# Rava dosa, lacy and crisp, in 30 minutes

Source: https://howtomakedosa.com/rava-dosa/
Updated: 2026-09-25

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.

## At a glance

| | |
|---|---|
| Dry mix | 230 g |
| Dosas | 10 |
| Rest | 20 min |
| Per dosa | 3–4 min |

## What goes in

| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fine semolina | 100 g | Fine rava (sooji), not coarse. Coarse semolina makes a gritty dosa that will not crisp. |
| Rice flour | 100 g | Regular, not glutinous. Gives the crisp shell. |
| Plain flour | 30 g | Maida or all-purpose. Holds it together. Swap for more rice flour if you avoid wheat, and expect a more fragile dosa. |
| Salt | 5 g |  |
| Cumin seeds | 3 g | Whole. |
| Black pepper | 2 g | Coarsely crushed. |
| Green chilli | 1 | Finely chopped. |
| Ginger | 5 g | Finely chopped. |
| Onion | 60 g | Finely chopped. Optional; with it, this is an onion rava dosa. |
| Curry leaves | 10 | Chopped. |
| Coriander leaves | 10 g | Chopped. |
| Water | 750 ml | Plus up to 100 ml more after resting. |
| Oil or ghee | 80 ml | About 1½ teaspoons per dosa. |

**Ratio:** Water is about 3.3 times the weight of the dry mix. That feels wrong, and it is right: rava dosa batter should be thinner than any batter you have made.

## Mixing and resting

### 1. 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.

### 2. 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 when:** It 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.

## Cooking

### 1. 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.

### 2. 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 inward

### 3. Oil 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 pan

**Removing it:** Fold 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.

| Problem | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Soft, not crisp | Batter too thick, or pan too cool. Thin it with 25 ml of water and heat the pan to 210 °C. |
| Breaks when lifting | Lifted too early. Wait for the whole top to dry, up to 4 minutes. |
| No holes, looks like a pancake | Batter too thick, or spread with the ladle. Thin it, and pour from higher. |
| Sticks to the pan | Pan too cool, or flour settled and the pour was mostly water. Stir from the bottom before every ladle. |

## Keep going

- [Coconut chutney](https://howtomakedosa.com/coconut-chutney/): Fresh, frozen or desiccated coconut, in grams, with a tempering that takes 60 seconds.
- [Sambar](https://howtomakedosa.com/sambar/): Tiffin sambar: toor dal, tamarind and shallots in grams, thinner than the sambar you eat with rice.
- [Dosa sticking to the pan](https://howtomakedosa.com/dosa-sticking-to-pan/): Heat, seasoning and batter checks, plus how to re-season a cast iron tawa that has stopped releasing.
- [Ghee roast dosa](https://howtomakedosa.com/ghee-roast-dosa/): The same batter spread thinner and roasted slower in ghee until it snaps.