Paper Dosa Recipe

Paper Dosa is a thin and extra-crisp South Indian dosa made from a fermented rice and urad dal batter. It’s known for its delicate, paper-like texture and golden color. Light, thin, and perfectly crispy, my recipe for Paper Dosa is the ideal pairing for coconut chutney and potato masala. This simple vegan recipe is made with just 7 ingredients and about 20 minutes of cooking time, giving you restaurant-style results at home.

Restaurant-Style Paper Dosa Recipe

Paper Dosa is a thin, crispy South Indian dosa made from a fermented batter of rice and urad dal (split black gram).

It’s called Paper Dosa because it’s very light, wafer-thin, and almost transparent; similar to a sheet of paper. The batter is spread thinly on a hot tawa (flat skillet/griddle) and cooked until golden and crispy, usually without flipping.

Paper dosa is larger than regular Dosa and is often served with coconut chutney, and sambar. It’s popular in restaurants for its texture and appearance rather than for stuffing or fillings.

This recipe gives you light, crisp papery dosa similar to the one we get in restaurants. The addition of chana dal and rava (sooji) helps in creating a deliciously crisp texture that will have you coming back for more.

This restaurant style paper dosa can be served with Coconut Chutney, Tomato Chutney and Sambar. If you have time, I also suggest you make Potato Masala and Paper Masala Dosa for a true Indian feast.

The best part of this recipe is that you don’t need to use parboiled rice or idli rice. You can easily use any rice varieties like sona masuri, gobindbhog, kolam, surti kolam, parmal, or whatever else you have on hand.

This Paper Dosa recipe is similar to the Ghee Roast Dosa I had shared earlier. To make your everyday regular and traditional dosa you can check this recipe of Masala Dosa.

Serve Paper Dosa as soon as they are made. You can have them for breakfast, brunch or lunch. At times I even make these dosas for dinner.

How To Make Paper Dosa

While the total recipe time might list over 9 hours, most of the time is spent soaking or fermenting. You really only need about 20 minutes of cooking time to make these delicious paper dosas at home. Here’s how it’s done.

Soak Rice & Lentils

1. Firstly take 1.5 cups regular rice (325 grams).

2. Rinse a couple of times and then soak in 1 cup water.

3. Take ½ cup urad dal (125 grams), 1 tablespoon chana dal and ¼ teaspoon methi seeds in another bowl.

4. Rinse a couple of times and then soak in 1 cup water for 4 to 5 hours.

5. Take ¼ cup thick poha (20 grams) in a small bowl.

6. Rinse poha once or twice with water.

7. Then add the rinsed poha in the rice bowl. Mix, then cover, and soak for 4 to 5 hours.

Make Batter & Ferment It

8. After 4 to 5 hours, add the lentils along with the soaked water in the grinder jar. Also add ¼ cup of fresh water.

9. Grind the urad dal, chana dal and methi seeds till you get a batter which is light and fluffy. The urad dal has to be ground really well, so that the batter ferments well.

10. Transfer the batter to a large bowl or pan.

11. Strain the rice well and drain the water. Then in the same grinder, add the soaked rice and ½ cup fresh water.

You can grind rice in one batch or in two batches depending on the size of the grinder jar. I ground in one batch and added ½ cup water for grinding.

12. Grind rice to a fine grainy consistency like that of idli rava.

13. Now pour the rice+poha batter into the same pan or bowl containing the urad dal batter.

14. Add 3 tablespoons rava.

15. Next add 1 teaspoon of rock salt, sea salt, or regular salt.

16. Mix the salt evenly with the Paper Dosa batter. Also mix both the batters very well. cover and keep aside to ferment for 8 to 9 hours.

You can keep for less or more time and this will depend on the temperature conditions in your city.

17. Below is a photo of the batter the next day. I kept it for about 15 hours as it is cold during monsoons here.

18. Now lightly stir the batter, before you begin to make dosa. You will also see tiny air pockets in the batter.

Make Paper Dosa

19. Heat a thick-bottomed cast-iron griddle or non-stick pan. The pan should be made medium-hot before reducing the heat. You can keep the heat to a low or medium while making paper dosas.

If using an iron pan, then spread ¼ to ½ tsp oil/ghee all over the pan. Use a heat safe brush, spoon, kitchen towel, or an onion half to spread the oil/ghee.

Tip: Do not spread oil/ghee on a non stick pan.

Keep the heat on low to medium-low flame, so that you can easily spread the batter. If the pan base is very thick, then keep the heat to medium. Pour a ladle of the batter in the center.

20. With the back of the ladle, gently begin to spread the batter in round circles. If the pan is very hot, you won’t be able to spread the batter in a round circle.

So for a nonstick pan, just lift the pan from the flame and keep outside for some seconds or half a minute. Then again place it on the stovetop.

For an iron griddle you can sprinkle some water on the pan to lower the temperature of the cast iron griddle.

Note: Please do not sprinkle water on nonstick pan as the nonstick coating may wear off if you do.

21. Spread the batter to a neat, round shaped thin dosa using the back of the ladle.

22. On a low to medium flame, begin to cook.

23. Let the top side get cooked. You will see the batter firming up.

24. Once the top side looks cooked, then with a spoon drizzle and spread some oil on the dosa. you can add less or more oil as per your needs.

25. Keep cooking till you see the base becoming golden. The more the base becomes golden, the paper dosa becomes more crisp.

26. Now with a spatula fold the crisp paper dosa.

27. Serve Paper Dosa with coconut chutney and sambar. Continue making paper dosa with the remaining batter.

Leftover batter can be refrigerated and stays good for 2 to 3 days.

Tips & Tricks

• Make sure the batter is well fermented, with a light and bubbly texture. Poorly fermented batter may not spread well and the dosa won’t turn crisp.
• In cooler weather, ferment the batter in a warm place or inside an oven with the heating turned off but the light on. The gentle warmth helps the batter ferment well and develop a mild, pleasant tangy flavor.
• While making paper dosa, maintain the correct temperature of the tawa or skillet. If it’s even slightly hot, you won’t be able to spread the batter evenly. If it’s not hot enough, the dosa won’t become crisp. Keep the heat at a medium level throughout cooking, so do regulate the heat as you cook each dosa.
• Always use a well seasoned tawa that is only used for making dosas. You can use either a non-stick tawa or a cast-iron tawa.
• Before spreading the batter, lightly grease the surface or wipe it with a small piece of onion dipped in oil. You can also use a folded paper tissue or a cotton napkin for this. It helps control the temperature and prevents the dosa from sticking.
• Paper dosas can be served folded, rolled, or made into a cone (Topi dosa). If using a cast-iron tawa, you can make the cone shape by cutting and folding the dosa. Avoid doing this with a non-stick pan to prevent scratching the surface.
• After spreading the batter, drizzle a few drops of oil or ghee around the edges. It helps the dosa turn evenly crisp and gives a nice golden color.
• Once the dosa turns light golden and leaves the edges, avoid flipping it. Paper dosa is cooked only on one side to keep it thin and crisp.

FAQs

More Tasty Dosa Varieties

• Oats Dosa
• Rava Dosa
• Wheat Dosa
• Set Dosa
• Ragi Dosa