Masoor dal dosa
Preparation Time
15 minutes
Cooking Time
30 minutes
Difficulty Level
moderate
Meal Type
Breakfast
Serves 4
Key Ingredients
- Groundnut oil
About This Recipe
The batter for this masoor dal dosa recipe has one main ingredient: masoor dal, soaked, ground and fermented, with no rice and no urad. That keeps the dosa soft and slightly thick rather than paper-crisp. The dal is left to ferment overnight, and a regular mixer jar does the grinding, so no wet grinder either.
The timing matters more than the measurements. Four to five hours of soaking and eight to ten of fermentation in a warm spot give the batter its bubbles and light sourness; in winter, keep the bowl near a switched-on oven light or wrap it in a cloth. The masoor dal hub has the lentil behind the batter.
No time to ferment? The quick same-day option skips it: soak the dal for 3 hours, grind it with a cup of cooked rice, and cook right away; the dosas come out softer and mildly sweet. For the two named variants, blend a quarter cup of soaked rolled oats or soaked quinoa with the dal for a masoor dal oats dosa or a masoor dal quinoa dosa, and keep the rest of the method the same.
Ingredient List
Serving Size:
1x
2x
3x
Batter
- Masoor dal (red lentils) — 1 cup
- Water (1 cup for grinding, 1/2 cup to thin the batter), plus water to soak the dal — 1 1/2 cups
- Cumin Seeds — 1 tsp
- Ginger, grated — 1 tsp
- Green chilli, finely chopped — 1 piece
- Fresh coriander leaves, chopped — 2 tbsp
- Salt — 1 tsp
For cooking
- Groundnut oil — 2 tbsp
- Onion, finely chopped — 1 small
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Serving Suggestions
Serve the dosas hot with coconut chutney, sambar or a spoon of podi; the soft centre soaks up sambar well. Tuck in spiced potato for a filling breakfast. Refrigerate leftover batter and use it the next day. More lentil breakfasts are in the masoor dal recipes roundup.
Tips for Cooking Masoor dal dosa
Ferment by eye, not by the clock: a bubbly top and a lightly sour smell mean the batter is ready, even if the hours are short. Stir the batter gently before every pour so the settled dal comes up. Keep the dosas a little thick; with no rice in the batter they stay soft. If the first dosa sticks, the tawa needs more heat or a few more drops of oil.
Chef’s Note
A ready masoor batter pours like thick cream and smells lightly sour, not stale. If it has over-fermented, thin it with a little water before cooking. A serving of two dosas comes to about 228 kcal with 12.2 g of protein and 5.2 g of fibre.
Per serving (approx.): 228 kcal, protein 12 g, carbs 26 g, fat 7.9 g, fibre 5.2 g. Computed from IFCT 2017 / USDA values for the listed quantities. Measures: 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml.
Happy Cooking
!!
ByCOWBERRY
Aug 21, 2026
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