Learn how to make crispy, golden restaurant style dosa with this easy dosa batter recipe using rice flour and urad dal ground in a mixie. With quick soaking and no wet grinder needed, this batter ferments beautifully for delicious everyday breakfast.
Generally South Indians especially Tamil people make dosa using idli batter by diluting it. We make dosa for breakfast and dinner as well. Few months back, I got a request to share restaurant style golden colored, crispy dosa recipe. Even though I am happy with my dosa using idli batter, I wanted to have a separate dosa batter recipe in my blog. So I started searching for the same.
I tried many dosa batter recipes with various combinations and by changing the ratio of rice & dal. At last I was satisfied only with two recipes. This is one among them. I will share the other one soon. I referred this blog for the recipe. This dosa batter recipe is very easy to make as it uses rice flour. We need very less soaking & preparation time for the batter and we don’t need to use grinder for grinding the batter. An Indian mixie/mixer would do. It ferments beautifully and this batter yields crispy, golden colored dosa as you see in the pictures.
I made plain dosa adding less oil for Sendhil, Cone/Roast dosa adding ghee for my daughter and thick uttapam kind of Set dosa for me. Everything came out very well and I was absolutely happy with this batter recipe. Not just that, you can keep this recipe as a base and make many dosa varieties as you like. Friends, do try this recipe if you are looking for an easy and quick dosa batter version. You will love it like me. Don’t forget to see the full video recipe.
Lets check out how to make this easy homemade dosa batter recipe using rice flour and urad dal. Check out my 35 chutney recipes to make varieties of side dish for dosa. People in cold countries, please check this post for fermentation process.
Quick Notes for US & Abroad Kitchens
- Rice Flour Choices: Store-bought fine rice flour or idiyappam flour (brands like Elephant, Nirapara, Double Horse or Deep from Indian grocery stores, or Bob’s Red Mill white rice flour) works wonderfully for this batter without any gritty texture.
- Urad Dal & Grinding: Whole white urad dal (urad gota) yields the fluffiest, lightest batter in an Indian mixer grinder. If using a high-speed blender (like Vitamix or Ninja), grind with ice-cold water in short pulses so the motor heat does not warm the batter.
- Fermenting in Cold Climates: In winter or colder weather abroad, place the batter bowl inside the oven with the oven light turned ON (heat OFF), or set it in an Instant Pot on ‘Yogurt’ (Normal) mode with a glass lid for 10 to 12 hours until it rises nicely.
- Tawa & Stovetop Heat: On electric coil or glass-top stoves, preheat a heavy seasoned cast iron dosa tawa on medium heat. Drizzle a few drops of water to check if it sizzles before pouring batter, and keep heat steady on medium to avoid scorching the rice flour base.
- Roasting with Ghee: Drizzling homemade ghee or sesame oil (gingelly oil) around the edges gives that authentic South Indian hotel roast fragrance and deep golden crunch.
Easy Dosa Batter Recipe With Rice Flour – Dosa Batter In Mixie
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Rice flour (approx. 200 g / 7 oz) any store-bought rice flour or idiyappam flour
- ½ cup White round urad dal (approx. 100 g / 3.5 oz)
- Salt and water as needed
- Cooking oil or gingelly oil or ghee as needed to roast dosas
Instructions
- Wash the urad dal once and soak it by adding enough water. Take the rice flour in a wide bowl and add 2 cups of water. Whisk it well and make sure the water level is 1 inch above the flour. Add more if needed. Let it soak well for 1 hour at least. No issues even if you soak them for 4 to 5 hours. (If you want to use methi seeds, add with urad dal and soak for minimum 2 hours).
- Now drain the excess water from urad dal and grind it in a big mixie jar. Grind them without using water. Then add water and grind it to a smooth batter (nearly 3/4 to 1 cup of water). Add the soaked rice flour along with water and salt. Grind the batter again for even mixing. Add some water if you feel the batter is too thick.
- Transfer the batter to a bowl. Wash the mixie jar by adding little water and add to the batter. Mix the batter well with your hands. It helps proper and quick fermentation. Leave the batter overnight or at least for 12 hours based on the weather conditions in your place.
- The next morning, batter would have raised well. Mix the batter well and add some water if it is too thick.
- Heat a dosa pan and pour a ladleful of batter on the tawa. Spread it thinly and uniformly. Keep the flame medium and let the dosa cook till you see the bottom turning golden brown. Do not cook this dosa on high flame. By this time, the top portion would have cooked. You can also cover the tawa with a lid. Do not flip the dosa. As soon as the dosa starts to turn golden brown, drizzle 1 or 2 tsp of oil or ghee all over the dosa. Let the dosa turn completely golden and crispy. Fold the dosa and serve hot with your favorite chutney or sambar!
Video
Notes
- Use the same cup for measuring dal and rice flour.
- For variations, you can use split urad dal instead of round ones.
- You can add 1/4 tsp of methi seeds to get nice flavored dosa.
- Do not make the batter too thick or too thin. The consistency should be like our regular idli, dosa batter.
- You can also use urad dal flour instead of grinding urad dal. Use the same ratio.
- Add oil or ghee generously to get a shiny look in the dosa.
- Do not cook the dosa on very high flame as it will burn quickly. Cook the dosa on medium flame patiently and adjust heat whenever needed.
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Enjoy Crispy dosa with chutney and sambar for your breakfast or dinner !
Dosa looks so crispy and tempting…love that cute 4 bowl stand…
Looks yum!!
hi chitra easy recipe indeed.i ll try and give u the fb.i want a suggestion from u regarding idly batter.my idly batter always has a mild sourness.not over pulippu but slight.how to avoid this?as i am in chennai it is hot always.so it ferments quickly.even i grind late also it gives sourness.how to avoid this can u give me some tips?thanks in advance.
Hi harini,Happy to see your comment after a long time.Do try this dosa batter an let me know.Reg idli batter sourness,Generally if we grind the batter without adding salt,it takes more time to become sour.To avoid sourness,my MIL puts whole green chillies in the batter.U can try that.You can also try to keep the batter vessel in a big bowl of water or use banana leaf.ie.Place a piece of banana leaf covering the surface of the container/vessel in which you want to store the batter. Then pour the batter into the vessel. Place another piece of banana leaf on top of the batter and close the vessel.i found this banana leaf tip from indus ladies forum.Please try any of these and share ur feedback :)
Super dupper idea for instant dosa,sure it came handy,when we are running out of dosa batter,i easily satisfied my toodler kid who is diehard fan of dhosa
Thanks Sindhuja.Did u try it ?
hi can i use this dosa batter to make onion uttapam
I have not tried it. Guess it works.
Nice recipe keep it up 🤗
Thank you
Hi chitra
Can we use red rice flour to.make this dosa ?
Thanks
Hi, yes you can use it.