If I knew that making dosa batter with urad flour and rice flour was a shortcut option, I’d have tried this years ago. Learn how to make a quick almost instant dosa batter with urad flour and rice flour that requires no soaking or grinding. This readymade batter does need fermenting but you can avoid the soaking and grinding of urad dal and rice following this easy dosa batter recipe.
I was telling Amma the other day about how it’s been challenging to get my dosa batter to ferment in Sydney, even in the summer. I follow the usual trick of leaving it in the oven with the light on and there are some signs of fermentation to be seen the next day but not as much as I am used to in Singapore and India.
Somehow this conversation turned to making dosa batter with urad flour and rice flour. This recipe doesn’t really get around the step of fermentation but you can save a lot of time since there’s no soaking and grinding involved like in regular dosa batter preparation method.
I was intrigued enough to try it so that’s exactly what I did. I only needed to buy a packet of unroasted urad dal flour which is easily available in Indian stores. If you can’t find it in stores, just finely grind whole, skinned (white) urad dal and you are good to go.
Verdict: the batter barely fermented although there was a fair bit of bubbles in it after leaving it overnight in a warm place. The dosas turned out beautiful and golden brown and tasted adequately nice. Nothing can compare to a proper homemade dosa made the right way but considering how easy it was to put this batter together, I will not complain. So if you want to avoid grinding dosa batter but want something better than readymade dosa batter powder, then this dosa batter with urad flour and rice flour is it. You just need 3 ingredients and very little work is involved.
Check out how to make idli batter and dosa batter recipe in case you want to do it the ‘proper’ way. If you are more of an instant dosa person, then you may like this instant rava dosa recipe or instant wheat dosa recipe.
Dosa batter with urad flour & rice flour
Ingredients
- 1 cup unroasted urad flour
- 3 cups rice flour
- 1.5 tsp of salt adjust to taste
- 3-4 tsp of sesame oil gingelly oil for cooking the dosa
Instructions
- Mix the urad dal flour, rice flour and salt in a bowl.
- Add enough water in small additions to make a thick batter. Keep mixing as you add water.
- You should have a lump free thick batter. Cover with a plate and set aside in a warm place for 8 hours or overnight for fermenting.
- My batter didn't rise much but was quite bubbly and airy the next day morning.
- Before making the dosas, add more water to get the right consistency. The batter should be easily pourable yet on the thicker side
- Shape your dosas and cook as normal, drizzling some sesame oil as you go.
- Cook both sides until golden brown.
- Serve hot.
Step by Step Instructions for Dosa Batter with Urad Flour and Rice Flour
1. Mix the urad flour, rice flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Add enough water in small additions to make a thick batter. Keep mixing as you add water.
3. You should have a lump free thick batter. Cover with a plate and set aside in a warm place for 8 hours or overnight for fermenting.
4. My batter didn’t rise much but was quite bubbly and airy the next day morning.
5. Before making the dosas, add more water to get the right consistency. The batter should be easily pourable yet on the thicker side (apologies for the difference in colour in the photos, it’s due to the change in lighting – my kitchen has very little natural light).
6. Shape your dosas and cook as normal, drizzling some sesame oil as you go.
7. Cook both sides until golden brown.
Serve hot. The dosas turn a bit rubbery if you keep them for long after cooking so they are best eaten hot. I served mine with drumstick sambar and dosa milagai podi.
You can keep this batter refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Ensure that you buy unroasted urad flour for best results and any regular rice flour should do the trick.
Did anyone try this method to make idli (idly)?
won’t work too well, idli requires more careful grinding to properly rise on steaming and tends to be less forgiving than dosa
The urad/ urad flour is the one that ferments even in the traditional way. Urad flour needs to be soaked separately for the fermentation to set in before mixing them together. The soak and combined soak timings can be borrowed from the traditional recipe. They will taste exactly the same. I even use roasted fenugeek powder and sugar as in traditional recipes.
I could feel the raw taste of rice flour. Any suggestion l?
try adding some fenugreek powder to the batter!
I tried this recipe as I had so much urad flour that I got for making chakli but never used much. It is summer here in Sydney and weather has been very hot and humid lately. I gave this a try with some fenugreek powder added. Though 8 hours didn’t ferment it much, after around 24 hours, the batter fermented nicely for the dosas. I was so impressed with results I actually made this twice in a week.. ha ha.. thanks for the recipe..