Updated on by Raks Anand 78 Comments
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Dosa recipe, learn how to make dosa batter at home easily. Step by step photos and video to show how to spread dosai over tawa.
I am getting loads of requests to post dosa batter recipe. Though I never grind batter separately, I had a recipe that is written in my handwritten cookbook and I have tried it successfully before marriage when I was zero in cooking. So I am sure its a keeper recipe even beginners can try.
I usually use my idli batter itself and just dilute it to make dosai. I have used it in all my dosai recipes like masala dosai recipe, cauliflower masala dosai, vegetable masala dosa and paneer dosai. Also I use same batter for making uthappam. It's all in all multi-purpose batter.
But I wanted to post this to help bachelors or beginners who want to just make it simple, quick and only dosai batter using mixie. I hope this will be useful to many 🙂 And the texture of this dosai is dense than the one I make with idli dosai batter. So perfect for masala dosas.
*You can use ½ teaspoon methi seeds to get softer results.
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5 from 2 votes
Dosa recipe
Dosa recipe, learn how to make dosa batter at home easily. Step by step photos and video to show how to spread dosai over tawa.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 3 hours hours
Cook Time 20 minutes minutes
Fermentation time 12 hours hours
Author Raks Anand
Servings 15
Cup measurements
Ingredients
- Raw rice - 1 cup
- Idli rice -
1 cup - Urad dal -
½ cup - Toor dal - 2 tsp
- Chana dal - 2 tsp
- Poha/ aval/ flattened rice - ¼ cup
- Salt
Instructions
Soak everything except salt in the ingredients together for 3 hours atleast after washing it 3 times.Grind it with little water in mixie. Need not be too smooth. Add water very carefully. You can grind in two batches and add salt in one batch and mix it lastly together.
Keep overnight for fermentation (12 hours). It will ferment well. Morning stir well and make dosas. Adjust consistency if its too thick by adding very little water.
Heat tawa, pour 2 ladles full of batter and spread evenly. Then drizzle enough oil over it and cook until its golden in medium flame. No need to flip.
Video
Notes
- Right consistency and fermentation is key for even browning.
- You can brush with butter to make it more tastier.
- Add methi seeds, if you want the dosa on softer side. (½ tsp)
- In case it gets little more watery, add a fist full of rawa /sooji/ semolina.
- Refer this page for more tips.
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InstagramMention @rakskitchen or tag #rakskitchen if you have tried this recipe.
How to make dosa batter
- Soak everything except salt in the ingredients together for 3 hours at least after washing it 3 times.Grind it with little water in mixie. Need not be too smooth. Add water very carefully. You can grind in two batches and add salt in one batch and mix it lastly together.
- Keep overnight for fermentation (12 hours). It will ferment well. Morning stir well and make dosas. Adjust consistency if its too thick by adding very little water.
- Heat tawa, pour 2 ladles full of batter and spread evenly. Then drizzle enough oil over it and cook until its golden in medium flame. No need to flip.
Notes
- Right consistency and fermentation is key for even browning.
- You can brush with butter to make it more tastier.
- You can add methi seeds, if you want the dosa on softer side. (½ tsp)
- In case it gets little more watery, add a fist full of rawa /sooji/ semolina.
- Refer this page for more tips.
Serve hot hot with sambar, chutney or any of your favorite side dish! My kid's most favorite breakfast in this whole world! Stay tuned for another dosa version. 
Other 30 Dosa recipes
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- Pirandai dosai recipe, Pirandai recipes
- Cucumber dosa recipe, South Indian breakfast
Reader Interactions
Comments
Veena Theagarajan
I hv tried adding thoor dhal this one is slightly diff with chana dhal also.. Dosa no can get ever bored with it.. nice clicks
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Gayathri Sudharson
lovely clicks! The colour of the dosa tempts me a lot. Didn't know there is a separate recipe for dosa batter. Waiting eagerly for the another version!
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AparnaRajeshkumar
so dark.. the ingredients u used is mainly used for preparing masala dosai in karnataka side 😀 loved the texture
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Radha Natarajan
amazing clicks and a terrific recipe, actually this is what I follow for the Mysore Masala dosa...works well , great colour...well done
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Kalaivani Dhinesh
Dosa is an all time favorite for us...
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Durga Karthik.
Dosai will be more specific Raks. Very nice one and i love your creativity.
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Mads
what is idli rice?
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cpt
Terrific color and recipe, Raks! Thanks for sharing. A couple of questions: What is raw rice? Do you use the thick or think variety of poha?
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Recipe world
Perfect dosa..looks really inviting!
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Raks anand
Idli rice is parboiled rice, specifically used for making idli dosa batter. Its stout, little on dull side.
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Raks anand
Raw rice is everyday eating rice. I used sona masoori rice here. I used thick, but thin also should work.
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Ut Phi
Can you tell me how much to water di you end up using?
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Ut Phi
Can you tell how me how much water did you ending up using?
Kaveri Venkatesh
Very nice post...Should try grinding batter this way..the dosa looks so tempting
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jeyashri suresh
lOVELY POST, SUPER TEMPTING DOSA
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Kurinji
tempting dosa and very very nice clicks
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Farin Ahmed
Delicious dosa dear!!! Is it a must to add toor and channa dal.. Hearing it for the first time ...
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Mads
thanks!!!!!!
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sr san
can i add 2 cups of raw rice instead of 1 cup idli rice and 1 cup raw rice(i don't have idli rice)?can't wait to try this dosa.Mouth watering.I love ur recipes tried many of them and everything came out well.
Thank you so much for ur recipes
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Deepa Venkataramana
Thanks for the recipe. ....The dosa was realy tasty and crispy.
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kangna
hi raks,love the dosa and chutney combo,very restaurant style!wht abt methi seeds/uluva,no need in this recipe?
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Subhashini
Awesome recipe. Thanks for sharing. I tried it out and it came out very well. The dosa texture was very good.
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meeta asarpota
Can I use the same recipe in wet grinder instead of mixie ?
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haseena shamsudeen
I thought that raw rice means pacharisi and parboiled rice means pulungalarisi... am i wrong???
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Raks anand
Sure, it will come out more nice 🙂
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meeta asarpota
Thank you for your prompt reply .....vil try it over this weekend
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sr san
Hi,
waiting for ur replyReply
Raks anand
Yes raw rice means pacharisi in tamil(sona masoori is a raw rice). Parboiled rice is pulungarisi in tamil. All parboiled rice are not idli rice.
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Raks anand
Sorry, missed it. Idli rice is must as its important for the texture.
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Raks anand
No need, if you want you can add, but make sure grind smoothly.
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Sanjib Mitra
This was an awesome recipe, the dosas came out very tasty and crispy. Thanks!
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haseena shamsudeen
i'm using rajabogham is this pacharisi variety mam?? in india pacharisi not used for everyday eating na??? u hv mentioned raw rice means every day eating rice ...
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suchi arasu
i tried making the batter as per ur suggestions, it came out really good , so crispy and yummy , thank u 🙂
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Padmini Raghuram
Dosa was crispy came out very well thank u raks
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Madhu Sharma
Please tell how to heat pan before and while making cosa that is on high medium or low heat
Thanks in advance
MadhuReply
Revathi Rangaswamy
Can I use 2 cups basmathi rice as sona masuri and idli rice is hard to find in singapore
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Raks anand
Idli rice can be bought in Mustafa though out the year! Or even in murugan stores or laavan near saravana bhavan. Sona masuri also is found in laavan and murugan. So you can find it
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dueepjs
Dear Haseena,
Pacharisi, rajabogham are really expensive basmati types. So keep them for festive occasions please! Raw rice- go to an Indian shop and say I want chawal for boiling. You'll get short grained rice. Enjoy!Reply
dueepjs
Dear Raks,
Trying to get idli Rice in Punjab is a headache! Tried telling them I wanted Ukda rice and got a look of Duh? And then the reaction- Hey maddam, seems like you are from Outside.(!) Yep say I, supposed Punjabi who lived all her life in South of India and other parts of the compass and now can't get her favorite Dosa ingredients, let alone kari patta, or sona masuri rice!
So for all ye Poonjabis sprinkled all over the compass , try 2 cups basmati, 1/2 cup urad dal, 1/4 cup poha 1tbs chana dal. Wadhia!Reply
dueepjs
Dear Farin,
Channa Dal is the dal from which you get Besan. If you can't find it, use 1 TBS besan instead. Besan is just refined channa dal atta. This is what is normally used by beauticians in beauty ubtans or to make pakoras.
Toor dal is also called Too-war or yellow arhar dal. You can get it at any Indian store.
Hope this helps.Reply
dueepjs
Dear Madhu,
If you are using an ordinary tava, it should be hot hot hot. Put a little water on it to cool the temp. No oil. Non stick, don't cool with water.Put tava on to heat while making batter and by the time everything's ready, your tava will be ready.
Enjoy!Reply
Nafi zsc
hi Raks,
can i use cooked rice instead of poha?
if yes, what is the measurement?
plz reply 🙂Reply
Raks anand
Same measure 🙂
Reply
Divya Mohan
Dear Raks
Can I use masoor dal instead of toor dal.? Kindly suggest
Reply
Raks anand
Yes try and see.
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Nafi zsc
thanku 🙂
Reply
Vivienne Mendonca
When I tried to cook the dosa it got stuck to the tawa. How can I avoid this?
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Raks anand
Do you use non stick pan or anything else ?
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Noni Mahey
dear raks,
dossa batter ko thandi jaga par rakhna chaiay aour garm jagay par?Reply
Raks anand
Until it ferments well, keep in preferably a warm place.
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annu
all your recipes are great....easy to understand for beginners like me.....one small doubt....can i use idli rava instead of idli rice...whats the difference between the two
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Raks anand
Haven't tried personally so have no idea. Sorry
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Mimi
Thank u for ur excellent recipe
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Ravi Ks
which part of Singapore you are from. Still you find difficult idli rice and if you get what is the cost. Are they selling dosa battar ready made in the shops if at all yes what is the cost.
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dueepjs
apne gas stove ke paas, ek kone main:-)In South India. It is left over night in a warm place, So that it can ferment at its own speed and time.
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suchi arasu
Hi , can i use this batter to make idlis as well ??
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Raks anand
No I have another idli dosa batter recipe please refer that. Find it in recipe index as Idli
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Aksh*tha Reddy
Can I use basmati rice instead of raw rice?
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Raks anand
Yes, slightly flavor will be different.
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Mehnaz
Is poha same as oats? Where would i buy it?
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Raks anand
Poha is beaten rice / Flattened rice. You can get in Indian grocery stores.
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sindhu
Hi rags....I stay in London...I have tried just the way you mentioned of soaking n grinding...can you plz tell me should I need to add anything for batter to ferment. bz I saw batter dint ferment. Thank You
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Raks anand
You can keep inside a oven, with oven light on. Or keep it beside fridge or something which emits heat to the surroundings
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dueepjs
Sindhu, I don't know whether this message will be posted as a reply to your query but here goes- London in the winter... Cold cold. Fermentation nil so possibly the fermenting of this overnight will take a while. If your kitchen is warm place this near your stove. or just heat your oven mark 7 for 20 minutes, switch it off and place it inside the shut oven throughout the night. A bit of salt and some fenugreek seeds will also help.
Hope you find this tip here.Reply
SRK
Hi,
Is basmati rice considered raw rice?
My packaging says idili/raw rice.
Do I need to add extra raw rice?
Thanks.Reply
Raks anand
Yes you can use basmati, but it has slightly different flavour (Very mild though). Usually idli rice looks stout and slightly dull, opaque. And it comes as parboiled rice. If its white and tiny, then it is raw rice, no need to add extra raw rice.
Reply
Veena
Hi..
Lovely recipe Did you get the batter recipe from a chef? The dosa color is like hotel type.Reply
gomathy a
For how many days can we store and use this batter??
Reply
Raks anand
3 - 4 days in fridge
Reply
Sandeep Aiyar
What type of dosa tawa are you using in this video and where did you get that from? Thanks
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Unknown
Rajeswari, made this today exactly as you have described. The climate is cold-ish. So while the batter rose, it was not khatta, sour. The dosas looked good, rolled out well, and all that, but the taste was lacking something.
a. What do you think is missing?
b. How is this batter different from the regular dosa batter?Kindly explain.
meera
Reply
Raks Kitchen
May be it did not fermented well, otherwise, I use idli rice, urad dal and methi for regular idli dosa batter. For this, I use raw rice and idli rice combo, plus toor dal and chana dal for flavour. It turns out crisp and dense than the regular idli dosa batter dosa.
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dueepjs
When the weather is cold, make sure that the batter is placed in a
really warm place, so that it can ferment properly. I normally place
it in the sun, especially in the winter weather, when the sun is mild
and warm. And it ferments beautifully. To make it really sour and to
help it ferment, I just added half a teaspoonful of yogurt to the
batter, and believe it or not, those dosas turned out really nice.Reply
Pooja
Excellent recipe!! Thank you! My son loves them. Though is there anything i can do do make them thinner? Thinner batter made it white and raw looking.
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Raks Anand
Thanks a lot for the feedback... Cook closed, it wont be looking raw 🙂
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kala
hi Raks, can i use brown rice to make dosa.
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Raks Anand
Yes definitely, please use something for softness like methi or poha or sago.
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kala
thanks for your reply
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