i chanced upon this poha dosa recipe a few years ago in chandra padmanabhan’s book simply south : traditional vegetarian cooking. since then i have been making these poha dosas often.
this poha dosa recipe is an andhra speciality and also known as atukula dosa. this is one dosa which is amazingly soft, spongy, porous and stays so even after some hours. excellent for tiffin boxes with some dry chutney and sambar.
in fact i like these dosas so much that i usually pair them with tea or coffee. when i made the dosas this time, i served with red amaranth sambar and sesame coconut chutney.
the method to make poha dosas is slightly different than the one for regular dosa. here the rice and poha are soaked in buttermilk. then ground and fermented for 4-5 hours.
usually, when i make this dosa, i ferment the batter for 4 hours with baking soda added to the batter. but this time i wanted to skip the soda. so fermented the batter overnight. now since the batter was fermented overnight, i thought that the dosa would have fab texture. but i was wrong.
i made three dosas with the soda less batter. felt something is not just right. added the baking soda to the batter. what a world of difference the soda made to the batter. the poha dosas made after this were were so good and soft.
while cooking these dosas you can cook one side or both sides. i did both ways. it is up to you….. poha dosas makes for excellent weekend or sunday breakfast or brunch… these soft, porous and spongy dosas…..
you might also love to check these dosa recipes:
Poha Dosa Recipe details below:
ingredients
- 2 cups regular rice - i used basmati rice
- 1 cup poha-flattened rice/parched rice
- 1 tbsp urad dal
- 1 cup curd whisked with 2 cups water
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- oil for frying the dosa
method:
- wash the rice, poha and urad dal.
- in a bowl or pan, soak the rice, poha and urad dal in the buttermilk mixture for 2-3 hours.
- drain and reserve the liquid.
- grind to a smooth batter adding about 1.5 to 2 cups of the reserved liquid.
- add soda and salt.
- mix well.
- ferment for 4-5 hours.
- heat a tava or griddle.
- take a ladle of batter and make a 1/4 inch thick dosa.
- drizzle oil around the edges.
- cover the dosa with a lid and cook for 1-2 minutes till the base is cooked and crisp and the top is soft and spongy.
- you can cook the other side if you want.
- serve hot with coconut chutney.
{ 47 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Dassana
Great blog,wonderful recipes. I made your dosa and chutney and they came out beautiful. My family loved it. In fact your mail came just as I was serving breakfast! Thank you so much.
thanks poornima.
Hi Dassana
Great blog,wonderful recipes. Made your dosa and chutney. Came out beautiful. My family loved it. I actually saw your mail just as I was serving breakfast! Thanks so much.
Madam,
Beautiful poha dosa. I was searching for recipe of regular Dosa. Instead I got this.Where is recipe of regular Dosa?
on this link you will get a detailed post to make dosa batter as well as dosa.
http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/masala-dosa-recipe-how-to-make-masala-dosa-recipe/
Sorry,Sorry on some other blog I could not find Dosa recipe and inadvertently I have stated that on your site I could not get it.Sorry again and thanks for taking to much trouble for giving good recopies with beautiful photos.They are giving the feeling that it is just kept on dining table.
In the morning we had breakfast of poha dosas and coconut chutney prepared as shown by you. Poha dosas just came out as shown in your pictures. Chutney was also as we get in south Indian hotels.Thanks.
thats nice to know shrikant. glad to know you & your family enjoyed the breakfast.
Hi,
Just recently i came to know about your blog.. and its simply awesome. You are doing a excellent job.. Keep posting new recipes and rock on!!
The very first item i tried from ur blog was this poha dosa. Since the climate is my place is very cold now, the batter didn,t ferment even after keeping the batter the whole night. Morning i added baking soda and tried making dosa. But it was not up to d mark. So can you help me with any solution for it.
Thank you so in advance. I have one small request also… When ever ur posting cake recipes pls also include how to make in microwave and if possible in cooker. i don’t have oven. I just have microwave grill convection.
thanks vasundhara. the poha dosa does not require much fermentation time. did you see bubbles appearing in the batter when you added baking soda. these dosas are very soft and porous. so i guess the baking soda must have become outdated.
all the cakes, breads & pudding recipes i have posted till nov 12 have been made in the microwave oven in convection mode except for one old post of eggless chocolate cake made in a pressure cooker. there’s not much difference in baking in a regular oven or microwave oven. except for that in while baking in microwave oven in convection mode, the top browns faster.
actually while baking in a microwave oven, you have to use the convection mode. check your manufacturers’s guide for the details. i will be writing a separate post on this topic as i get a lot of queries regarding the same.
Hi dassana,
Thank you so much for the reply. I thought the fermentation is like for normal dosa where the batter will rise
Anyways will try again and let you know sure for the results.
Mine is microwave+grill only. So in this case, do i need use combination?? No is it.. I just have to use microwave option only right ??
Whats the meaning of your name.. Its very different and very nice
next time do let me know the results for the poha dosa. try reading online on what can be made in the microwave plus grill option. i can only think of sandwiches or patties when i hear the word grill
i don’t think cakes can be made in this option.
one reader harsha, did try the eggless orange cake first in microwave and then in microwave plus grill method. i have never used this mode, so don’t know what would be the results. i guess the only option is to make the cakes in microwave oven. you can try this eggless orange cake as it can be made in the microwave. here’s what harsha has to say on this link: http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/eggless-orange-cake/#comment-49806
generally cake batters that need to be microwaved have a lighter and liquid consistency than the ones that are made for regular baking.
“dassana” is a buddhist word in pali language which translates to “search for insight”.
Dassana,
I have looked on to the comment, so let me try that and tell my testing and trials
“Batter for cake should be lighter and liquid” – is very important and main tip for beginners like me. Thanks a TON for that 
Will update you soon after my testings 
thanks vasundhara and do give the feedback.
this recipe of dosas is quite unusual, but the ingredients here cannot go wrong! I’m gonna try this out!
i made it yesterday with sambar and sesame coconut chutney and the feast was fabulous..thanks Dassana
thats great suhani and welcome dear.
gonna try it today..have kept the batter for fermentation..will soon tell u the result..
sure suhani…
hi there
i gt to know abt ur blog frm IMBB and i am just hooked on to ur blog now hehe
i want to giv this a recipe a try. is it okay to leave the batter for fermentation overnight, instead of 4-5 hours as you mentioned? that way i can easily make it for breakfast.
i also wanna try ur ragda pattice recipe as my hubby loves them.
thanks in advance dear. you are doing a brilliant job. kudos!
thanks ayesha. yes you can keep the batter for fermentation overnight. in this scenario then don’t add the baking soda. in the morning before making the dosas add the soda and mix really well. do try the ragda patties recipe.
thanks for such a prompt reply dear. will b making this soon. And ragda pattice is goin in my recipe cook book for iftaars as ramadhan is round the corner
welcome ayesha. on a side note, i just love the goodies that are made during iftaars
then ur most welcome. plz join us some day if u happen to be in bangalore
i am a north indian(delhiite), married to a bangalore guy and i love the simplicity of south indian food
and i meant cook book* in my last comment
thanks ayesha for the invitation. sure… would love to visit you when i travel to bangalore.
i will edit your comment to reflect the changes
Whats the role of buttermilk ? Can we soak it in water instead of buttermilk ? my kid is allergic to milk .
buttermilk helps in the fermentation process. it also imparts its typical taste and flavor to the dish. you can make it without buttermilk also. in this case ferment for a longer period of time or overnight.
Hi Dassana
A very gr8 recipe, but a little confusion, I need to soak the rice,poha and dal in the buttermilk mixture and then drain tthe liquid and how to use the liquid again. Should i make a batter and again soak it in the drained liquid.
If u could pls explain then i will be making this tomorrow.
Thanks in advance
Take care
Sunita
thanks sunita.
you have to soak the urad dal, rice and poha in the buttermilk mixture.
then strain in a strainer and collect the strained liquid in a bowl or pan. while straining keep a pan below the strainer. add the soaked dal, rice and poha to the grinder. keep on adding the strained buttermilk mixture in between while grinding the batter till you get the consistency of a dosa batter. discard the leftover strained liquid.
after making the batter, you don’t need to soak the batter in the strained liquid.
hope the method is clear and you make great fluffy poha dosa at home
Yes now its clear thanks for the quick reply dassana
Take care
sunita
First time on your space Dassana and I must say , what a clean, neat and admirable work you have done. Love it here, with all the recipes simple and straight from your heart ..
Glad to follow you, want to see more recipes coming
thanks a lot nupur for such encouraging comments.
hi dassana
made the dosas as said yesterday and they turned really well. thanks for the recipe
thats great to know. thanks uma.
hey am going to try ths tomorrow, the recipe looks intresting
sure, do give the feedback uma.
you are on a posting roll!:) love how porous these dosas came out.
This one looks like one excellent dosa recipe…simply superb!
Nice to know a new variety of Dosa. Is there a possibility to avoid Soda as we are not used to this and not sure of the tolerance level for human consumption.
yes you can avoid the baking soda. but the texture won’t be spongy or porous, yet still the dosa will taste good.
Looks so perfect and spongy! My MIL makes these and I just love them smeared with some ghee and with coconut chutney. Just soaked the rice, poha and dal for breakfast tomorrow, hubby will be mighty pleased:)!!
Yeh, these are common in Andhra and more so in Mysore and Banglore and the suburbs. In KarnatItaka, in Hotels this is very popular. They call it set-Dosa in the hotels. A set of 4 such thick dosas are served with Samabr & coconut chutney. They are very tasty and one such SET is enough for city denizens to satisfy their Lunch or the heavy Break fast.
as you have pinted out it is very easy to grind as not much udad is involved. You can do it in Mixie too.No grinder required. Yummy, the softies they just disappear in your mouth without much chewing. Good for a hasty work-lunch. Kudos to you for propagating this simple to make and at the same time healthy and rich food.
oh… i always thought that the set dosa is different from the poha dosa. i have had set dosa many times in bangalore. i know one set is enough
yes, it is healthy and light in the summers too…
Looks so soft…luv ur version. Lovely clicks!
Excellent recipe! When you say cooking soda, do you mean baking soda? Also can you pl. send me the recipe for sambar, that goes with this dosa recipe. Always enjoy the mouth-watering, delicious recipes that you post. Keep up the good work.
yes it is baking soda and thanks katie.
the next recipe to be posted will be the red amaranth sambar recipe.
These look like pillows made of clouds. So soft and nice.