Poha dosa is amazingly soft, spongy, porous crepes or pancakes made with flattened rice, idli rice, curd and urad dal batter. These aval dosai makes for a comforting breakfast with a side of coconut chutney or sambar.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 440 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 470 minutes
  • Yield: 14 · 14 Poha Dosa
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup idli rice (or parboiled rice or regular rice like sona masuri rice, parmal rice - 200 grams)
  • ½ cup thick poha ((flattened rice or parched rice) - 50 grams)
  • 2 tablespoons urad dal ((husked black gram))
  • ½ cup curd
  • 1 cup water (for mixing with curd)
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or add as per taste)
  • oil (as required)

Method

Making aval dosa batter

  1. In a bowl, take fresh curd (dahi or yogurt) and water. Mix very well with a wired whisk to make buttermilk. Don't use sour curd.
  2. In an another bowl, take idli rice or parboiled rice or regular rice like sona masuri rice, parmal rice. Also add thick poha (flattened rice) and urad dal (husked black gram).
  3. Rinse the rice, poha and urad dal a couple of times with water. Then drain all the water.
  4. Now pour the prepared buttermilk (curd+water mixture) in the rinsed rice, poha and urad dal.
  5. Gently stir the mixture.
  6. Soak the rice, poha and urad dal in the buttermilk mixture for 2 to 3 hours.
  7. Drain and reserve the soaking liquid. Add the soaked rice, urad dal and poha in the blender jar.
  8. Grind or blend to a smooth batter using all of the reserved liquid.
  9. Remove the batter in a bowl and add baking soda and salt. Mix well.
  10. Ferment the batter for 4 to 5 hours or as required.

Cooking poha dosa

  1. Heat a tava or griddle or a cast iron pan. Brush the pan with some oil.
  2. Take a ladle of batter. Spread in a circular motion with the back of a spoon. Make a slightly thick dosa.
  3. Drizzle oil around the edges and on top of the dosa. Cover the dosa with a lid.
  4. Cook poha dosa for 1 to 2 minutes or till the base is cooked and crisp and the top is soft and spongy.
  5. Flip the dosa and you can cook the other side if you want.
  6. Similarly, make the rest of the avalakki dosa with the batter.
  7. Serve poha dosa hot with coconut chutney or sambar.
  8. Any leftover batter can be refrigerated for 1 day.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.