published Nov 16, 2022 To combine my love of international cuisine and breakfast, I’ve made dishes like Chinese scallion pancakes, challah French toast, and Moroccan shakshuka. I had already heard of dosa, or Indian crepes, and had been eager eat them when I first was in India. After my first serving at breakfast, I asked to speak to the hotel chef and he gave me this recipe (through my interpreter guide of course). I just knew I had to make them when I got home. That’s where today’s dosa recipe comes in! Dosas are savory, crispy, and fried in butter. Now, in order to make them, you’ll have to ferment the batter. This will take a bit of time, but it adds so much texture and flavor to the final results. Think sour dough starter-type fermentation. They are so delicious, you’ll want to add them to your brunch lineup ASAP.
Crispy Indian Crepes
Cuisine: South Indian Traditional soft dosa are very popular throughout India, usually served with dips and condiments like pudina chutney. But when you travel further south, be sure to experience crispy, restaurant-style paper dosa, especially wonderful when filled with a spicy potato curry! These were the version I liked best and tasted first in New Delhi from the chef who was from Hyderabad. Course: Main Dish (typically breakfast/brunch)Difficulty: Medium 🥄🥄Description:Paper dosa are thin Indian crepes with crispy edges. The fermented batter is made from split black lentils (urad dal), baby chickpeas (chana dal), and parboiled rice. After cooking on a hot griddle, the crepes are filled with spicy potato curry. At that point, they are known as paper masala dosa.
Video: How to Make Paper Masala Dosa
There’s an art to making dosas that are perfectly thin, golden brown and crispy. It can take some practice, but you’ll have plenty of batter to work with. To see exactly how it’s done, watch the video in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
INGREDIENT NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Parboiled Rice – Also known as idli rice, this ingredient may be a bit difficult to find. If you’re in the US, look out for Mahatma Brand, which has 16oz packages of parboiled rice. Urad Dal – Also called black gram washed lentil, I typically purchase my urad dal online. Poha Flattened Rice – Optional, but I like to add flattened rice to this dosa recipe. It’s steamed with onions, spices, and herbs and is very flavorful.Chana Dal – Otherwise known as split chickpeas, you also need chana dal for this recipe. It adds body to the batter along with the urad dal.Fenugreek Seeds – Sweet and nutty, fenugreek is similar to burnt sugar and maple syrup. I like to get mine online!Sugar – You only need a bit of sugar for this dosa batter recipe as it helps in the fermentation process.Salt – You only need a few teaspoons, and it is also necessary for fermentation.Onion – This ingredient is optional, but I like to rub a bit of onion in the skillet before cooking my dosa batter for some added flavor.Vegetable Oil – You need some oil to cook your batter. Use vegetable oil, or if you’d like to make them more authentic, opt for ghee.
HOW TO MAKE DOSA (INDIAN CREPES)
How to Know When Dosa Batter is Fermented
Place the batter into a large pot and cover it with a lid. Transfer it to a rack directly under the light in your oven. Unless the weather is very cold, you probably won’t need to leave the light on for more than a couple of hours. As long as you keep the oven door closed, it should be warm enough in the oven for the batter to ferment.
When the dosa batter has completely fermented, it should be doubled in size and will have a slight sour odor.If it hasn’t risen enough, simply place the lid back on and continue fermenting.
Tips for Golden Crispy Indian Crepes (watch my video below)
In a traditional masala dosa recipe, the Indian crepes cook up soft, and they don’t have a golden color. There are several things that help to create a perfectly crispy, golden brown paper dosa.
What Is Dosa Mix Made Of?
My dosa recipe includes par-boiled rice (Mahatma brand in the USA has parboiled rice in 16oz packages, which equals the 2 cups needed for this recipe. It’s labeled rice for paella – Parboiled Medium Grain Rice), urad dal (black gram lentils), flattened rice, and a few key seasonings. It’s a simple mixture, and when you allow it to ferment it is flavorful and delicious!
What Is The Secret Of Crispy Dosa?
There are a few different techniques you can use in order to make sure you end up with crispy results! Be sure to use the correct ingredients — don’t replace the parboiled rice with regular rice, for example. When you grind the batter, use cold or ice-cold water and make sure that your hands are clean before you add the salt after it’s fermented.
Which Rice Is Best For Dosa?
The parboiled rice mentioned above and below on the recipe card is the best rice for your dosa batter recipe. Don’t underestimate the importance of using the correct ingredients!
