Masala dosa is a thin and crispy pancake prepared with fermented dosa batter which is stuffed with potatoes masala and served with chutney and sambar. it is one of the famous dishes from south India, which is can be served for morning breakfast or also as an evening snack. In this recipe, I share hotel-style secret tips for dosa batter and some easy techniques for making crispy dosa on the first attempt. Do try this!
The key to making hotel-style masala dosa at home are
- Firstly, I would strongly recommend using a combination of dosa rice and small-grain rice for dosa batter. Rice and urad dal ratio should be 3:1.
- The batter plays a critical role in it, make sure to grind the batter really well and smoothly, as it helps to make the perfect dosa. Also, the batter has to be neither thick nor thin and has to be medium thick and ribbon consistency.
- ferment the batter in a warm place to hasten the fermentation process. if you live in a cold climate, then you can warm the oven and place it in it or use an instant pot for fermentation.
- In the hotel, for a crispy dosa texture add some idli rava or coarse rava to the batter.
- I have used non-stick tawa to roast this dosa till it is crisp. you may use a cast iron dosa pan too, but non-stick is a much better option. also, roast the dosa on low to medium heat to get the golden crisp color.
- lastly, the crispy masala dosaย tastes great when served hot with spicy chutney.
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Recipe video
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Ingredients
For crispy dosa
- 2 cup dosa rice
- 1 cup regular rice
- 1 cup urad dal
- 1 tsp methi dana
- Water for soaking and grinding
- ยผ cup idli rava - for crispy dosa texture
- Salt to taste
- Oil and butter for roasting dosa
For dosa masala
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp urad dal
- 1 tsp chana dal
- 4-5 curry leaves
- 2 chopped green chilli
- 1 tsp chopped ginger
- Pinch of hing
- 1 medium size onion slice
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 cups boiled and mashed potatoes
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Some coriander leaves
- 2-3 tbsp water to sprinkle
For tomato chutney
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp chana dal
- 6-7 dry kashmiri red chilli
- 3 ripe tomatoes
- 1 onion pieces
- 1 piece tamarind
- Salt to taste
- ยผ cup water for grinding
For chutney tempering
- 1 tsp oil
- ยฝ tsp mustard seeds
- ยฝ tsp chana dal
- ยฝ tsp urad dal
- ยฝ tsp jeera
- Some curry leaves
- 2 dry red chilli
Instructions
Making dosa batter
- In a mixing bowl, add 2 cup dosa rice and 1 cup small grain rice, 1 cup urad dal and 1 tsp methi dana. Wash and soak it for 4-5 hrs.
- Now remove water from the soaked grain and keep it aside. Use water while grinding the batter.
- Then in a mixture jar, add soaked grains and some water. Grind batter into a smooth and ribbon-like consistency.
- Take out batter into mixing bowl and whisk batter in one direction.
- Cover and ferment batter to keep it in warm place. You can cover the batter with a thick blanket or keep it in oven or instant pot.
- After 6-7 hrs, the batter is properly fermented.
- Now add ยผ cup idli rava and mix well.
- The Dosa batter is ready.
Making potato stuffing
- In a pan, add oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, curry leaves, chopped green chilli, chopped ginger and a pinch of hing. Saute it.
- Now add the onion slice and saute till it is slightly transparent.
- Then add turmeric powder and mix well.
- Now add 2 cups boiled potatoes, salt to taste, some coriander leaves and lemon juice. Mix well.
- Then sprinkle some water and cook masala on low flame for 3-4 minutes.
- Switch off the gas and the potato masala is ready. Keep it aside.
Making tomato chutney
- In a pan, add oil and chana dal. saute till the dal is slightly golden brown.
- Now add Kashmiri red chilli and tomatoes. Saute on high flame.
- Then add onion slices and tamarind pieces. Saute it.
- Switch off the gas and cool down the mixture.
- Add the chutney mixture into the mixture jar. Also, add salt and water.
- Grind it into a smooth paste and take it out into a bowl.
- Now in a tadka pan, add oil, mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, jeera, curry leaves and dry red chilli. Saute it.
- Add the tempering to the chutney and mix well.
- Spicy and tasty tomato chutney is ready.
Making masala dosa
- In a dosa batter, add salt and water. Mix well.
- Now heat, tawa and grease it with oil. Spread dosa batter with a ladle.
- Spread some butter and oil on the dosa.
- Cook dosa on low to medium flame till it is crispy.
- Remove some extra batter with a ladle (refer to video)
- Place masala on dosa and fold cooked dosa.
- Masala dosa is ready. Serve hot with chutney and sambar.
Notes
- Using dosa/idli rice in dosa batter gives a perfect result.
- 3 cups of rice with 1 cup of urad dal is the perfect rice-dal ratio for dosa.
- use soaked grain water while grinding the batter.
- Grind batter into a smooth paste, do not grind it coarse. Also, the consistency of the batter should be ribbon-like.
- whisk batter in one direction so air particles incorporate in it.
- keep the batter in a warm place for proper fermentation.
- addition of a little Idli rava gives crispiness and a perfect result to the dosa.
- do not add more water to the dosa batter. Dosa becomes perfect with medium-thick batter.
- lower the temperature of tawa before you spread the dosa.
- cook dosa on low-medium flame.
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