Making crispy Masala Dosa at home is all about proper fermentation of dosa batter, correct rice to dal ratio and the temperature dosas are cooked at. This recipe doesn’t call for a wet grinder or the addition of soda. I will show you how to master the art of making crispiest dosas ever.
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- Ingredient Notes for Dosa Batter
- Ingredient notes for Aloo (Potato) Masala
- How to make Dosa Batter recipe
- How to make aloo(potato) masala
- How to make crispy masala dosas
- Anvita’s Top Tips
- Common Mistakes to Avoid and how to fix them
- My Final Thoughts
- Related
- Masala Dosa Recipe
I have always been a fan of south Indian food, especially the idli , dosa, sambar combination. Don’t you agree that something about that combination is always so comforting and soul soothing.
This is the third recipe I learnt from my friends mom. I am also sharing her tips and tricks to make the crispiest dosas ever.
Ingredient Notes for Dosa Batter
See recipe card for quantities.
- Urad Dal acts as the binder and aids fermentation.
- Channa Dal give it the golden brown color and the crispiness.
- Ponni Rice is the parboiled variety of rice that gives the dosa that light, fluffy and crispy texture.
- Fenugreek seeds aid in fermenting the batter
- Poha or leftover rice for that slightly caramelized flavor
Ingredient notes for Aloo (Potato) Masala
- Potatoes and Onions as the base
- Lentils like channa dal and urad dal
- Spices like asafoetida, cumin, mustard, curry leaves, turmeric, green chilies, ginger, fresh cilantro
- Oil or ghee to cook
How to make Dosa Batter recipe
- Soak urad dal & methi in one bowl and ponni rice in another for atleast 5 hours. 20 minutes before grinding soak poha if not using cooked rice.
- Grind drained urad dal & methi dana with soaked poha by adding water gradually until light and smooth.
- If the mixer heats up, pause or add a couple of ice cubes.
- Separately grind the ponni rice by gradually adding water until light and smooth.
- Mix the two batters & whisk with your hand in circular motion for 5 minutes and into a thick, pourable batter.
- Ferment the batter. You could either use an Instant Pot and ferment it on yogurt mode for 8- 12 hours. Or cover the container with a lid and ferment it in the oven with the light on. If your oven has a bread proof setting like mine, use that setting to ferment your batter at 95 F overnight.
- Once fermented, add salt and adjust the thickness with a bit of water if needed. The batter should be pourable, not too thick or too thin
How to make aloo(potato) masala
- Pressure cook potatoes (temperature in recipe card) in the Instant pot, by adding water to the inner pot , placing a trivet on the water followed by the potatoes, followed by a natural pressure release
- Once cooked, allow the potatoes to cool and peel them. Mash with a potato masher.
- Heat oil or ghee in a wok or pan and temper it with asafoetida, cumin, mustard, curry leaves, turmeric, green chilies, ginger.
- Add sliced onions and a pinch of salt and cook onions until soft and tender.
- Sprinkle the turmeric and coast the spices on the potatoes.
- switch off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves and keep the masala aside for the dosas.
How to make crispy masala dosas
- Heat a cast iron tawa or a good non-stick pan on medium-high. Once hot, lightly grease and wipe with a cut onion or a paper towel to even out the surface.
- Pour a ladle of batter in the center and quickly spread it out in circles into a thin dosa. Don’t press too hard once it starts cooking or it can tear.
- Drizzle a little oil or ghee around the edges and a few drops on top. Let it cook until the bottom turns golden and crisp and the top looks set.
- place 2 to 3 tablespoons of potato masala in the center or slightly off-center and spread gently.
- Fold the dosa over the masala (roll or fold into a triangle), let it sit on the tawa for another 20-30 seconds for extra crispness, then serve hot with coconut chutney and sambar.
Anvita’s Top Tips
- Keep the batter slightly thinner than for regular dosa and cook on a well-heated tawa; this is what gives you a dosa that goes crisp without sticking or turning chewy.
- Don’t make the potato masala too wet; a slightly dry but soft masala sits better inside the dosa and keeps it crisp instead of making it soggy.
Common Mistakes to Avoid and how to fix them
| Common mistake | Result | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Batter too thick | Dosa turns thick and chewy, not crisp | Thin the batter slightly with water; it should spread easily and flow off the ladle |
| Tawa not hot enough | Pale dosa that doesn’t crisp properly | Always heat the tawa well; first dosa is your test, adjust heat from there |
| Too much oil in masala | Potato filling turns greasy and heavy | Use just enough oil to temper; keep masala soft but not oily |
| Overloading masala | Dosa breaks or turns soggy in the center | Use a moderate amount of filling and spread it evenly |
| Spreading batter on over-oiled tawa | Batter refuses to spread and forms clumps | Lightly grease and wipe the tawa before pouring batter; add more oil only after spreading |
My Final Thoughts
Once you nail this Dosa Batter, you will keep coming back for more.This dosa is crisp and the filling is so comforting and you don’t really need anything beyond sambar ad chutney. Try it once and let me know your thoughts on it.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
- Soft Spongy Idlis using Idli Rava
- Weeknight Onepot Sambar in 30 minutes
- Anna Style Coconut Chutney for Idli Dosa
- Andhra Style Peanut Chutney | 3 flavors
Ingredients
For Dosa Batter
- 1 cup urad dal soaked overnight
- ¼ cup channa dal soaked overnight
- 3 cups ponni rice soaked overnight
- 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds soaked overnight
- 1 cup leftover rice or soaked poha
- 1.5 -2 cups water add gradually
For Dosa Aloo Masala
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 2 Onions finely diced
- 4 Potatoes medium
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 2 Red whole chillies
- 6 Curry leaves
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Urad dal
- 2 tablespoon Cashews 2 tbsp optional
- 1 teaspoon Chana dal
- 1 teaspoon Ginger finely grated
- 2 Green chilies chopped
- 1 tablespoon Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup Fresh cilantro to garnish chopped
Instructions
Dosa Batter
- Soak urad dal & channa dal & methi in one bowl and ponni rice in another for atleast 5 hours. 20 minutes before grinding soak poha if not using cooked rice.
- Grind drained urad dal, channa dal & methi dana with soaked poha by adding water gradually until light and smooth.
- If the mixer heats up, pause or add a couple of ice cubes.
- Separately grind the ponni rice by gradually adding water until light and smooth.
- Mix the two batters & whisk with your hand in circular motion for 5 minutes and into a thick, pourable batter.
- Ferment the batter. You could either use an Instant Pot and ferment it on yogurt mode for 8- 12 hours. Or cover the container with a lid and ferment it in the oven with the light on. If your oven has a bread proof setting like mine, use that setting to ferment your batter at 95 F overnight.
- Once fermented, add salt and adjust the thickness with a bit of water if needed. The batter should be pourable, not too thick or too thin
To make Dosa Aloo Masala
- Pressure cook potatoes in the Instant pot, by adding water to the inner pot , placing a trivet on the water followed by the potatoes, followed by a natural pressure release
- Once cooked, allow the potatoes to cool and peel them. Mash with a potato masher.
- Heat oil or ghee in a wok or pan and temper it with asafoetida, cumin, mustard, curry leaves, turmeric, green chilies, ginger.
- Add sliced onions and a pinch of salt and cook onions until soft and tender.
- Sprinkle the turmeric and coat the spices on the potatoes.
- Switch off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves and keep the masala aside for the dosas.
For making Dosa
- Heat a cast iron tawa or a good non-stick pan on medium-high. Once hot, lightly grease and wipe with a cut onion or a paper towel to even out the surface.
- Pour a ladle of batter in the center and quickly spread it out in circles into a thin dosa. Don’t press too hard once it starts cooking or it can tear.
- Drizzle a little oil or ghee around the edges and a few drops on top. Let it cook until the bottom turns golden and crisp and the top looks set.
- Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of potato masala in the center or slightly off-center and spread gently.
- Fold the dosa over the masala (roll or fold into a triangle), let it sit on the tawa for another 20-30 seconds for extra crispness, then serve hot with coconut chutney and sambar.
Video
Nutrition
Ingredients
For Dosa Batter
- 1 cup urad dal soaked overnight
- ¼ cup channa dal soaked overnight
- 3 cups ponni rice soaked overnight
- 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds soaked overnight
- 1 cup leftover rice or soaked poha
- 1.5 -2 cups water add gradually
For Dosa Aloo Masala
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 2 Onions finely diced
- 4 Potatoes medium
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 2 Red whole chillies
- 6 Curry leaves
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon Urad dal
- 2 tablespoon Cashews 2 tbsp optional
- 1 teaspoon Chana dal
- 1 teaspoon Ginger finely grated
- 2 Green chilies chopped
- 1 tablespoon Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup Fresh cilantro to garnish chopped
Instructions
Dosa Batter
- Soak urad dal & channa dal & methi in one bowl and ponni rice in another for atleast 5 hours. 20 minutes before grinding soak poha if not using cooked rice.
- Grind drained urad dal, channa dal & methi dana with soaked poha by adding water gradually until light and smooth.
- If the mixer heats up, pause or add a couple of ice cubes.
- Separately grind the ponni rice by gradually adding water until light and smooth.
- Mix the two batters & whisk with your hand in circular motion for 5 minutes and into a thick, pourable batter.
- Ferment the batter. You could either use an Instant Pot and ferment it on yogurt mode for 8- 12 hours. Or cover the container with a lid and ferment it in the oven with the light on. If your oven has a bread proof setting like mine, use that setting to ferment your batter at 95 F overnight.
- Once fermented, add salt and adjust the thickness with a bit of water if needed. The batter should be pourable, not too thick or too thin
To make Dosa Aloo Masala
- Pressure cook potatoes in the Instant pot, by adding water to the inner pot , placing a trivet on the water followed by the potatoes, followed by a natural pressure release
- Once cooked, allow the potatoes to cool and peel them. Mash with a potato masher.
- Heat oil or ghee in a wok or pan and temper it with asafoetida, cumin, mustard, curry leaves, turmeric, green chilies, ginger.
- Add sliced onions and a pinch of salt and cook onions until soft and tender.
- Sprinkle the turmeric and coat the spices on the potatoes.
- Switch off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves and keep the masala aside for the dosas.
For making Dosa
- Heat a cast iron tawa or a good non-stick pan on medium-high. Once hot, lightly grease and wipe with a cut onion or a paper towel to even out the surface.
- Pour a ladle of batter in the center and quickly spread it out in circles into a thin dosa. Don’t press too hard once it starts cooking or it can tear.
- Drizzle a little oil or ghee around the edges and a few drops on top. Let it cook until the bottom turns golden and crisp and the top looks set.
- Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of potato masala in the center or slightly off-center and spread gently.
- Fold the dosa over the masala (roll or fold into a triangle), let it sit on the tawa for another 20–30 seconds for extra crispness, then serve hot with coconut chutney and sambar.
