How to Make Perfect Masala Dosa at Home

5 from 1 vote

Masala dosa is a crispy South Indian crepe filled with spiced potatoes (potato masala) and served with chutney and sambar. While this authentic masala dosa recipe requires 2-day planning for fermentation, the results are so worth it. Learn how to make restaurant-quality homemade masala dosa with this step-by-step guide.

Two masala dosa on plate and green and red chutneys and dosas and sambar in background.

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➡ If you’re new to Kerala cooking, start with my Kerala Cooking Basics guide for ingredient tips, shopping advice, and more authentic recipes.

Masala dosa is easily one of my top 10 favorite dishes of all time. It’s basically a crispy crepe stuffed with spiced potatoes.

The beauty of the dish is that when you bite into a perfectly prepared one, you get this amazing contrast: the crispy, golden outside and a perfectly spiced potato filling inside.

Masala dosa has become so popular that you’ll find restaurants serving this South Indian classic all over the world. Most people only ever eat it at restaurants and with good reason: the prep work can be intimidating.

And I get it – between making the batter, letting it ferment, preparing the filling, and making the sambar and chutney, it feels like a weekend project. Which it kinda is – not gonna lie.

I’ll be honest – I was intimidated about making masala dosa at home for the longest time.

But I promise you, once you try this homemade dosa recipe, you’ll see that it’s not that scary. Sure, it may not come out perfect the first time, but that’s how you’ll learn.

The key is organization. Here’s my schedule for how I plan for this meal. I prefer to start 2 days before, because making everything on the day of is too overwhelming for me:

2 days before (morning): soak rice and urad
2 days before (evening): grind the rice and urad and leave to ferment
1 day before (morning): once the dosa batter has fermented, refrigerate
1 day before: make red chutney and/or green chutney and potato filling and refrigerate
Morning of: make sambar and refrigerate if not using right away
1 hour before: take out the amount of dosa batter you’ll use and thin it out with water if needed
Serving time: heat the sambar and potatoes, and start making dosas

Trust me, this approach for how to make masala dosa at home makes the whole thing way less overwhelming.

I use the Instant Pot to ferment the batter. For oven and countertop fermentation instructions and step-by-step details, check out how to make dosa.

I also use the Instant Pot to make the potato masala. If you want stovetop instructions, read my potato masala post.

➡ For more information about the accompaniments for masala dosa, read about how to make sambar, red chutney for masala dosa, and cilantro coconut green chutney. For a shortcut to making crispy dosas, learn how to make dosa on a crepe maker!

❓ FAQS

Can I make the masala dosas ahead of time?

I recommend making them fresh and serving them immediately. They don’t taste as good when they’ve been made ahead. However, if you need to, you can assemble each one and place it on a baking sheet that’s kept in a 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees Celsius) oven.

What’s the difference between masala dosa and Mysore masala dosa?

Mysore masala dosa has a spicy red chili chutney spread inside the dosa before adding the potato filling, while regular masala dosa just has the potato filling.

Two masala dosas on plate and green and red chutneys and dosas and sambar in background.

How to Make Masala Dosas at Home

Try this recipe for crispy South Indian dosas filled with spiced potato masala, served with coconut chutney and sambar. Requires a little pre-planning for fermentation, but it's worth the effort!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 5 30

Cook Time: 1

Fermentation: 12

Total Time: 18 30

Servings: 9

Calories: 210

Author: Paint the Kitchen Red

Ingredients

Dosa

½ cup urad gota or split urad dal
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi seeds)
1½ cups idli rice
5 cups water preferably filtered
3 tablespoon cooked rice day-old
1¼ teaspoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt [See Note 1]
1½ tablespoon vegetable oil

Potato Masala

1 tablespoon coconut oil or vegetable oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
10 curry leaves
1½ cup onion chopped
2 teaspoon ginger minced
1 to 2 jalapeno pepper sliced or cut in half lengthwise (optional)
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 lb potatoes cubed into 1 inch pieces, about 1 kg or 6 cups
½ cup water
½ teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon cilantro chopped

To Serve

coconut red chutney room temperature
cilantro coconut green chutney room temperature
sambar hot

Instructions

DOSA

Wash the ½ cup urad gota and 1½ cups idli rice separately multiple times, until the water runs clear. Soak the urad and 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds in 2 cups of filtered water in a medium bowl. Soak the rice in 3 cups of filtered water in a separate medium bowl. After 4 to 6 hours (or overnight), drain both, but reserve the urad soaking water. Blend the urad with enough of the reserved soaking water to get a smooth pancake batter consistency (pourable but not runny). You might use about ⅔ to ¾ cup of water. Pour into your Instant Pot stainless steel liner.
Blend the 3 tablespoon cooked rice with the soaked rice using the reserved soaking water. If you run out, use plain filtered water. You may end up using a total of about ½ to ¾ cup of water. The batter should be a bit grainy. Rub a little batter between your fingers. The grains should be like granulated sugar. The consistency should be pourable (like pancake batter), but not too thin. Transfer to the same container as the urad. [See Note 2]
Add 1¼ teaspoon kosher salt and mix the two batters with a clean hand for about two minutes. This helps with the fermentation process. The consistency should be pourable, but not too thick or thin. Add more soaking water or filtered water to thin out, if needed.
Ferment the dosa batter in the Instant Pot using the Yogurt function for 12 hours in normal mode (not low or boil). If it has doubled and smells slightly sour, it's ready. If not, ferment for another couple of hours. If you're not going to make the dosas right away, refrigerate immediately. About half an hour before making the dosas, remove the batter from the fridge. [See Note 3]
Heat a griddle or tawa over medium heat. Test to see if the pan is hot enough by sprinkling a few drops of water on the pan. The water should sizzle and slide around the pan. Lower the temperature to medium-low. Add ¼ teaspoon of oil to the pan and spread it around with a folded-up paper towel. Pour about ¼ cup of batter in the middle of the pan using a ladle. Immediately, using the back of the ladle, spread the batter in a circular motion, starting at the center and working your way out. If the batter doesn’t spread easily, thin it with a little water or reduce the temperature.
You will have a thin crepe and you should see small holes forming. Drizzle a few drops of oil all over the surface to help crisp up the dosa.
After about a minute, the bottom will turn golden. Use a spatula to flip the dosa to the other side. After 30 seconds or when it’s lightly browned, fold the dosa in half and place on a serving plate. Repeat with remaining batter and serve immediately.

POTATO FILLING (Instant Pot) [See Note 4]

Select Saute mode, and once the Instant Pot is hot, heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil. Add 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds and cover. When the popping stops, add 10 curry leaves and saute briefly. Stir in 1½ cup onion, 2 teaspoon ginger, and 1 to 2 jalapeno pepper. Saute until the onions are translucent. Press Cancel. Add ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ¼ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and saute in the residual heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Be careful not to burn. Deglaze with water if there's anything stuck to the bottom, and stir to scrape up all the brown bits. Add 2 lb potatoes and ½ cup water and close Instant Pot.
Pressure cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes. Do a quick release of pressure. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]. Open the lid and mash the potatoes slightly with a wooden spoon. Stir in ½ teaspoon lemon juice. Garnish with 2 tablespoon cilantro.

ASSEMBLY

Dosas are best served fresh off the griddle, as they are made. I don't recommend assembling them and storing them. Make sure the potato masala filling has been reheated if you made it in advance.
Place a freshly cooked dosa on a plate, brown side down. Spread 2 tablespoons of potato masala closer to one edge. Roll the dosa around the filling. You can also spread the filling on one half of the dosa and gently fold the other half over the filling to form a semi-circle.
You can place it back on the griddle to briefly reheat before serving.
Serve with green and/or red chutney, and sambar in individual bowls.

Notes

Note 1: If using table salt, add it after fermentation is done and before making the dosas.

Note 2: If the blender becomes too hot, blend in 1-minute increments and let it rest for a few minutes till it cools down. Overheating can affect the fermentation process. A high-powered blender is required for best results (Vitamix, Blendtec, Ninja, Nutibullet).

Note 3: Read how to make dosa to get instructions on how to ferment in oven or on the countertop.

Note 4: Read how to make potato masala to get instructions on how to make the potato filling on the stovetop.

Nutrition

Course Main Dishes

Cuisine Indian

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