This is the simplest way of doing Urad dal dosa. Some people add one table spoon of chana dal for making the dosa very crisp and/or half tea spoon of fenugreek seeds for taste and fiber content.
Ingredients:
2 cups dosa rice (or any normal white rice)
1 cup urad dal
1 tbl spn chana dal (optional)
1/2 tea spn fenugreek seeds(methi) (optional)
Oil
Salt As per taste
Method:
Soak all the ingredients(except for oil) for 4-5hours. Grind with salt. Leave the batter for 5-6hours. Make dosas.
Serve with bhaji or chutney.
Serves : 5
Preparation time : 20min
shilpa what is this dosa rice????
Thajisha, dosa rice is slightly thicker in texture than normal rice. It is available in many grocery shops in Bangalore. Just ask for it in grocery store/shop. If it is not available, use any normal rice(do not use boiled rice)
I tried to do dhosa, but can not get proper result like little little holes around the dhosa, could you please tell me how to get perfect. I am just asking how to get little holes around the dhosa.rest things are fine.
kind regards
Arvind, usually if your batter is not fermented well, there won’t be any holes in it. So make sure the batter has risen well after you leave it overnight.
Arvind, usually if your batter is not fermented well, there won’t be any holes in dosas. These dosas become chewy and don’t taste good. So make sure the batter has risen well after you leave it overnight.
shilpa dear,
i have a question how much water do i add to the batter and what about its consistency.
and the snap is really mouth – watering ah………. yumm
love chars
Shilpa: About one cup of water for the amount of rice/daal given in above recipe should be fine for this.
thanks shilpa
i’ll try it this weekend. hope it turns as mouth watering as yours
love chars
I am trying to make dosa also. Failed once so im trying again. Wish me luck please.
Shilpa: Can you tell me what was wrong?
Ive just made dosa. It was more successfull this time.
Does the batter always smell so strong. Really Cheesy.Can you water the batter down if its too thick.
Now i just got to master sambar, i love it, so delicate.
Thanks shilpa for responding
Shilpa: Nick, some things to remember while making this dosa..the urad daal needs to be ground real smooth. Also the salt needs to be mixed properly before leaving the batter for fermentation.
Is it meant to smell so cheesy, like puke my wife said. I must admit that i put the salt in last because i forgot. But i did mix it in with a spoon before fermenting. It tasted great and even the smell didnt put anyone off eating it. Nick. Thanx shilpa
Shilpa: Nick, yes it has some bad smell after fermentation. But if the smell gets too bad, then there must be something wrong. If that is the case, usually dosas taste very sour. Since you liked the dosa taste, I think nothing was wrong :).
Made dosas again. Batter didnt smell so bad. Maybe before the ingredients were old, i dont know. This time smell is okay. I put chana daal in it.How do you get really crispy. More oil? Heavier Pan rather than frying pan? Fry Longer? Make thinner? T get them thinner do you need thinner batter or spread reelly quickly?
So many questions? Sorry
Shilpa: Nick, to make dosas very crispy, you need to spread them real thin. Then put about 1/2 tea spn oil/ghee on top of it. When its done from one side, turn it upside down. Fry for sometime and take it out.
Can i make dosa for my daughter’s birthday party.
Will it stay good for long time
Shipa: Deepa, dosas taste at their best when you make them fresh and serve hot. If you can keep them hot, then I think you can serve in party.
Hi, Shilpa
Thanks a lot for sharing your cooking skills . I’ve improved a lot in making dosas now. My dosas become chewy(bubber like).I like soft . what shall I do for this?
Shilpa: Purnima, I think your dosa batter is not getting fermented well. So make sure you grind dal very very smooth and keep the batter in a warm place. The volume of the batter should increase the next day.
hi
i have one Q,when should we add fenugreek seeds?i mean do we need to grind it and add before fermentation or after fermentation?
Shilpa: Shruthi, chana dal or fenugreek seeds are soaked along with urad dal and rice, & ground along with them.
Hi shilpa,this site is really veryhelpful to me .my query is that my dosas r not CRISPY. what to do?
Shilpa: You can add a table spoon of chana dal with urad dal. This makes the dosas crispy
Shilpa, should I mix all the ingredients together in one vessel for soaking? I have bolied ponni rice that we got from the store. I hope that will be fine. What is the use of “raw” ponni rice? Please let me know.
Shilpa: Raw ponni rice? in what context Anupama? I think you are talking about uncooked rice. Normal rice is used for this dosa(not the boiled one). I normally soak all the ingredients together in one vessel.
Dear Shilpa,
I need your help in this regards.
I have tried many times I can make Urda Polo. But till today i am not able to make thin crip dosa. I tried with keeping lid open and closed over tawa. But couldn’t make thin crisp dosa as I ate in Hotels. Pls suggest me how to do thin dosa?
Shilpa: Viji, next time try adding 1 tbl spn of chana dal and 1/2 tea spn methi seeds while soaking urad dal. Grind. Chana dal makes it crispy and methi gives it a nice color. Add few drops of oil once it is spread.
Can we use rice flour for this recipe ? Since I have a US mixie, it does not grind fine.
Shilpa: Sowmya, if you use rice flour, taste will be very different.
Shilpa, thanks for the prompt response. Do we get this dosa rice in chicago ?
Hi, first time visitor to this site, and decided to add to what shilpa has already said in response to sowmya’s question. If u don’t have dosa rice , use idly rawa if you can find it, as it is very easy to grind . What I do is the following:
idly rawa: udad dal 3:1
soak for 2-3 hours, along with 2 Tbs methi, and grind separately
Grind udad dal first as you don’t want the mixie too hot
grind idly rawa but do not make it very fine, slightly coarse makes crisp dosas.
Mix both batters well along with 3 Tsp salt.
Leave to ferment overnight in a warm place (possible the boiler room or in an oven heated for 5 min and light left on or the warmest place in ur house)
in the morning, check if the batter is fermented.. it should be porous, if not leave it for some more time.
gently stir the batter well, and use it to make the idly first. The balance of the batter makes excellent dosas. I have lived in US (NJ/ boston) and now in UK, both relatively cold places, and this works perfectly everytime.
Hey Shilpa,
Thanks for the detailed reply inspite of you giving this time and again….
sir,
should it be grinded very finely because it stick to the tava inspite of spreading butter and oil on tava?
thanx
Shilpa: Yes, the batter should be very smooth.
Very easy way of making dosa.
Morning ( around 9 am)
Soak 1, 2, 3 in water
1. 1 & half cups dosa rice
2. half cup urad dal
3. 5-6 fenugreek seeds
4. 2 spoons of cooked rice ( left over last night can be kept in fridge with water & used.)
Evening (around 6pm)
1. User Mixer to grind urad dal & fenugreek seeds together nicely with enough water.
2. Pour it into a vessel.
3. Grind dosa rice & cooked rice together. Pour into the same above vessel.
4. Add little salt and mix everything together with your hand. Keep the vessel closed.
Next day morning 7 am
1. You can see that the batter is fremented.
2. take a tava, apply enough oil for the first dosa & the next 3-4 dosas can be made without oil.
Dear Kiranjit,
I feel it sticks cos the water is more in the batter. Ofcourse the batter should be ground fine.
i want to learn to make brown coloured dosa which is available in restaurants.brown crispy.i dont want to put colour in the batter
Shilpa: Use 1 tbl spn chana dal while soaking the dal and grind with it.
Hey Shipla
First time ever i m gona try to make Dosas wid ur recipe.. i hope it goes well.. now tell me can i keep the Dosa batter in d fridge for 1-2 days after frementation done .
Shilpa: Yes, but sometimes the batter becomes very sour. So while keeping in fridge make sure it is not sour.
Hey Shilpa
I tried Dosa yesterday.. & i can’t believe it goes really really well… yeah i tried forst time in my life & rsult was too gud…… thanx a lot for dis recipe dear…
hi shilpa,
i live in uk. mentioning this to let u know the cold condition. i tried ur recipe. dind turn out well…. bcos of my lack of knowledge. though i left the ground mixture for more than 12 hrs it dint ferment. so pls tell me should i grind the ingredients without water, if with water how much. should i grind it very fine. approx how long will it take to grind with a mixie. should i add soda? when should i add salt.
i would really appreciate ur response.
thanks ,
saritha.
Shilpa: You should make the batter very smooth, touch with finger and if you can’t feel any particles, then it is done. You can add the salt while grinding. I normally add salt.
If the room temperature is too cold, the batter does not ferment. So if you have an electric oven, keep it in that overnight with oven lights on. If not, you can preheat the oven (very low temperature) to about 5mins and keep the batter in it. Switch off. Basically, you are trying to create a warm surrounding for the batter here. You can also try keeping it in warm water bowl and cover with a heavy towel. If still it does not ferment, you can try adding a handful of poha(avalakki) while grinding.
Hi,
can we ferment the dal and rice seperately and then mix them? i did so accidently.
also can we keep the fermented mix and refrigerate and use over a week?
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Hi…..m goin try dosa 2morrow vr 1rst recipe 4rm dis website….vl tell definetly tell u after trying…..!!!
m 4rm pakistan n luv cooking n luved dis website!!!!
i tried dis masala dosa it waz toooooooooooooooooooo………………..gd thanx 2 uuuuuuu:))
Instead we can do the dosa the right way. Doesn’t really change anything much, probably a better dosa. Hope you know that all dosa’s are made of Urad dhal unless specified.
some people say one should add some cooked rice along with the raw rice. some say not reqd. what does cooked rice do to the dosa?
also i have only basmati rice at home as my family does not eat much rice. can i soak that with urad dal? will that make a good dosa? Thanks.
Shilpa: I have heard people add cooked rice to help in fermentation. I never use it. Yes, basmati rice can be used for this.
thank u for the tips on making dosa. i live in UK and for the first time i was able to make the proper south indian dosa with the whole works, holes and crisp and nicely fermented! my whole inlaws family enjoyed it. now they have asked me to make in once again for them. 🙂
hello i m new visitor 2 this site n i found it very useful since i m a beginner in cooking.i wanted 2 knw what is parboiled rice which can b added 2 dosas since this is mentioned in most of the sites
oil in batter ? really ?
If I use basmati rice instead of idli rice will it taste equally good ?
Can we use the same batter for dosa and idli ? You have mentioned a different recipe in https://www.aayisrecipes.com/2006/08/28/idli-sambar-chutney/
You have a different recipe for paper dosa ??
Hi Shilpa,
I am the new to your blog… and really happy to such a variety of dishes, and the photos, presentation… and all… and all !!! Must say good site for begineer like me, specially when ur married and away from India.
Just wanted to know what do u mean by Channa Dal… is it the same dal which we use in Chivda or the channa which used to prepare Gram Flour?
Rest… Thanks and Cheers !!!
Chana dal looks like toor dal but thicker than that. The one used in Chivda is roasted chana dal(putani).
Hi I’m new to your blog as well. I’m southeast asian, so my knowledge of making fermented rice mixes are not so good. Can you tell me what you use to grind the rice to a smooth paste? I tried using a blender, the results look gritty. Please advise.
Hi, i want to make dosa, please guide me, can i grind urad dal and rice together or have to grind seperately?
hii shilpa my dhosa batter is smelling very bad what can i do now
You mean it got over fermented?
I had excess urad dal batter. What are my options to use it?