Walk into a South Indian restaurant in Fremont, Edison or Scarborough and the dosa section of the menu can run to a full page: plain, masala, Mysore masala, rava, onion rava, paper, set, ghee roast, cheese, paneer, Schezwan. If you didn't grow up eating them, it's hard to know where to start. This guide explains what a dosa is, the main types, and how to order.
What is a dosa?
A dosa is a thin, crisp pancake made from a fermented batter of rice and urad dal (black lentils). The rice and lentils are soaked, ground together, and left overnight to ferment. The fermentation is what gives dosa its slight sourness and its lacy, crisp texture. The batter is spread in a thin circle on a very hot griddle (a tawa), drizzled with oil or ghee, and cooked on one side until golden.
Dosa comes from South India: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh all claim it. It's eaten at breakfast, as a light lunch, or as an evening "tiffin" (snack meal). It's also naturally gluten-free and vegetarian, and often vegan if it's cooked in oil rather than ghee.
What comes with it
Almost every dosa is served with:
- Sambar: a thin, tangy lentil and vegetable stew flavoured with tamarind.
- Coconut chutney: fresh coconut ground with green chilli and tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves.
- Often a tomato or onion chutney as well, and sometimes a podi (spiced lentil powder) mixed with oil.
Tear off pieces of dosa with your right hand and dip them in the sambar and chutneys. Nobody will mind if you use a knife and fork, but tearing is easier.
The main types
Plain dosa
Just the crisp pancake with sambar and chutneys. It's the best way to judge a kitchen's batter.
Masala dosa
The most famous version. The dosa is folded around a filling of spiced potato, cooked with onion, mustard seeds, turmeric and curry leaves. If you only try one dosa, make it this one.
Mysore masala dosa
A masala dosa with a layer of spicy red chutney (usually made from red chillies, garlic and lentils) spread on the inside before the potato goes in. It's hotter and more garlicky. It comes from Mysore in Karnataka.
Paper dosa
A plain or masala dosa spread extra thin and extra large, often rolled into a cone or tube that hangs off both ends of the plate. It's thin, very crisp and good for sharing.
Ghee roast
A dosa cooked with plenty of ghee until deep golden and crisp throughout. It's rich and fragrant. Not an everyday dish.
Rava dosa
A different batter altogether. It's made from semolina (rava), rice flour and a little all-purpose flour, with no fermentation. The thin batter is poured onto the griddle rather than spread, which gives rava dosa a lacy, crisp texture with holes. Onion rava dosa adds chopped onion, green chilli, ginger and cumin. It's quicker to make than regular dosa, so it's often available when the fermented batter has run out.
Set dosa
Two or three small, thick, soft dosas served as a set, often with a vegetable kurma or sagu. It's closer to a spongy pancake than a crisp crepe, and it's popular in Karnataka.
Uttapam
Not strictly a dosa, but it's made from the same batter. It's poured thick like a pancake and topped with onion, tomato, chilli and coriander that cook into the surface. It's soft, filling and a good option for anyone who finds dosa too crisp.
Pesarattu
From Andhra Pradesh, made from green moong dal rather than rice and urad dal. It's green, protein-rich and often served with upma inside and ginger chutney on the side.
Neer dosa
From coastal Karnataka. Its name means "water dosa", because the batter is thin and made from rice alone, with no fermentation. The result is soft, delicate and lacy. It's usually served with coconut chutney or a chicken or fish curry.
Fusion dosa
Many North American restaurants now offer cheese dosa, paneer dosa, "pizza" dosa, Schezwan dosa with Indo-Chinese sauce, and more. Traditionalists roll their eyes, but a Schezwan or cheese chilli dosa can be very good, and kids love them.
Other things on the tiffin menu
The same section of the menu usually has:
- Idli: soft, steamed cakes made from the same fermented batter.
- Vada (medu vada): savoury lentil doughnuts, crisp outside and soft inside.
- Pongal: rice and moong dal cooked with ghee, black pepper and cumin.
- Upma: savoury semolina porridge with vegetables.
- Filter coffee: strong South Indian coffee with chicory, frothed with hot milk. It's the right way to finish.
How to order
- Start with a masala dosa and a plate of idli-vada to share. That gives you the full picture.
- Weekends are best. South Indian restaurants make their biggest batches of batter on weekends, and weekend brunch is when they're busiest.
- Eat it straight away. A dosa goes soft within minutes, so don't wait for everyone's order to arrive.
- Ask for more sambar and chutney. Refills are usually free.
Where to find dosa
Look for South Indian restaurants in our city listings. Fremont, Edison, Dublin, Brampton and Toronto have the widest choice:
- Fremont, CA: several tiffin cafes on Mowry Avenue and Fremont Boulevard
- Edison, NJ: dosa houses on Oak Tree Road and Route 27
- Dublin, CA: South Indian and Chettinad specialists
- Brampton, ON and Toronto, ON