Crispy Plain Dosa

Crispy Plain Dosas are savory pancakes originating from South India and is a staple breakfast or dinner item. It is somewhat similar to a crepe in appearance.

What is Dosa made from?

Dosa, the popular South Indian pancake/crepe is made from a fermented batter.Its main ingredients are rice and  black gram/black lentils,/urad dal, fenugreek seeds ground together in a fine, smooth thin batter with a dash of salt.

What kind of rice do we use for making Dosa?

There are many kinds of rice out there in the market. I personally use Idli rice for making the batter, be it for Dosa or Idli. One can also use raw rice or parboiled rice or a combination of the above.

What is the rice and Urad Dal/Black Lentil ratio?

Personally, I use the batter for a week for making various breakfast items.The batter stays good when refrigerated.

The ratio I use is 4:1 4 cups rice to 1 cup Urad Dal/Black Lentils. I soak a few fenugreek seeds along with the rice.This is for the softness of the Idli’s when cooked.

I soak them separately overnight (8 hours) and grind them separately next morning and mix both the batters together with salt to taste and set it aside in a warm place for fermenting overnight. The next day it is ready to go!

I use the same batter for making Idli’s, Dosa, Paniyaram, Uthappam etc.

Should we soak the ingredients separately or together?

Rice along with some fenugreek seeds and urad dal/black lentils is soaked separately. The reason for soaking them separately is because Rice and Urad dal/Black Lentils have different textures.

The reason for soaking the rice and Urad dal/Black lentil separately is because the fluffiness of the Urad dal/Black lentil is made more evident( if you are going to use the same batter for making Idli’s).

Idli’s need to be fluffy and soft, while Dosa are basically flat and crispy.

Be it for making Idli’s /Indian steamed rice cakes, Dosas, Paniyaram’s, Uthappam, I use the same batter.The fact that one can do so many breakfast items with one single batter is a blessing in itself. The most versatile batter, if there was one, ought to be this one!

If you plan to use the batter for only making Dosas then it would be okay for you to soak both the rice and Urad Dal/Black lentil together.

How to grind the soaked ingredients?

The soaked rice and black lentils along with fenugreek seeds are ground separately in a wet grinder for larger quantity. For smaller quantities they can be blended in a food processor or a mixer grinder/blender into a fine paste.

Water is then added to the batter for the required consistency along with salt to taste and this batter is allowed to ferment overnight ( or 6-8 hours).The fermentation adds a light sour flavor to the dosa similar to sourdough.

The batter needs to be medium thick for making Idli’s/Steamed rice cakes, Paniyarams and Uthappams, more thin and watery for making Dosas.

The fermented batter is then spread like a crepe/pancake on a hot griddle or tawa to make Dosas.

How to make Dosas?

Keep the flame on medium and warm the skillet. Next grease the skillet with a little oil or ghee before you pour the batter (this prevents the batter from sticking to the skillet).

After being spooned into a cast iron or a non stick skillet/tawa, the batter is gently spread in a circular motion until it fills the pan.Drizzle with oil or ghee along the edges of the dosa while cooking it on one side,  and then flip and cook for a minute or two on the other side.

The crispy plain dosa is then folded in half and served with hot sambar or chutney.

Are Dosas popular only in South India?

In popular tradition the origin of Dosa is linked to Udupi, the coastal city in Karnataka, India, perhaps because of its association with the Udupi restaurants. According to some food historians, they believe that it was popular in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, as early as the 1st century A.D as per references to the Sangam literature.

The original Tamil dosa was softer and thicker. The thinner and crispier version of dosa was first made in present-day Karnataka.

After India’s Independence, South Indian cuisine became popular in North India. Now it is popular globally all over where Indian food is served.

What is Dosa usually eaten with?

In South India, crispy plain dosas are traditionally served hot along with chutney and sambar.

Dosas are typically eaten with your hands and can be dipped in curries like sambar and chutneys. Dosas can also be made with a filling/Bhaji of mashed potato and peas with spices, this then is called Masala Dosa.

How to make Crispy Plain Dosa?

Crispy Plain Dosa

Recipe by Maya Shetty

Course: BREAKFAST, DOSACuisine: South Indian

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Servings

servings

Prep time

16

hours 

Cooking time

10

minutes

Calories

608

kcal

Total time

16

hours 

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 4 cups 4 Idi Rice

• 1 cup 1 Urad Dal

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 Fenugreek seeds/Methi

• Salt to taste

• Water as required

Directions

• Soaking the ingredients
• Wash and soak 4 cups of Idli rice in 6-7 cups of water.To this add 1/2 tsp of Fenugreek seeds while soaking, this makes the Idli’s soft when cooked
• Wash and soak 1 cup of Urad Dal/black lentil separately in 3 cups of water
• Set both the ingredients on the kitchen counter and let them soak overnight ( 6-8 hours).This will allow them to absorb moisture and the Urad Dal/black lentils to fluff a bit, just right for grinding the batter and making fluffy soft Idli’s.
• Grinding the ingredients
• After 8 hours, grind the rice and Urad dal/black lentils separately in the wet grinder/blender into a smooth paste.
• Now mix both the batters together with a tsp or two of salt along with water for required consistency and set aside for fermenting overnight( 6-8 hours) in a warm place.
• For fermenting in colder places (like ours) preheat your oven for 10 minutes at the lowest setting and place your vessel containing the batter inside with the lights on. This will provide enough warmth for the batter to ferment and rise up after 6-8 hours.
• Checking if the batter is properly fermented
• The fermented will rise up and look frothy and bubbly on top.
• To check if it is well fermented take a tea spoon full of batter and drop it in a container with cold water. The fermented batter will float, letting us know it is ready to be used to cook.
• The fermented batter is usually thick, so add water to the required consistency depending on whether you are using it for making Idli’s or Dosas. Idli’s, Paniyaram and Uthappam needs a medium thick batter, while Dosa requires a thin watery batter, adjust accordingly.If you are planning on making Masala Dosa or stuff Dosa with filling keep the batter at medium thick to hold the filling within, otherwise it might tear. For thin crispy Dosa a light thin watery mix will work just as fine.
• How to make the Dosa
• Warm your cast iron skillet to medium hot, not too hot since it will make the batter stick to the skillet.
• Now grease the skillet with coconut oil/ ghee. Rubbing oil on a half cut onion slice and holding it with a fork helps easily grease the tawa, but you can even do the same with a folded kitchen towel.
• When the skillet is warm ( you can test it by sprinkling some water droplets on it to see if it sizzles).Stir the batter well in the bowl and gently spoon the batter in the center of the warm griddle and spread it in circular motion clockwise to the sides to make a thin crispy crepe.
• Allow it to cook or a minute or two. You will see the sides of the dosas lift of the pan slowly. At this time add oil or ghee along the edges.This will help you flip the dosa to the other side without the Dosa getting stuck to the skillet. It is your choice if you want to flip & cook both sides.Thicker dosas might need to be flipped to be cooked well, thinner crispy ones will do just fine with cooking on one side.
• Now gently fold or roll the dosa & serve hot with sambar or chutney.
• Turn the heat to low, before making the next dosa. Once more grease the skillet with oil and pour the next spoonful of batter for the next dosa and increase the heat to medium.
• Dosa can be served plain or with fillings, its your choice .You can even layer a thick dosa like pizza & top it with onions, tomatoes and veggies of your choice to make it a filling Uthappam.

Notes

• Some prefer to add a bit of soaked poha or flattened rice to the batter while grinding, I don’t use it.It turns out just fine either way if you follow the ratio.

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What does Dosa taste like?

Crispy Plain Dosa is a thin, crisp crepe or pancake. It has a slight tangy taste due to the fermentation, and is savory rather than sweet.

Without the filling, on its own it’s called ‘plain dosa‘ that can be eaten with chutney, sambar or a variety of vegetable curries. With filling it is called Masala Dosa and can be eaten just with the filling, or it Dosa can be layered like a pizza with toppings called Uthappam & can be eaten as such or with curries.

Why is my Dosa not crispy?

Add half a cup of poha/flattened rice if you’d like your dosa slightly crispy. Even adding brown sugar to the batter just before it is ready to be poured make sit crispy and brown.

List of my Dosa Recipes

• Plain Dosa
• Masala Dosa
• Chettinad Masala Dosa
• Mysore Masala Dosa
• Thekkarae/Cucumber Dosa
• Ragi Dosa

The Bottom Line

Now that you know all about making a crispy plain Dosa, I hope you try making some in your own kitchen. Once you master the art of making a plain dosa well, then the sky is the limit. You can make any number of combinations and varieties of dosas you like. Enjoy!

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