Crispy Rava Dosa

- Submitted by Dahlia

(Home Made Instant Rava Dosai, Semolina Crepes, Grits Dosa, Sooji ka Dosa)

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As a young girl, whenever we would go to a restaurant, our common dish for ordering was Rawa Dosa. Whitish dosa with crispy corners and the choicest tempering served with onion chutney would just make me drool and I would finish it in a jiffy.

Back then, I thought it was very tough to prepare, which is why we always eat it in restaurants. Years later, when I got married, my mother came to know that the same Rava dosai was my husband’s favorite. And like a dutiful mother-in-law, my mom would diligently make rawa dosas for him with 3 different kinds of chutneys, each time we visit my mom’s house. Only then I realized that Rawa dosa is actually very easy to make; can be prepared any time and the best part is it does not require any fermentation. It is apt for jiffy tiffin making. Try it for your dinner or as Saturday evening snack, it is assured that you and your family will love it.

Recipe for Rava Dosai

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 3

Ingredients

• Semolina (Rava) - 1 cup
• Rice Flour - 1/2 cup
• All Purpose Flour (Maida)- 2 tbsp
• Buttermilk (or Curd) - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 (finely chopped - optional)
• Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Crushed peppercorns - 1/4 tsp
• Green Chili - 1 (finely chopped)
• Ginger - 1 " (grated)
• Cilantro - 2-3 strands (finely chopped)
• Curry leaves - 1 strand (finely chopped)
• Salt - as needed
• Sesame oil or Ghee - for making dosa

Optional Ingredients

• Cashews
• Mustard seeds

Method

1. Mix the rava, rice flour, maida and required salt in a big bowl. 
2. Add the sour curd (or buttermilk) and mix it well without any lumps. Add required water to make a batter thinner than normal dosa batter.
3. Add finely chopped onions, green chili, cilantro, curry leaves, grated ginger, cumin seeds and crushed peppercorns to the batter.(Note :- If you do not enjoy onions, do not add it. My mother in law likes to pop some mustard seeds in some oil and add it to the batter. Also some small pieces of cashews can be added to add some crunch.)
4. Let the batter rest for 10-15 minutes. Just before making each dosa, mix the batter once. 

   

5. Heat a non stick dosa pan on medium high heat. 
6. Take a ladle full of batter and spread the batter from the outer side of the pan. (unlike the normal dosa which you spread from the inside out.)

   

7. Pour few drops of oil on top and let it cook for 4-5 minutes on one side. You will see the edges lifting off the pan.
8. You do not really have to flip the dosa and cook. Gently remove the dosa when the bottom turns golden brown. Rava dosa is ready to be served.

   

Tips

• The consistency of the batter is very important in making rawa dosa. For a fool proof method, whisk the rawa and butter milk first so that no lumps are formed, then add maida and rice flour and whisk again. Add the required amount of water to have a slightly watery batter.
• The dosa pan should be well heated but not smoky. When the dosa is being cooked, keep the gas flame medium to medium high. It will also help in giving crispy dosa. If flame is kept high, the dosa may get burnt.
• After making 4-5 dosas, the batter will become thick; you can add water for further dosas.
• Health conscious people can replace Maida with besan or gram flour.
• Adding ghee while making dosa gives nice flavor and restaurant touch.

Serving Rava Dosai

• This dosa tastes best with coconut chutney. It can also be served with other chutney varieties or sambhar.
• You can also stuff it with masala and make rava masala dosa.

Variations

• You could also make Grits dosa and Cornmeal dosa using the same procedure.
• Onion Rawa dosa: Finely cut onions can be added into the batter and dosa can be made.
• Dry fruit rawa dosa: Add soaked and chopped almonds, cashews, tutty fruity on top when dosas are being cooked. This is nutritive and kids will love them very much.

More Dosa & Idli Recipes

Ragi Adai	Basic Adai Dosai Recipe	Rava Idli	Kanchipuram Idli
See more ⟩⟩

Comment by lesley williams
How can I make rice flour?

Reply :-
You get rice flour in the market. If you want to make at home, soak the rice for few hours, drain the water completely and let the rice air dry. When it is dry, make a powder of it. Shift the flour, dry roast it till it becomes dry and store in air tight containers.

Comment by raji ramakrishnan
i will have to try this. i had sent you my version without maida.

Reply :-
Sure do try it. I will upload your version soon.

Comment by Rubeena Suhail
Hi Dahlia
I have heard that semolina takes a long time to cook, so can we roast the semolina before making the batter. will there be any difference in taste?
Regards,
Rubeena

Reply :-
Hi Rubeena, We soak the semolina for some time. This helps in reducing the cooking time. But comparatively, semolina takes a little longer to cook. You can roast if you like but not necessary.

Comment by sivaranjani t
hiiii
wt is alpurpose flour

Reply :-
All Purpose Flour is also called 'Maida'.

Comment by Sumeeta Chilagani
What is peppercorns & cilantro, curry leaves

Reply :-
Peppercorns are whole black pepper, cilantro is also called corriander leaves or dhaniya and curry leaves are called kadipatta.

Comment by rekha sruthi
Rice Flour - 1/2 cup is wet flour or powder?

Reply :-
Hi Rekha, It is dry rice flour powder (not wet batter).

Comment by Smita P
can we use lemon juice instead of curd?

Reply :-
Hi Smitha, I've never tried using lemon juice instead of curd. So am not sure how it will turn out.. If you try it, do let me know how it comes out.

Comment by sarika batra on 26 November 2009 09:49AM
Hi, can u tell me yogurt is curd or something else
what is buttermilk?

Reply :-
Hi Sarika, Yogurt and curd are the same. Buttermilk is diluted curd.

Comment by Smitha Leo on 01 July 2009 05:44AM
Hi, can i used dry roasted rava for this recipe. I generally roast the rava n keep to make it easy while making upma n stuff. thanks a tone for this site.... rgds

Reply :-
Hi Smitha, u can use roasted rava....

Comment by Roshi Gupta on 18 June 2009 06:27AM
Hi, can i use wheat flour instead of maida.
Thanks.

Reply :-
Maida is just for binding the batter... You can skip the maida part or even use 1 spoon of wheat flour too..