Equipment · what you need
The tools behind the numbers.
Every recipe on this site gives weights in grams and temperatures in degrees. That only works with a few tools. Here is what they are, what matters when buying each one, and what you can do without.
The two you cannot skip
Kitchen scale
The recipes are written by weight, because a cup of rice weighs about twice what a cup of urad dal does, and measuring by volume breaks the 4 : 1 ratio.
Price · the cheapest digital scale from a known brand is fine
Search for kitchen scales on Amazon
Cast iron tawa
A heavy, flat cast iron griddle holds the 190–215 °C range steadily from one dosa to the next. Thin pans cool down every time batter hits them.
Surface · flat, with no raised rim that gets in the way of the spatula
Pre-seasoned · saves you the first round of seasoning
Not for · an induction hob, unless the listing says it is induction-compatible
The one that removes the guessing
Infrared thermometer
Point it at the pan and it reads the surface temperature in a second. This is how you know the tawa is at 200 °C and not 250 °C. It is also useful for checking the oven-light temperature for fermenting.
Note · shiny stainless steel reads low. Cast iron reads accurately
Search for infrared thermometers on Amazon
A probe thermometer does the other job: checking batter temperature after grinding (under 30 °C) and in the fermenting spot (26–32 °C).
Grinding
Wet grinder or mixer grinder
A wet grinder, with stone rollers turning in a stone drum, grinds slowly and stays cool. It gives the fluffiest urad dal and the best rise. If you make batter every week, it is worth it.
A mixer grinder (the Indian kind, with a tall steel jar) is faster and cheaper, but it heats the batter. Use ice water and grind in 90-second bursts, as in the master recipe.
A high-speed Western blender works in a mixer grinder's place, with the same short bursts and ice water.
Mixer grinder · 750 W or more, with a wet-grinding jar
Voltage · Indian appliances are 230 V. In North America, buy a 110–120 V model
Small things
What you can skip
- A dosa-specific non-stick pan: easy, but it browns less and wears out. A cast iron tawa lasts for decades.
- Electric dosa makers: they don't get hot enough for a crisp plain dosa.
- Batter-fermenting gadgets: an oven with the light on, or an Instant Pot you already own, does the same job. See fermenting in cold weather.
Keep going
- Dosa sticking to the panHeat, seasoning and batter checks, plus how to re-season a cast iron tawa that has stopped releasing.
- Batter calculatorHow many dosas, and how warm is your kitchen? Get every weight in grams and every wait in hours.
- Rava dosaThe instant one: no soaking or fermenting, and a watery batter poured from a height to make the holes.
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