal batter will also be more in wet grinder. So the texture of dosa will be not be crispy and may have a prominent taste of dal. To balance that we use more rice which makes the dosas crisp. You need to experiment and check what works good for you. I also know a lot of people using 1:5 ratios of dal:rice along with some methi seeds or poha.
Th says
This was the first time in months I got the Dosa recipe right and the Dosa turned out GREAT. Thank you so much. I didn’t know what I was doing wrong But this time followed your recipe (recipe 2) exactly except that I soaked dal and rice and methi seeds together as I didn’t read the post accurately . Nevertheless, it turned out fine.
swasthi says
Hi Th,
You are welcome. For years Dosa has been an everyday affair at home but still half of the times they don’t turn out good. I feel it is the rice & climate that impacts the texture,color & taste of the dosa a lot. Just check if any of these 2 is the reason. Thanks for the comment.
Th says
Climate is certainly a factor. I live in a cold country and have learnt to use the oven for fermentation in the cold months . The two changes I noticed between my previous recipes/process and this one is (1) ratio of rice is 1.5 vs my previous ratio of 1 cup (2) soaking for 4 hours as per your recipe (previously I would soak overnight). Thanks again!
Ramya Bangera says
Wooww… Looks Very delicious 😋 so clearly explained and picturised… Tried aloo bonda… And came out so well… Thank you so much for the Recipes
swasthi says
Welcome Ramya
Thanks for trying.
🙂
Harjeet says
Hello Swasthi,
I aman ex Malaysian/Singaporean now residing in Australia (last 30+ years).
Born and brought up in Malaysia, I grew to love dosa, sambhar and vadas which were readily available. While we do get dosas in restaurants here and dosa batter is also available, but I still prefer to soak and grind the ingredients and find it’s worth the labour making them that way.
Thank you for the recipes and the hints.
Aude says
Thanks for this delicious recipe! So well explained…
I read that if it is difficult to get in a home the right temperature for fermentation, one can use and immersion circulator at 110 deg. F. I use mine to make yogurt as well.
It worked out very well.
swasthi says
Welcome Aude
Thanks for trying and sharing the info on immersion circulator. I never knew it can be used for fermenting dosa batter.
🙂
Pc says
Hi Swasthi,
My dosa batter is rising up very well but too smelly and not sour at all. Dosa turned out sweet
swasthi says
Hi PC
I guess it is the rice that made it sweet. Try using raw rice like sona masuri or ponni or any similar south Indian kind. Next time just reduce the fermentation time. Don’t allow the batter to double. If your bowl has half batter before fermenting, allow to rise upto 3/4. Try a few times in small quantity with different kinds of rice and adjust the fermentation time too. Check what works out well in your place. Hope this helps
Pc says
Thanks for the quick reply . I used idli rice . I will try out with sona masuri. Thanks again.
Samiul haque says
I love you chef.
She is a good incredible author.
They are nothing that chef who does not follow her recipe.
Dear chef i am following your all recipe .
Dear thank you for your all word from my heart.
swasthi says
Welcome Samiul haque
Thank you so much for following my blog. Very happy to know you like it.
Thanks again!
Rasmi says
Hi Swati. Thank you so much for your dosa recipes. I have tried all of them and they all turned out delicious!
swasthi says
Welcome Rasmi
Thanks for trying the recipes. Glad to know they came out good.
🙂
Nani says
Wow!!! 😋 my Sambar tasted exactly how I wanted….. so much 😍
swasthi says
Thank you so much
Glad to know you liked the sambar
Zoya says
Hi swasthi, all these days dosa turned out well. But today dosa became hard and I feel like having raw aata. Either dal or rice has blended some coarsely. Dosa is not turning golden or brown color. I didn’t use chana dhal and poha. With ur experience share some tips….
swasthi says
Hi Zoya
I guess it is the quality of rice or not blending the dal well. There is nothing you can do to fix it. If the dosa is white in color I feel it happens if the rice is from fresh harvest, just a few months old. Just change the rice and check.
Sourav says
Nice recipe I like it ..
swasthi says
Hi Sourav,
Thank you so much.
Swetha says
Hi Swasthi
I have been making dosas from here since a few months experimenting to get crisp and dense dosas. Any rice works only when used with chana dal and poha. But over fermenting ruins the dosa making more pores and very thin and light. Thank you very much for your ideas and thoughts. This post really helped.
swasthi says
Hi Swetha
You are welcome. Thanks for trying
🙂
Sourav says
Hello there ..
Ulla says
Hello,
I don’t have a mixer and for obvious that easons am not keen on wet grinding…………would commercial rice and urid flours work?
I live in Australia. Also, what is ‘poha’. Do you have a botanical name?
With thanks,
Ulla
swasthi says
Hi Ulla
Yes you can try with urad and rice flour in the rations of 1:2 and 1:3. The taste of the dosas will depend on the quality of urad dal flour. Poha is just parched rice or beaten rice. If using flour and not grains you can skip. If you are trying 1:3 ratio then you can add 1/4 tsp of ground fenugreek seeds and this is optional. Hope this helps
Z says
Hi swasthi. I have made dosa and to some extent dosa came well but in between the batter got sticked to the laddle. With your please tell me the reason and share some tips……
swasthi says
Hi Z,
Thanks for trying. It happens for these reasons
1. The batter is thick and needs little more water.
2. The pan is not hot enough.
3. The batter has rised a lot and is very light. This can happen during hot weather. To fix this, sprinkle little water and just beat the batter a bit with the ladle. This will reduce the bubbles in batter and fix the problem.
4. Using raw rice that has recently been harvested can also be the reason. Aged rice is best for dosa.
Hope these help
Hina says
Hi swasthi I have been making these dosas for over a year now. They turn out great. Can you please share noodles stuffed dosas? My kids love them a lot.
swasthi says
Thanks for trying Hina
Yes I will try to share