Few years ago, one day my brother and I were roaming around Gandhi bazaar, Basavangudi in Bangalore in the evening. My brother is a great foodie, he knows almost all the good restaurants in Bangalore. He tried to take me to these restaurants every time we went out. So, all of a sudden, he said, there is a famous restaurant called Vidyarthi Bhavan in that area and they serve these amazing beNNe(butter) dosas. Lets go there.
In my mind, I thought it would be a big posh restaurant. We reached there and I was shocked to see the atmosphere. It was an old restaurant packed with people. There was a huge line of customers waiting to be seated. I told my brother that I didn’t want to eat there and I was wanting to get out of that place. But as always, he declined. Anyway, after we waited for like 45 minutes, we got a seat. We had to share our table with few more people as there was a huge crowd. Then I saw a waiter arriving with a huge stack of plates with dosas arranged one above other. These dosas were so good that, I even forgot I was upset with my brother for taking me there :).
Since then, I have read and heard about this restaurant innumerable number of times, and many people agree that those are the best dosas you could get. Yummmm….
So with that background, you can guess how happy I would be, when my dad gave me two neatly bound books containing hundreds of recipes from different Kannada magazines, and when I opened the first book, the first page had this recipe. This was a cut out from “Tharanga”, a Kannada weekly. The owner of Vidyarthi Bhavan – Ramakrishna Adiga had shared the recipe for their beNNe dosa. God bless him for sharing this with readers, “Tharanga” for publishing it and my dad for saving this cut out and passing it on to me. I could not stop drooling over it again and again, so I gave it a try today. It was amazing. Crispy from outside, the palya(potato bhaji) was superb, the chutney had a strong ginger taste to it. In all, just mind blowing. Try it once to know what I am saying. I am trying to translate the article here.
For Dosas:
1 cup urad dal
2 cups dosa rice
2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup maida
Butter
Oil
1/8th tea spn baking soda
Salt
Dosa rice is available in almost all grocery stores in India. It is slightly thicker than regular rice. I used regular rice for this.
Method:
Soak urad dal and rice separately for 2-3 hrs. Grind dal to a very smooth paste. Now grind rice to a smooth paste. Mix both well. Now mix rice flour, maida, salt to it and mix well. Leave it for 4-6hrs (or overnight). Do not make the batter too thin.
Add soda to it and mix well.
While making dosas:
– Tava used for making the dosas should be thick. If it is too thin, dosas get burnt soon. I used my regular dosa pan(non stick).
– Heat tava. When it is hot, apply some oil to it. Now sprinkle a handful of water on hot tava and spread it. Again apply some oil. Spread one or two dosas and check if they come out easily.
– Every time while making dosas, first apply oil to tava, sprinkle water and then spread dosa. (I didn’t try this on my non stick tava since I was a bit concerned that the non stick coating would come out by sprinkling cold water on hot tava).
What next?
– Once dosa is spread, drop a tea spoon of oil on it. Flip the dosa. Flip again and spread a table spoon of bhaji/palya over it, spread little oil/butter on it and fold it.
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(I folded it in half which was more convenient to me. I think in the restaurant they fold it like this, I din’t remember it. I was so excited that I even forgot to flip the dosa, but still it was great).
Potato stuffing – Palya or bhaji
2 cup boiled and mashed potatoes
1 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 tea spn mustard seeds
1/2 tea spn urad dal
1/2 tea spn chana dal
4-5 green chilies
6-7 curry leaves
2 tbl spn fresh/frozen coconut
A pinch turmeric
1/2 tea spn finely chopped ginger
Oil
Salt
Method:
Heat oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal. When dal is slightly browned, add curry leaves, ginger, green chilies and onion. Fry till they turn translucent. Pour 1/2 cup water, salt and turmeric. Cook for sometime. Now add the potatoes and mix well. The potatoes should get mashed well for maximum taste. Garnish with coconut.
Chutney:
1/2 cup dalia (hurigadale/putani)
1 cup fresh or frozen coconut
1/2 tea spn chopped ginger
4-5 green chilies
Salt
Method:
Grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste. Add a little water to bring it to required consistency.
Shilpa, that’s really sweet of your Dad to keep all those cutouts, bind them and preserve them for you. What a treasure! and i agree, sometimes the small, cramped up eateries provide the best of foods :). Thanks for sharing this.
Hope you are having a great weekend,
musical.
Hi Shilpa,
I had been to Vidyarthi Bhavan last year when I visited B’Lore. We waited for hours in the queue to eat the dosas. Even the coffee was so tasty.
Benne Dose looks so yummy.
Wow, benne dosa looks very yummy
Shilpa,
Wow..how sweet of your Pappa to bind cutouts of recipes!!This is an exhaustive recipe!I have tried making plain butter dosas(with Amul butter)they truly taste heavenly! But the striking thing about this dosa is its batter!it has additional rice flour+maida..shall give it a try..currently want to try out whole moong dosa..other day I ran out of whole moong so bought yest..wd do the “timbat ghalchey” part today.
Thanks for the potato bhaaji & chutney as well(yest I searched for Putani daal but wasn’t on shelf in this supermarket.)
I really enjoyed your description of this place, Shilpa, and the dosas and potatoes look so yummy, I am soaking urad dal and rice now at four in the morning :):)
Thanks for sharing it!
…and you are the best, for sharing this precious recipe with us!
Oh that is so cool! Your dad rocks. And I know what you mean about your brother taking you to that kind of restaurant. My brother does the same thing too! 🙂
I haven’t been there Shilpa. I get tired of waiting outside MTR, so don’t get to go there.Must try next time!:))
My mom’s fave mags are Sudha and Taranga! Benne dose looks yum, will try.Thank you for posting!Hugs.
Shilpa dosa looks delicious, I never get tired of eating dosas.
In your list of Thanks… I’d like to add one to you for sharing this recipe with the bloggers… 🙂 I love ghee roasts (as my mom refers to them).
Wow..am definitely going to try this. Gandhi Bazar..maybe we have eaten there..don’t remember exactly! Thank you.
Hey shilpa really this looks yummy it looks like a variety of our udada polo with rice flour and maida,you are really lucky that your dad takes so much intrest and he actually collected the clips for you.will try it soon.
I remember having this “Dharwadada Benne dose” stand near Basavanagudi Bus stop. Will give this a try soon. Not many restaurateurs share their recipe. Thanks to all those in the pipeline that made this happen – the original chef, taranga, you dad and you for unveiling the secrets.
Have you been to that ‘tindi street’ somewhere near Lalbagh, Blore? I don’t remember location name exactly. That street has full of road side snacks shops, each one being innovative small businesses..awesome place for a foodie, not for germophobic people though.
Shilpa: Manjula, please don’t remind me of chaat street.. Ohh god the variety of chaats that are available there just mind blowing. We used to go there frequently.I had few favorite restaurants in Bangalore and I can’t tell you how much I am missing them.
Yeah, Vidyarti Bhavan is the most famous and still talked abt restaurant till today, the standards are till the same. I havent gone to this place, but I have heard so much, anyway tks for the recipe, i will try and make, we are not used to adding rice flour and maida, will try this once and let u know.
Tku
Thanks Shilpa,
By any chance do you have a recipe
for good south indian coffee.
Ashok
Hyderabad
Shilpa dosa looks delicious…. will try soon..
thanks alot shilpa.reading the post made me hungry.will surely try this.
oh how much i miss bangalore!
Oh my God!!.. I absolutely love the benne masala dosa at Vidyarthi Bhavan.(I miss miss miss bangalore for this very reason!)..Also CTR (in Malleswaram) is another tiffin place which serves yummy benne masala dosas..tastes different from the vidyarthi bhavan ones but yummy all the same..
Thank you so much for posting this recipe-will definitely have to try this
Looks so Yummy. I am visiting Bangalore in december will have to make a stop there for some dosa.
oh my god, vidarthi bhavan dosa recipe i am trying this today shopa, thanks a lot for the recipe,and keep posting recipe of the cut out which your dad gave you.
is the batter should ferment or is it just keeping it overnight and making dosa pls clarify the doubt?
Shilpa: Jyothi the dosas come out well when the batter is fermented well. This usually happens when you keep it overnight(this dosa batter got fermented without any trouble)
Ohhh..now i cant stop thinking of this beNNe dose. Last month, when I was visiting my folks in Bangalore, I went to this place: Vidyarthi Bhavan. The dose’s there still taste the same as they did years ago (my college days).
Thanks for sharing this recipe Shilpa. I will definitely give this a try.
Hi..
Dosa lokks yummy…!!
Thank you shilpa for a very good recipe. I just need t0 know how long can this batter stay in the fridge? please let me know. Also does one let is get sour before putting it in the fridge ot let it slowly sour in the fridge..i don’t mean ferment.i mean the sour flavour. thanks a million.Miriam
Shilpa: Miriam, I usually finish off my dosa batter the next day itself. Some times if the dosa batter is soar when you keep it in fridge, it keeps on getting more and more sour. So keep it before it gets sour.
Vidyarthi Bhavan and dosas……they are absolute yumm. Years passes but there is absolutely no change in the taste of dosa they serve. Thanks for the recipe, your dosa looks yummy too..
Dosa looks delicious,bet it will taste also!!Feel like eating your dosa….:))
Shilpa,
This was today’s breakfast!! It was absolutely delicious dosa with much different taste!My kids and hubby both liked it a lot..even the batter gets a “Loni” texture..ie. just like home made butter!! Thks a ton for loving dosas,taking the trouble of searching recipes, preparing and posting them!!! God Bless!
Shilpa,
My mouth;s watering, I have stayed in bangaloe for a few months and absolutely loved their dosa’s , chutneys and sambhar. I miss that place, unfortunately here in US we dont get good stuff. Will try your dosa this weekend. thanks for sharing
Looks yummy. I used to live close to Gandhi Bazaar but we would usually go to Dwaraka Bhavan for set dosas.
Do we need to add the baking soda on the previous day itself or do we add it just before we start making the dosas?
Shilpa: Sashi, soda is added just before making dosas.
Hi Shilpa,
i have visited ur site many a times but this is the first time i am commenting.
i tried this dosa not once but twice with the exact measurements and the dosas came out real good. wanted to thank u for the same.
Hi Shilpa,
I have been referring to your website and have been trying them out. I must say, your website is more like the Bible to us now 🙂 Being in the US and getting to learn online is indeed a gift. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Although I have tried the uDda poLo many times already, I have never tried this one. I plan to try the benne dosa tomorrow. Wish me luck 🙂
Hello Shilpa,
I am a newcomer and accidentally found your blog. You have some great recipes! I actually made the benne dosas using the above recipe but they turned out to be very “rubbery” in texture. They looked crisp but when I or the family tried to tear them it had a very bad texture. Despite this, my son ate them and called them gum dosas. Obviously, I missed something…. I did use parboiled rice and have made many a dosa before, so I am confused.
Shilpa: I don’t know what was wrong Reshmi. It is possible that the parboiled rice made the difference, not sure though. Was the batter fermented well?
Hi shilpa,
The dosa turned out AWESOME! I ran out of maida so tried without it. It was still lip smackingly delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Hmm….Vidyarthi Bhavan..can never forget dosa from this place…its very hard to make dosa batter in US..it does not turn out well, due to the weather..
Hello Shilpa,
We have a family website.Every Thanksgiving we get together. I posted you masala dosa article. Every one is suggesting that we make dosa during our get together. We will be about 50 people.All of us from Bangalore.They were so whelmed by the article about Vidyarthi Bhavan Dosa.Vidyarthi Bhavan is one of the best tasting restaurant in Bangalore. Every time we go to Bangalore the first thing my family visits is Vidyarthi Bhavan.I am going to try to make the dosa with your recipe before I try in front 50 people. I am sure it will turn out great. Again thanks for the recipe.
Prabha Murthy
Hi Shilpa,
Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe. I am from Punjab and has never tried Dosa at home though me and my husbnad both Love to have it.But yesterday I tried this butter dosa, and it came very nice.My husband liked it 🙂
U know I am the regular visitor of ur site and very excited to know what u have posted today..
And the special and most inmportant thing about this lovely site,is the way you write and describe the recipe that even the learners like me can easily understand.
Thanks again and keep it up!!
Hi Shilpa
I tried benne dosa but no good results.I usually dont make dosas at home as it takes a long time to grind in my mixer.I wanted to try ur recipe,so did it for half the measurements but something went wrong.It turned out little hard and more like rubbery.The batter had fermented very well.Do you think skipping maida would solve this prob?Any suggestions?I will try this again as my hubby loves dosas…
Shilpa: Sorry, I have no idea SK. This is the exact recipe I found in the magazine and worked for me. You can try skipping maida, it may work out.
hey shilpa, i tried this recipie and it really worked out!it tasted amazing and my hubby loved it a lot . thanks a lot for such a wonderful recipie.
Dear Shilpa,
We loved your dosa. I keep trying out new recipes trying to get to the perfect dosa. All thanks to you I’ve found one for life.
I will be trying your idli next.
Thanks again and keep up the good work.
Cheers!!
Hi Shilpa!
Thanks for the priceless recipe of benne Dose. Vidyarthi Bhavan has remained the mecca of Benne Dosa lovers in Bangalore….and we often wondered what went into those magical pieces. Thanks to your dad…. and you – for sharing the secret with us!!
….and now I can have them the way i prefer them with a little less benne…Looking forward to more…thanks again!!!
Thank you Shilpa for sharing your Benne Dosa recipe with so many of us. I got it from my friend who is No. 39 on your list of comments. I left Bangalore 26 years ago and still crave Vidyarthi Bhavan and MTR stuff. Thanks to Namrata and Bhaskar – my friends in Jayanagar, I can try doing my own and stuff my face until I satisfy this strong craving for Idlis and Dosas. I always wondered to myself what ingredients went into the lovely Palya and now I do. So I shall give it a try as well. Yahooooo. Thanks again.
thanx for the great recipe. i will try it today. have always wanted this recipe since i had eaten it years ago on a visit to arelative at banglore.
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Can I use raw rice instead of parboiled rice since I do not get any in my city?
hey
thanks a lot for the recipe,dint try it,will try it soon
but reminded me of those day when i had it,
great site
thank u very much for all the great effort.
Hi Shilpa,Vidyrtibhavan is famous restaurant in bangalore Everytime we go to india we never come back without going there .This place is my husbands favorite, It is weird to wait that long but its worth.
Hi Shilpa,
I am a new fan of your site.
I tried Cabbage Dosa and it came out very well. My husband liked it a lot.
Recipies from here seem authentic and tasty. I like to try most of them.
Thanks for such good work. Keep it up.
Shilpa, Benne dosa turned out very well. Consistency of the dough was impressive and the dosa was golden brown. Thanks much for the wonderful recipe.
REALLY VERY VERY HAPPY TO GET DOSA RECIEP PREPARED AS PER VIDYARATI BHAVAN, I WAS RESIDING NEAR BASAVANAGUDI. MY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES FAVOURITE HOTEL IT WAS. I NEVER USED TO MISS THE OPPORTUNITY OF VISITING THAT HOTEL WHENEVER I GO TO THAT PLACE. THANKS TO YOU AND YOUR FATHER WHO HAS PRESERVED THE COPY OF SECRET RECEIPE TREASURE OF V.BHAVAN HOTEL
Dear Shilpa,
Hi! Your recipe seems interesting. My memory of benne dose takes me to dhavangiri benne dose on Kanakpura road. Nothing to beat the dosa I had there . I have tasted the Vidyarthi Bhavan dosa also but I liked dhavangiri more. It is no where close to an up market place but it’s real yummy.Do try when you visit next time.
This is a keeper. I tried them last week and it turned out to be perfect, was a hit among friends and family.
Hi,
I want to know the recipe to prepare Neeru dosa. Could you please share the same?
Regards
Roopa
Shilpa: Its under dosa section.
I usually buy aggrawal brand idle rice and dosa .it is easily available in indian stores.
hi,
what is dosa rice? can i use idly rice instead or long grain rice.
cheers
Yes, you can use any white rice.
thanks shilpa
hi shilpa, i tried ur recipe the dosa came out very well.i never had such a perfect dosa in my life.keep it up…..
Benne Dose in Bangalore is very good at Sree Sagar, Malleswaram 7th cross on Margosa Road. It used to be called Central Tiffin Room (CTR) in olden days.
Hi Shilpa… i tried ur receipe tday …. exactly the same as u hav written ….. and it was really good…. we liked it ….
thx for posting the receipe…….
Hey Roopa,
I make neer dose all the time. Thats my fav. It is very easy to make. Soak 1 cup of rice (for 2 people) the previous night or for 4 hrs in hot water. The next day grind it into fine paste. put lots of water to it. The consistency should be that of rave dose. Add salt and make doses just like rave dose. 1 laddle of batter sould spread into the entire tava. It takes little longer to cook than regular dosa but believe me the wait it worth it!! Njoy with kaayi chutney.
Shilpa, Thanx for the recipe. The dose came out awesome..
Shilpa,
Wow excellent reipe I have been a regular visitor of your blog but never posted a comment before. I am from chennai but our tenants were Pai family a vegetarian konkani family.
It is from that aunty I learnt few konkani recipes
I used to love their neer dosas, aloo and capsicum curry with coriander, uradal red pepper powder, kovakkai with cashews…ur blog brings back alll those beautiful memories. Idlis in jackruit leaves, hing chutney etc etc
Love it
keep it comin
if possible create a Ebook atleast we can have it as one point of reference.
Swarna
Hey Shilpa,
Thanks a lot for this recipe. I’ve been trying for over a year to make the perfect dosa, but somehow my mother’s standard recipe ( 4:1 rice to urad dal for batter with a pinch of methi) never seemed to work great for me (Maybe it was the different rice we purchase in the US..). But, this recipe was awesome!! I had perfectly nicely browned, crisp-as-you-please dosa.
Thanks,
Deepthi
P.S. : I have been a regular reader of your blog, but somehow never got around to commenting. But I HAD to thank you on this one 🙂
Nice recipe…try using butter instead of oil in the initail stages. Also the garlic-green chili spicy chutney is a great compliment with this!
Vidyarthi Bhavan serves the best dosas… From outside, it appears like a dingy place but people who own Mercedes also come there just to enjoy the lip smacking ones. Next time you visit Bangalore, you must also go to Janata in Malleshwaram and Upahar Darshini in Basvangudi..
My MIL asked if we could make dosas for tomorrow, I wandered around the internet looking for something new, and came across this recipe. Trying it out for tomorrow! Thanks,
Hi Shilpa,
Love this recipe,made a few times now and everytime came out great.My family asks only for this dosa now.Even told my sister who lives in Bangalore about this recipe.Sure to go to Vidhya Bharati in my next visit to India.thanks for the great recipe.
Hi,
Have been regularly visiting ur blog for tips,recipes etc.
Glad you r on Facebook !!
For this benne dosa, do we add the baking soda before fermenting it overnite or after fermenting.
If after fermenting, do we need to keep the batter for some more time or can we instantly prepare the dosas? Dying to try out the recipe as a weekend treat for my family 🙂
Immediately after adding soda, dosas can be made
pls tell me how to prepare kayee ras
It is under side dishes category. (you can search in search box for kairas)
Vidyarthi Bhavan I have been visiting this restaurant from the age of 8 till now I am 69, visit to bangalore incomplete without the visit to this Masala Dosa Temple Long live
hi shilpa
I’m new to your website, just loved the very first time. I love these dosas from Vidyarthi bhavan which is my heart favorite since i was a kid. i was always wondering how do they make them. but now my search stopped, going to try tomorrow, will let you know how it was.
thanks a lot.
I’m new to your website, just loved the very first time. I love these dosas from Vidyarthi bhavan which is my heart favorite since i was a kid. i was always wondering how do they make them. but now my search stopped, going to try tomorrow, will let you know how it was.
thanks a lot.
Hi Shilpa,
Tried benne dosa today and it was awesome,the colour(golden yellow) ,texture everything was perfect.Thanks a ton for sharing this recipe.
sudha
Can I replace Urad dal with Moong dal?
No, the taste will be completely different if you do that
I make ‘uddina dose’ but never used maida and rice flour to it..
Is it the fine rice flour which we get in stores or it is ‘akki tari’ (slightly rough one) which is mostly used for idly?
I’m very eager to try this out
Fine rice flour
Thanks shilpa.. for giving the nice recepie… keep on posting.. r u in face book shilpa.
Hi,
I am a Tamilian married to a Konkani Brahmin and we are both from Bangalore. I happened to reach your blog while looking for some Konkani recipes to make for my husband’s birthday and was really impressed. I am planning to make some of his favorite foods – cabbage dosa, gashi, etc. Thanks for sharing your recipes…..
Hi Shilpa, i tried this dosa . dosa ho to aisa,!! just like the one we get in hotels. Only i did not add baking soda, but yet turned out very well. thanks for posting
Very nice recepie. Shilpa, ur blog alwys inspires me to cook..keep up the gud work..
Hi Shilpa,
I tried this recipe and although the results were encouraging I had one problem.I am not a very experienced cook.The outer skin of the dosa was not evenly brown.There were patches of brown areas and also white areas. I guess it has something to do with the thickness of the batter. Should i loosen it further or make it more dense.?
Hi Shilpa,
Thank you so much for this recipe. I was searching for Vidyarthi Bhavan Dosa recipe and found yours. I’m going to try it tomorrow. Btw, I was wondering if you still have those cuttings from ‘taranga’. If you do, it would be great if you could scan it and post. I live in US and as you know, our ‘Masala Dosa’ is ranked #1 dish (among many foods around the world) to try before you die 🙂
Hi shilpa,
I live in the US and wanted to know if you get dosa rice here. Also is it parboiled rice or kusublakki as called in blore?
I usually buy Laxmi brand idli rice. It is easily available in Indian stores.
Hi,
Thanks for sharing this recipe, I was searching for this recipe from long time.
hey Shilpa,
i’m new to cooking.
tried this recipe!! came out awesome!! in laws loved it.. 🙂
thanks 🙂
I swear this recipe will not turn out Vidyarthi Bhavan dosa. Not once, I tried this recipe several times, but with no success. Ready made flours will not give good dosa, we should use only raw ingredients. Taste & carefully observe Vidyarthi Bhavan Dosa, I am sure it has no rice flour or maida. I dont think they will give out their secrete recipe so easily.
Still thanks a lot for interesting information.
Wish if we have their Samabr receipe too 🙂
Hello Shilpa,
Was craving for VB dosa and google brought me here. I tried out the recipe and it came out really well.
Thanks for sharing …. much appreciated.
Hi Shilpa!!
This is the first food blog I started following in 2010.. I have tried few of your recipes and they have all turned well except for this benne dosa..I really appreciate your father’s effort but this can’t be the original VB Benne dosa recipe..I don’t think any one would share a recipe that their business thrives on. They don’t give away their secret recipe just like that..the color and the texture of VB dosa is far different than the one shown in the picture here.. the outcome of this recipe was good too👍 thank you for sharing..
Hi Shilpa!!!
I really appreciate your father’s efforts but sorry to say that it’s not The Original VB dosa recipe. Have tried this the color and texture both were very different from VB benne dosa..though taste was good..and I don’t think any food joint owner would give away his secret recipe just like that the iconic Vidyarthi Bhavan benne dosa being the case here.
For the above recipe – Soak 4 teaspoon sabudana(sabbakki) & 1 glass avalakki (poha) along with rice. It will give perfect cruch n soft texture, just like any other restaurant dosa.
Dear Shilpa
Why methi seeds are not added in preparation of dosa batter ?