Rava Dosa

Rava dosa is one of the popular South Indian Dosa. This dosa is thin and crispy and perfect for a quick and easy breakfast but it can be served for lunch and as a snack. Rava dosa batter is prepared by mixing rava (sooji, cream of wheat), maida (all- purpose flour), and rice flour with water. Then batter is tempered with mustard seeds and asafetida tadka, to enhance the flavor chopped onion, chopped green chilies, herb and spices are added to it. Rave dosa could be prepared plain or you can add other vegetables and spices. Rava dosa is much quicker to make then traditional rice and lentil dosa because it needs no grinding or fermenting. You can serve this dosa with coconut chutney or with potatoes and sambhar. Rava dosa look quite simple to prepare but it require little practice, may be few times you may not get it perfect but don’t worry after few attempts you will get it perfect to your liking.  Try to make them and experiment with the toppings and stuffing’s.

Ingredients:

½     Cup fine Rava (sooji, cream of wheat)
¼     Cup rice flour
¼     All purpose flour (Maida)
1      Tablespoon plain yogurt (optional)
2      Tablespoon chopped onions
1      Medium green chili – Fine chopped
½     Tablespoon coriander leaves- Fine chopped
½     Teaspoon mustard seeds (Rai)
​1      Pinch of Asafetida (Hing)
½     Teaspoon salt or to your taste
1½   to 2 cups of water  
         Vegetable oil for making Dosa
                                                                             
Makes about 6 Rava dosas

Fine Rava (Fine soozi)

All-purpose flour (Maida)

Rice flour

Chopped Onions

Chopped Green chilies

Coriander leaves

Mustard seeds (Rai)

Asafetida (Hing)

Salt

Yogurt

Oil

Water

​Directions for batter: 
 
1.  In a bowl combine Rava (cream of wheat, rice flour, all purpose flour and mix.
     

Add all three flours in a bowl

Mix all flour well

2. Add salt and yogurt and mix. Yogurt gives the golden color to Dosa but it can
    be skipped.

Add salt and mix

Add Yogurt

3.  Add 1½ cup of water little at a time and mix with flour to make a thin and 
     smooth batter and making sure there are no lumps. Batter should be thin and 
     have pouring consistency. If the batter is thin and when you pour it on the hot
     griddle it produces the holes in dosa and makes it crisp.

Yogurt in the flour

Add water in flour

4. Batter should be thin and have pouring consistency. If the batter is thin and
    when you pour it on the hot griddle it produces the holes in Dosa and makes it
    crisp.

Mix water with flour

Rava Dosa batter

5.  Cover the bowl with the lid or a plastic wrap and set it aside for at least ½ hour
      to 45 minutes at room temperature.

Cover the Bowl

​Directions for making the Rava Dosa:

1. After batter is rested water comes up. Rava tends to settle in the bottom.

Rava is settled in the bottom

Mix Dosa batter well

2. After resting Dosa batter becomes thick because Rave observe water. Add half
    cup of water or as needed. The  consistency of water is more likely watery.

3.  In the batter add chopped onions, chopped green chilies and chopped coriander
     leaves and mix. 

Add water in batter

Add all the chopped ingredients

4. Add Mustard seeds and Asafetida Tadka in batter. (See below how to make
     tadka.

Mix the ingredients with batter

Add tadka in batter

Mix tadka with batter

Consistency of batter

5.  Heat the flat cast iron griddle on medium high heat. Grease the griddle
     with 2 teaspoon of oil.  

Heat the griddle on the stove

Grease the griddle

6.   Once the griddle become hot, test it by sprinkling drops of water on the 
      surface, when they sizzle and dance it means the griddle is ready. Make 
      sure the griddle is very hot.

7.Stir the batter very well every time before you pour it to make Rava Dosa. Fill
   the ladle with batter and ensure the pan is very hot then pour the Dosa batter on
   the hot griddle from about 3 to 4” height. First in circular motion form an outer
   circle and then fill in the center. Pour the batter all over evenly. Do not drop
   batter like a thick lump or spread the batter with spatula, otherwise the
   characteristic and appearance of Rava dosa will not come.

8. Once you pour the batter in circular shape then fill the gaps with batter.

9. Once done with pouring batter reduce the flame to low because you do not
     want to burn the Dosa.

Pour batter on the griddle

Rava Dosa is spreaded

10.  Once the top surface or Dosa looks dry up sprinkle 1 to 2 teaspoons of oil all
     over the Dosa, and through the holes, with the spatula gently spread the oil 
     all over the surface of the Dosa.  Keep the heat to medium low. The slower 
     it cooks, the crispier it gets.

Sprinkle oil over Dosa

Spread oil around Dosa

11.  In about 1 to 2 minutes the edges will start to brown. 

12 Once  the upper surface of Dosa looks cook and no longer runny and bottom
     of Dosa start looking brown then insert the spatula under the edges of the
​     Dosa to loosen and gently flip it to other side and cook for a 1 or 2 minutes.​

Edges of Dosa become brown

Flip the Dosa to other side

13. Let the bottom side of the Dosa cook.

14. At this stage the Dosa will be thin and crisp, with one side golden brown in
​      color and other side with onion and other ingredients on it. 

​15.Let the other side cook for 1 to 2 minutes then turn it back.

Other side of Dosa

Turn the Dosa back

This side of Dosa looks cooked

Turn Dosa back to other side

​16. Once you have the desired color and crispiness then with the spatula fold
       the Dosa into the desired form, take it off the griddle and serve it hot with
      the Dosa potato masala, coconut chutney and sambhar or just eat it itself like
      a snack.

Rava Dosa is ready

Fold Rava Dosa

17.  Before you start making next dosa, griddle should be clean. Take a paper 
      towel and rub all over the surface of the griddle to clean it. Raise the heat 
      to make the griddle hot.

18.  Grease the griddle and mix the batter completely before making each dosa 
       as it tends to settle in the bottom. Batter may get thicker, add little water 
       and mix. Now proceed to make another dosa and repeat the procedure to 
       make next dosa.

Rava Dosa

How to make Tadka:

​1.  Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a small pan and add, mustard seeds and asafetida and
     fry for 2 minutes, once mustard seeds start popping turn the heat off and add 
     this to the rava dosa batter and mix it well.

In a pan add Mustard seeds & Asafetida & fry

Mustard seeds & Asafetida are fried

Tips:

1. The most important factor in the making of Rava Dosa is adjusting the heat. At
    first when pouring the batter on the griddle it should be very hot and after 
    pouring the batter heat should be turn down to low.

 2. You can customize these crispy Dosas by adding different toppings or make
      it plain without topping.

3.  Make sure the batter is very thin. If the batter becomes thick after making 
     few Dosas add little water to it as rava absorbs the water.

4.  Cast iron griddle work better than non stick frying pan for making rava dosa

5.  Do not flip the Dosa to other side until the bottom of dosa completely become brown otherwise dosa will break.

6. Once the griddle is at the right temperature and seasoned and the batter is
     right consistency it does not take long to Cook Rava Dosa.

7. The Batter can be kept in fridge for next day usage.

Please take the time to let me know what you think about my recipe. Your comments would be helpful to me to improve the recipe.

Thank you    

Geeta Seth