How to make perfect dosa batter?

Answer 1

Dosa is the ever-popular South Indian breakfast of crispy crepes made with fermented rice and lentil batter. With just a handful of ingredients learn to make the classic Dosa recipe from scratch with my easy video and step-by-step photos. I also cover making your own dosa batter in a blender or mixer-grinder, tips on fermentation and cooking dosa to help you make the best dosa – crispy, soft and so good to dunk in a bowl of Coconut Chutney or piping hot Sambar.

Soaking the lentils, rice, making the batter, fermenting the batter calls for time, planning and some prep work. So for your ease of understanding, I have divided this step by step guide into 4 main parts:

Soaking rice and lentils

Making dosa batter in a blender or mixer-grinder

Fermenting dosa batter

Making dosa.

1. In a bowl take ½ cup idli rice or parboiled rice along with ½ cup regular rice. Instead of adding regular rice, you can also make the dosa with a total of 1 cup idli rice as I have shown in the video. Kindly note that the video has the recipe ingredients doubled in proportion.

2. To the same bowl, add ¼ cup urad dal and ⅛ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi).

3. Rinse the rice, lentils and methi seeds together a couple of times and keep them aside.

4. In a separate bowl, take 2 tablespoons of thick poha (flattened rice or parched rice).

5. Rinse poha once or twice in water and then add to the bowl containing the rinsed rice+lentils+methi seeds.

6. Add 1.5 cups of water and mix. Cover with a lid and soak everything for 4 to 5 hours.

7. Drain all the water and add the soaked ingredients to a mixer grinder or a blender.

8. Add ⅔ to ¾ cup water and grind or blend till you get a fine grainy consistency of rice in the batter. A smooth consistency of the batter is also fine.

If the mixer gets heated up, then stop and wait for some minutes. When the mixer cools down, grind again.

Depending on the jar capacity, you can grind everything once or in two batches. I ground in two batches and added a total of ¾ cup water.

9. Now take the batter in a large bowl or pan. In case the dosa batter becomes thin, then add a few tablespoons of rice flour to thicken it. Mix the rice flour very well in the batter.

10. Add ½ teaspoon of edible rock salt. Mix very well. Instead of rock salt, you can use non-iodized salt or sea salt crystals or Himalayan pink salt.

11. Cover and allow to ferment for 8 to 9 hours or more. The time of fermentation will vary depending on the temperature conditions, climate and altitude.

In winters, the time of fermentation can go up to 14 to 24 hours. If you live in a cold city or high altitude then I highly recommend fermenting the batter in an Instant pot if you have one.

I have listed below more fermentation tips and suggestions including fermenting dosa batter in an Instant pot. So do read these handy and helpful tips.

In the below photo, you see the dosa batter after 11 hours of fermentation. A proper fermentation will double or triple up the volume of the batter with a light sour aroma.

12. Now lightly stir the batter, before you begin to make dosa. You will also see many tiny air pockets in the batter. As you see in the below photo, the batter is very well fermented.

After that you cooked a Dosa in low flame.

Answer 2

Dosa is a popular dish from the Indian subcontinent made with a fermented batter of rice and lentils. Here is a simple recipe that you can use to make dosa batter at home:

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of rice and 1 cup of split black lentils (urad dal). Rinse the rice and lentils well with water, then soak them in water for at least 4 hours or overnight.

• Drain the soaked rice and lentils and transfer them to a blender. Add 1/2 cup of water and blend until the mixture forms a smooth and thick batter.

• Transfer the batter to a large bowl, cover it with a lid or plastic wrap, and set it aside in a warm place to ferment for at least 8 hours or overnight.

• The next day, the batter should have risen and have a slightly sour, fermented smell. Stir the batter well and add more water as needed to thin it out to a pourable consistency.

• Heat a griddle or non-stick pan over medium heat. Lightly oil the pan and ladle some batter onto the griddle, spreading it out into a thin and even circle.

• Cook the dosa for a few minutes on one side, until the bottom is golden brown and the top is set. Flip the dosa over and cook for another minute or two on the other side.

• Serve the dosa hot, with your choice of chutneys or other accompaniments.

You can also add other ingredients to the dosa batter, such as chopped green chilies, cumin seeds, or fenugreek leaves, to give it more flavor. Experiment with different ingredients and adjust the proportions as needed to find the perfect dosa batter for your taste.

Answer 3

To make perfect dosa batter, you will need the following ingredients:

1 cup of long grain rice

1/4 cup of urad dal

1/4 tsp of fenugreek seeds

Water for soaking and grinding

Salt to taste

To make the batter, follow these steps:

Wash the rice and dal thoroughly in cold water. Soak the rice and dal, along with the fenugreek seeds, in water for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Drain the water from the soaked rice and dal, and transfer the ingredients to a blender or food processor. Add a little water and grind the mixture into a smooth and slightly thick batter.

Transfer the batter to a large mixing bowl, and add enough water to make it the consistency of a thick pancake batter.

Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the batter ferment at room temperature for 8-12 hours.

After the fermentation period, add salt to the batter and mix it well. The dosa batter is now ready to be used.

To make the dosa, heat a non-stick griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. Ladle a scoop of batter onto the griddle and spread it out into a thin and circular shape.

Drizzle a little oil or ghee around the edges of the dosa, and cook for about 1-2 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown and crispy.

Flip the dosa and cook the other side for another minute or until it is cooked through.

Serve the dosa hot with your favorite chutney or sauce. Enjoy