10 Common Mistakes To Avoid While Making A Dosa

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Do you find it hard to make dosas at home even though you love eating them? You are not alone if you are nodding in agreement. 

Many people have difficulty making perfect dosas at home despite following proper recipes.

There are times when the batter doesn’t spread properly on the pan, and other times when it sticks too hard to the utensil.

10 Common Mistakes To Avoid While Making A Dosa

10 Common Mistakes To Avoid While Making A Dosa
10 Common Mistakes To Avoid While Making A Dosa

You need to step up your dosa-making game if you can relate to these situations. When you prepare a comforting dish, you are probably making some common mistakes. 

Now you don’t even have to fret over wondering where you usually go wrong as we have some key points to share here to help you in this post where we have listed some common mistakes people commit while cooking dosas at home.

1. Greasing A Non-Stick Tawa With Onion And Refined Oil

It is not necessary to grease non-stick pans with onions and refined oil before spreading the dosa batter, since they are already non-stick. No additional grease is required for the dosa to leave the pan.

2. Pouring The Dosa Batter On A Very Hot Tawa

As you spread the dosa batter over the tawa (pan), it should be mildly hot. The temperature should not be extremely hot, as is commonly believed. Dosa batter should always be spread over a medium to low flame.

3. Using An Unseasoned Iron Tawa

When you cook a dosa on an iron tawa, make sure it is well seasoned. The iron tawa should be brushed with oil and onion before batter is poured over it.

I use Indus Valley cast iron tawa, and my dosa comes out excellent. In fact all my cooking is done with Indus valley cast iron utensils.

4. The Batter Consistency

The consistency of the batter could be one of the primary reasons behind your failed attempt to make a perfect dosa. There shouldn’t be any excessive thickening or dilution.

5. Avoid Over-Fermenting The Batter

The fermentation process is key to achieving a light and fluffy dosa, but too much fermentation can lead to a bitter taste. Make sure you keep an eye on the batter while fermenting and don’t leave it for too long.

6. Don’t Use Cold Water To Make The Batter

Using cold water when making the batter can cause it to become too thick and heavy. It’s best to use lukewarm or room-temperature water for the best results.

7. Don’t Spread The Dosa Batter Too Thinly

This is a common mistake that many people make when preparing their dosas. The batter should be spread in an even, medium-thick layer to ensure that the dosa cooks properly and doesn’t become too crunchy.

8. Don’t Overcook It

A dosa should be cooked until golden brown and crispy on both sides, but avoid overcooking as it will become dry and hard. It’s best to cook it on medium-low heat to ensure that it cooks evenly.

9. Avoid Adding Too Many Ingredients

While you may be tempted to add all sorts of vegetables, spices, and other ingredients to your dosa batter, it’s best to keep the recipe simple with just a few key ingredients.

Too many additions can overpower the flavor of the dosa and make it taste too heavy.

10. Don’t Forget The Chutney

A dosa is incomplete without its accompanying chutney and sambar! Make sure to prepare these accompaniments before you start cooking your dosa so that it can be served hot and fresh with all of its components intact.

The Dosa Recipe:

In the meantime, here is a recipe for dosa by chef Sanjeev Kapoor. 

Take note of these dosa-making tips for the next time you make one. These are some common mistakes to avoid when making a dosa recipe.

With these tips in mind, you can make delicious, light and fluffy dosas every time!

You Might Want To Try Some More Indian Main Course Recipes

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20 Comments

  1. Richa Das says:

    Oh my dosa is my favourite food in the world but we could never make it properly in our home kitchen whenever we tried. These might come in handy!

    1. Ranjeeta Nath Ghai says:

      Thanks for your feed back.

  2. These points are really helpful. I will try to adopt them while preparing a dosa. These reminds me the day when my dosa didn’t cook well and I was wondering why? I got to know the reason. Thank You

    1. Ranjeeta Nath Ghai says:

      Thanks for your feed back. Even i used to make mistakes but then gradually improved.

  3. What awesome tips. I realised that I was keeping the tawa too hot and should turn the flame to medium when spreading the batter. And a strange coincidence, I was also browsing through Amazon and found the Indus Valley tawa. Your post has made my decision firm to buy it.

    1. Ranjeeta Nath Ghai says:

      My pleasure. Indus Valley tawa, kadai and grill pan are my fav in the kitchen and the tawa helps me make flawless crispy dosa. Thanks for your feed back.

  4. Dosa is a staple in our household and we make Idlis and Dosas at least thrice a week. So, I can vouch that your tips are really useful and it makes for making crispy dosas.

    1. Ranjeeta Nath Ghai says:

      My pleasure. Thanks for your feed back.

  5. Great tips! I’ve made some of these mistakes before, but now I know how to make the perfect dosa.

    1. Ranjeeta Nath Ghai says:

      My pleasure. Thanks for your feed back.

  6. I love making dosa but sometimes it gets over fermentations and it not pleasant anymore
    I will definitely remember your tips the next time I make batter
    Thank you for sharing this

    1. Ranjeeta Nath Ghai says:

      My pleasure. Thanks for your feed back.

  7. Dosa is most popular south indian recipe . I’m a huge fan of dosa. Definitely try it out soon.

    1. Ranjeeta Nath Ghai says:

      Thanks for your feed back.

  8. This is a wonderful recipe.I am always afraid of spoiling my dosa batter.This is going to make my life way easier.

    1. Ranjeeta Nath Ghai says:

      Thanks for your feed back.

  9. Yes you are right. The right consistency of batter is so important to make perfect dosa. I was always wondering why they grease it with onion on Tawa when non stick one just doesn’t require anything. Thanks for sharing pro tips ♥️✌🏻

    1. Ranjeeta Nath Ghai says:

      Thanks for your feed back.

  10. As a South Indian, Dosa is one of the most favourite food. I could never get tired of dosas, considering how I have been eating them regularly since childhood. Now I am old enough to know how to make my own dosas, these tips are just perfect. Thank god you made this list. These would be really useful for beginners. My mum gave me these tips over time and a few of them I learned on my own.

    1. Ranjeeta Nath Ghai says:

      Thanks for your feed back.

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