Rava dosa · instant, no fermenting
Rava dosa, lacy and crisp, in 30 minutes.
No soaking, no grinding, no waiting overnight. Rava dosa is made from semolina and rice flour, mixed thin as buttermilk and poured, not spread, onto a very hot pan. The holes are the point. Everything that differs from a plain dosa is below.
What goes in
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fine semolinaFine rava (sooji), not coarse. Coarse semolina makes a gritty dosa that will not crisp. | 100 g |
| Rice flourRegular, not glutinous. Gives the crisp shell. | 100 g |
| Plain flourMaida or all-purpose. Holds it together. Swap for more rice flour if you avoid wheat, and expect a more fragile dosa. | 30 g |
| Salt | 5 g |
| Cumin seedsWhole. | 3 g |
| Black pepperCoarsely crushed. | 2 g |
| Green chilliFinely chopped. | 1 |
| GingerFinely chopped. | 5 g |
| OnionFinely chopped. Optional; with it, this is an onion rava dosa. | 60 g |
| Curry leavesChopped. | 10 |
| Coriander leavesChopped. | 10 g |
| WaterPlus up to 100 ml more after resting. | 750 ml |
| Oil or gheeAbout 1½ teaspoons per dosa. | 80 ml |
Mixing and resting
Mix to buttermilk
Whisk the semolina, rice flour, plain flour and salt together. Pour in the 750 ml of water and whisk until there are no lumps. Stir in the cumin, pepper, chilli, ginger, onion, curry leaves and coriander.
Rest 20 minutes
The semolina absorbs water and softens while it rests. After 20 minutes the batter will have thickened. Whisk in water 25 ml at a time until it is thin again.
Ready whenIt is as thin as buttermilk and runs off a spoon with no coating left behind. The flour settles to the bottom within a minute; that is normal.
The pan
Cooking
Heat hotter than for plain dosa
Heat the tawa to 210–220 °C (410–430 °F) and rub it with an oiled onion. Skip the water sprinkle: a rava dosa needs the full heat to set its holes.
Stir, then pour from a height
Stir the batter from the bottom every time, because the flour settles. Scoop 90 ml and pour it from 15–20 cm above the pan, starting at the outer edge and working in a circle towards the centre. Do not spread it. Fill any large gaps with a thin drizzle.
Batter per dosa · 90 ml
Pour from · 15–20 cm above the pan
Pattern · outer ring first, then inwardOil and cook slowly
Drizzle 1½ teaspoons of oil or ghee over the whole dosa, into the holes. Lower the heat to medium and let it cook undisturbed. A rava dosa takes more than twice as long as a plain one.
Cook time · 3–4 min
Done when · the whole top is dry, the edges are deep gold and lifting, and the dosa slides when you nudge the panRemoving itFold it in half and lift it out in one motion. If it tears, it needed another 30 seconds. Turn the heat back up and wait 60 seconds before the next pour.- Soft, not crispBatter too thick, or pan too cool. Thin it with 25 ml of water and heat the pan to 210 °C.
- Breaks when liftingLifted too early. Wait for the whole top to dry, up to 4 minutes.
- No holes, looks like a pancakeBatter too thick, or spread with the ladle. Thin it, and pour from higher.
- Sticks to the panPan too cool, or flour settled and the pour was mostly water. Stir from the bottom before every ladle.
Keep going
- Coconut chutneyFresh, frozen or desiccated coconut, in grams, with a tempering that takes 60 seconds.
- SambarTiffin sambar: toor dal, tamarind and shallots in grams, thinner than the sambar you eat with rice.
- Dosa sticking to the panHeat, seasoning and batter checks, plus how to re-season a cast iron tawa that has stopped releasing.
- Ghee roast dosaThe same batter spread thinner and roasted slower in ghee until it snaps.