Food

Dosa (Fermented Rice and Lentil Batter)

Breakfast · Fermented · Indian · Rice · Vegan

Dosa (Fermented Rice and Lentil Batter)
Prep 6 hr soak + overnight
Cook 3 min each
Serves 12 dosas
Level Medium

The thin, crisp South Indian crêpe, from a batter of rice and black gram ground with water and fermented overnight by the grains’ own bacteria.

Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Rice section’s regional pages and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup (100 g) urad dal (whole or split skinned)
  • 2 tablespoons (25 g) chana dal
  • 1½ cups (315 g) raw rice (sona masoori; or ponni or basmati)
  • 2 tablespoons (15 g) poha (flattened rice)
  • ½ teaspoon (2.5 g) methi (fenugreek) seeds
  • 1¼ cups (300 ml) cold filtered water, plus about ¼ cup more as needed
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt (non-iodised if added before fermenting)
  • Oil, for the griddle

Directions

Key ingredients

Salt

  1. Soak. Soak the urad dal, chana dal and fenugreek together in 3 cups water for 5–6 hours, and the rice separately in 3 cups water for 5–6 hours. Soak the poha for 30 minutes before grinding.
  2. Grind the dal. Drain the dal and poha and grind with ¾–1 cup of the water to a smooth, bubbly batter.
  3. Grind the rice. Drain the rice and grind with about ½ cup water, smooth or slightly coarse.
  4. Combine the two batters (add the salt now in cold weather).
  5. Ferment loosely covered in a warm place overnight, up to 12 hours, until risen and bubbly; a spoonful should float in water.
  6. Store. Stir, salt the portion to be used, and refrigerate the rest for up to 2 weeks.
  7. Cook. Spread a ¼-cup ladle of batter thinly on a medium-hot griddle, drizzle with oil, and cook until golden and crisp.

Notes

Source Adapted from Swasthi Shreekanth, “Dosa Recipe (Dosa Batter),” Swasthi’s Recipes.

A correction to the source Its cold-weather tip says to ferment “in oven at 100 F/ 40 C.” 100 °F is about 38 °C and 40 °C is 104 °F; use about 38 °C (100 °F).

Why no starter A 2019 study found idli-type batters are fermented by bacteria carried on the grains themselves, Weissella above all; surface-sterilised grains did not ferment. Ratios of rice to urad vary from 2:1 to 4:1 between sources.

Serving With coconut chutney and the collection’s Sambar.

The Rice section’s South Asia page (/rice/south-asia/) covers the history and technique behind this dish.

The photo The photograph shows a dosa served with sambar rather than coconut chutney.