How To Make Dosa Batter (Dosa Recipe)

It is quite common for a person of Indian or even South Asian descent to love Dosa but not everyone is aware of the tricks of preparing the perfect crispy dosa and perfect dosa batter.

This popular Indian breakfast is not only healthy but also delicious when you serve with chutney and potato masala or sambar.

Jump to:

• Ingredients note
• How to make dosa batter 
• Soaking time and fermentation method
• How to make dosa 
• Expert tips
• Storing suggestion
• Best griddle or tawa for dosa
• 📖 Recipe

I must admit that since I grew up eating this breakfast delicacy all through my childhood and watching my mother prepare it, I must have learned this by observing and imitating. I did not expect to receive a recipe request for preparing the Dosa batter.

The procedure for making dosa batter is as simple as soaking and the ingredients and blending them to a fine consistency. In traditional Indian homes, using a stone grinder is common but any blender is just fine as long as the final consistency is smooth. 

Ingredients note

• Rice: Not every variety of rice works the same for every kind of dosa. For this recipe, I used parboiled rice which is sometimes tagged as 'idli' rice. You could also use Sona Masoori white rice or raw rice too. Look for any white long-grain rice variety (Except basmati rice) for this recipe. 
• Urad dal: I used whole Urad dal (instead of the split variety) to give volume to the batter.
• Methi seeds: Fenugreek seed or methi seeds will make your batter smooth and it also helps in the fermentation process.
• Salt: Salt is a deterrent to fermentation, so add it only after the batter has fermented well.

How to make dosa batter 

Dosa batter is made with 3 ingredients: Rice, Urad Dal, and Methi seeds.

Soak the Urad dal, Idli rice, methi seeds in water for 6 hours. Wash it properly. Separate the grains from water and blend them to a smooth consistency, pouring water just as needed. (I will say for every batch you put soaked rice and dal in blender you have to add ¼ cup to ½ cup depeding on your blender size.)

Check my video for consistency.

Transfer the batter to the inner pot in your Instant Pot and press the 'Yogurt' setting. Let it sit for about 8 - 10 hours and then gently stir the fermented batter once. Add ½ or 1 cup of water to thin it down to a pouring consistency. Add salt to taste.

Then prepare the dosa over a cast-iron skillet. Check out the recipe card below on how to make the perfect dosa. 

Soaking time and fermentation method

Idli rice, urad dal, and methi seeds (fenugreek) are soaked in a bowl for 6 hours. By then the grains would become softer, plumped up, and ready for grinding.

The hard part that most people fail at is in fermenting the batter.

Today, I share the details of preparing the perfect batter and crispy dosa. Not just that, I show you the directions to ferment the batter with the Instant Pot.

Using an Instant Pot helps in maintaining warm temperatures that sustain fermenting. This comes in handy during the winter. So you can enjoy crispy dosas in all seasons!  The trick in fermenting is to use an accurate ratio of Rice and Urad Dal.

Mix the rice and urad dal batter very well. Add salt and mix thoroughly using a wooden spatula. Place the dosa batter in the inner pot and place the Instant pot in the “yogurt” setting for 8 -10 hours. NOTE: Do not close the Instant pot lid. Use a lid to cover that lets a little air through.

Fermenting takes longer if you are short on Dal. Likewise maintaining a warm temperature matters a lot.

Another method: If you do not have an Instant Pot, you can let the batter ferment inside your oven and turning the light on overnight.

Another option that I learned from my mother is to set aside the batter in a warm, and darkroom for 8 -12  hours.

Be sure to use a sufficiently large bowl to mix the batters because it doubles in volume as it ferments! The fermenting time depends a lot on room temperature. The warmer it is, the faster it ferments.

How to make dosa 

Batter prepared this way can be used for plain dosa, ghee dosa, masala dosa, or uttapam! You could even make idli out of dosa batter. 

Serve them hot with sides such as coconut chutney or Vegetable Sambar.

If you are planning on making masala dosa as shown below, prepare the dosa stuff the center with freshly prepared potato masala. Serve it hot paired with tomato or coconut chutney.

Expert tips

• Natural fermentation needs warm temperatures. So, it helps a lot if the batter is placed in a warm corner in your kitchen.
• If you are living in a cold climate, use the Instant pot with appropriate setting or ferment the batter inside an oven and turning the light on overnight.
• Keep the tawa on medium flame. If the flame is high, you would not be able to spread the dosas easily.'
• Apply a little oil to the dosa pan before pouring the dosa batter.
• You could also add ½ cup poha when you prepare the batter. Soak it just like rice and urad dal. It is possible that poha makes the dosa stick to the tawa. If this happens, you will have to spread a little more oil to the tawa to overcome it.
• Take precautions not to add too much water to the batter. It is often a rough measure depending on how thick your batter turns out. There is no exact measure for water but look for the pouring consistency in batter.
• If your blender is getting too hot, take a 10 minutes break and resume after it cools down to avoid that from affecting the fermenting process.
• Prepare the batter in small batches by adding a small batch of grains to the blender. Pour the batter into a bigger bowl after every batch.
• Mix the batter well before placing it for fermentation.

Storing suggestion

If you made a big batch of dosa batter scoop the required batter in a different bowl. And store the remaining batter in an air-tight container refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Best griddle or tawa for dosa

To make dosa, I typically use a non-stick griddle or cast iron pan. I find that cast iron pans bring the best results, but I ran into a few glitches in my videos. So, I have used a non-stick griddle in this recipe. I recommend my readers to use cast iron Tawa for best results.

Here are my other dosa recipes that you might like...

• Poha Dosa
• Neer dosa
• Moong dal oats dosa
• Green Gram dosa

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