Jowar Dosa (Sorghum Dosa)

Learn to make Jowar Dosa in 4 ways – fermented batter dosa with with whole grain (1), with flour (2), instant dosas (3) and leftover plain dose batter mixed with jowar flour (4). Sorghum is a millet known by many names such as guinea corn, great millet, broom corn and jowar (in India). It is a great gluten-free substitute to wheat, rice and other grains with an added benefit of high thiamine, niacin, riboflavin and folate.

About Sorghum Dosa

Dosa is a traditional breakfast food from South Indian cuisine made with lentils and rice. This Jowar Dosa is a unique variety where sorghum (whole grain or flour) is used as the main ingredient. The traditional way (Recipe 1) is to soak the whole jowar along with urad dal, later grind to a batter and ferment. It is then spread to a dosa/crepe. You can also use jowar flour (Recipe 2) if you don’t have a powerful grinder.

Sometimes I make the instant jowar dosas (Recipe 3) under 30 mins. It requires only jowar flour and flavoring ingredients like ginger, chilies, curry leaves, coriander leaves, onions and cumin seeds. The flour is mixed to a runny batter with water and poured over a hot griddle/ tawa like Rava dosa.

It is cooked with a little ghee or oil to a crisp texture. These are delicious, crisp and makes for a light meal/snack when you serve with a chutney.

The fourth recipe is to simply stir 1 cup plain dosa batter with ¼ cup fine jowar flour. Or you may mix the flour with little water and then mix with thick premade plain dosa batter. The final consistency should be like the dose batter.

Whether you are trying to eat healthy or cut down the consumption of white rice, this may be a great healthy and nutrient-dense meal option. Jowar Dosa goes well with chutney, sambar, vegetable curry, vegetable kurma or aloo masala.

I prefer the first method as it is a convenient way to make a large batch and use for a couple of meals. These are also filling when compared to the instant dosas. If you are a beginner or want to try out different variations of fermented jowar dosas, read my pro tips section where I share plenty of my tips.

How to make Jowar Dosa (Stepwise Photos)

Recipe 1 fermented dosa with whole jowar

1. Wash ½ cup whole jowar several times and soak them for about 6 hours. Wash ½ cup raw rice, ½ cup urad dal and ¼ teaspoon methi seeds. Soak them separately for 4 hours. Soaking the lentils and rice for longer makes my batter sour quickly without raising. You may soak everything for 6 to 8 hours but for me soaking them separately for different timings work well.

2. Drain the water and blend dal, methi and rice with water just as needed until batter is smooth, fluffy and bubbly. Drain water from jowar and blend with water as needed, try to use less water. Transfer this to the urad dal batter. Mix well. The consistency should be moderately thick like the regular dosa batter.

3. Ferment overnight in a warm place or for 4 to 6 hours depending on the weather conditions. When you are ready to make the dosa, pour water as required and bring to a pouring/spreading consistency. (jump to make dosa section below). Your jowar dosas should look like below.

Recipe 2 – fermented dosa with jowar flour (no rice)

1. Wash and soak 1 cup urad dal for 6 hours. Rinse and soak ¼ thick poha in 1/3 cup water for at least 15 mins. Later rinse the urad dal and blend with poha and 1½ cups water.

2. The consistency should be bubbly, smooth and slightly thick.

3. To a large mixing bowl, add the 3 cups jowar flour and pour 2 to 2½ cups water. Do not add a lot, for the entire recipe I use no more than 4 cups (for both dal and flour).

4. Mix well with a whisk or hand to a smooth batter.

5. Transfer the urad dal batter and mix both, very well.

6. I transferred half of the batter to another bowl. Cover and ferment in a warm place, overnight to 12 hours, until slightly bubbly and raised.

7. Mine did not ferment even after 12 hours, so I put in the oven at 40 C/ 105 F. After 40 mins, this is how it was – perfectly fermented. If you live in a cold country put it in the oven at the above mentioned temp or ferment in the instant pot. Avoid over fermenting. When you are ready to make your dosa, add salt as required and water (only if necessary) to bring to a spreading consistency.

8. I add about 3 to 4 tbsps only. Mix very well to collapse some of the bubbles. Very bubbly batter won’t be good to make thin dosas.

9. Grease if using a cast iron tawa, a non-stick tawa/pan does not require greasing. Heat on a medium flame until hot enough, a sprinkle of little water should sizzle and evaporate. Pour a ladle of batter in the center of the tawa and begin to spread in circular motion, from the center moving to the edges.

10. Drizzle some butter/ghee/oil and let cook on a medium high flame until golden & crisp. The sides of the dosa will begin to leave the pan when it is ready. Gently remove to a plate or turn it to the other side and cook for a minute like I do.

11. Turn it to the other side again and cook for 30 to 60 seconds until crisp. Remove to a serving plate. Make sure the pan is hot before making the next one and do not forget to stir the batter in the bowl.

Recipe 3 – Instant Jowar Dosa with flour

1. To a mixing bowl, add the following ingredients:

• 1 cup organic jowar flour (sorghum flour)
• 2 tablespoons minced onions (make sure you chop them really fine)
• 1 green chili minced (or black pepper for kids)
• 2 tablespoons coriander leaves minced
• 5 to 6 curry leaves minced
• 1 teaspoon ginger minced or grated
• 1/3 teaspoon sea salt (adjust to taste, start with lesser)
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (crushed)

2. Add 2 tbsps yogurt (optional). Pour 1½ cups water and begin to mix to a lump free batter. Add another 1 cup and mix well.

3. The consistency of the batter should be runny for a thin dosa, slightly thicker for a thicker dosa. Rest aside for 15 mins.

4. Grease your pan and heat on a medium high flame until really hot. A few drops of water sprinkled on the pan should sizzle and evaporate instantly. I highly recommend using a round pan with edges higher else you won’t get round dosas & the batter will overflow. I was in a holiday home so made these with whatever I had.

5. Stir the batter very well with a ladle, as the solids settle at the bottom. Regulate the flame to medium high and begin to pour the batter, moving forward – starting from the edges in a circular pattern to cover the entire pan. You will see some unfilled pockets that you need to fill up with the batter.

6. Drizzle 1 teaspoon ghee or oil across the edges & over the dry spots. Let cook on a medium high until the edges begin to leave the pan. If you make them thick you need to cook on the other side.

7. Remove to a serving plate. Before you make the next dosa, make sure the pan is really hot (not smoking) and give the batter a good stir else the solids settle at the bottom.

Pro Tips

This is a summary of my numerous trials over the years.

• Proportion – You can use 1:2 to 3 ratios of urad dal to jowar depending on your preference. If you want to include rice, you can use 1:1:1 and I have used this for many years. My Mom would make this for us and I have fed my kids this from the time they were toddlers. The first picture in the post is made with this.
• For a high protein & high fiber dosa, use 1:2 dal to jowar, for a less protein and high fiber dosa, use 1:3.
• Whole Jowar vs Jowar flour – I prefer to minimize store bought flours so I often use whole jowar. But if you do not have a powerful blender, use flour. Also note that, if you use flour, you need to ferment the batter longer.
• You can also use the fermented batter to make uttapam and paniyaram/ gunta ponganalu.

Recipe Card

Jowar Dosa Recipe

5 from 42 votes

3 ways to make jowar dosa. These are healthy, gluten-free, protein and fiber-packed. Serve them with a chutney, veg kurma or aloo masala.

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For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card

Prep Time10 minutes minutes

Cook Time35 minutes minutes

fermentation12 hours hours

Total Time45 minutes minutes

Servings4 people

AuthorSwasthi

Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )

Fermented dosa with whole jowar (with rice Recipe 1)

• ▢ ½ cup urad dal (skinned whole black lentils)
• ▢ ½ cup jowar (whole grain sorghum)
• ▢ ½ cup raw rice (or replace with jowar)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon methi seeds (fenugreek seeds)

Fermented dosa with jowar flour (no rice Recipe 2)

• ▢ 1 cup urad dal (whole skinned black lentils)
• ▢ 3 cups (345 grams) cups jowar flour (fine organic sorghum flour)
• ▢ ¼ cup thick poha or 1 teaspoon methi seeds (flattened rice or fenugreek seeds)
• ▢ 1½ cups water to grind dal & poha (2 to 2½ cups to mix flour)

Instant Jowar Dosas (no rice Recipe 3)

• ▢ 1 cup jowar flour (sorghum flour)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons onions (minced, make sure you chop them really fine)
• ▢ 1 green chili minced (or black pepper for kids)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons coriander leaves minced
• ▢ 5 to 6 curry leaves minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ginger minced
• ▢ ⅓ teaspoon sea salt (adjust to taste, start with lesser)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (crushed)
• ▢ 2 ½ cups water (more as required)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons ghee or oil to toast

Instructions

Make batter with whole jowar (Recipe 1)

• ▢
  Wash jowar several times until the water runs clear. Soak it for about 6 hours. Wash rice, dal and methi. Soak them separately for 4 hours. Soaking the lentils and rice for longer can make the batter sour quickly with in few hours. (you may experiment to see what works)
• ▢
  Drain the water and blend dal, rice and methi with water just as needed until batter is smooth, fluffy and bubbly.
• ▢
  Drain water from jowar. Blend with water as needed, try to use less water. Since the grains are soaked well, the batter gets done well to smooth.
• ▢
  Transfer this to the urad dal batter. Mix well. The consistency should be moderately thick like the regular dosa batter.
• ▢
  Ferment overnight in a warm place or for 4 to 6 hours depending on the weather conditions. When you are ready to make the dosa, pour water as required and bring to a pouring consistency. (jump to make dosa section below)

Make batter with jowar flour (Recipe 2)

• ▢
  Wash and soak urad dal for 6 hours. Rinse and soak poha in 1/3 cup water for at least 15 mins. Later rinse the urad dal and blend with poha and water to a bubbly, smooth and thick consistency.
• ▢
  To a large mixing bowl, add the jowar flour and pour water. Mix well with a whisk or hand to a smooth batter. Transfer the urad dal batter and mix both, very well.
• ▢
  Cover and ferment in a warm place overnight to 12 hours, until slightly bubbly and raised. Avoid over fermenting. (Read tips in the post to ferment well)
• ▢
  When you are ready to make your dosa, add salt as required and water (only if necessary) to bring to a spreading consistency. I add about 3 to 4 tbsps only. Mix very well to collapse some of the bubbles.

How to make fermented Jowar Dosa

• ▢
  Grease if using a cast iron pan, a non-stick pan does not require greasing. Heat on a medium flame until hot enough, a sprinkle of little water should sizzle and evaporate.
• ▢
  Pour a ladle of batter in the center of the pan and begin to spread in circular motion, from the center moving to the edges. (see pictures)
• ▢
  Drizzle some butter/ghee/oil and let cook on a medium high flame until golden. The sides of the dosa will begin to leave the pan when it is ready. Gently remove to a plate or turn it to the other side and cook for a minute.
• ▢
  Turn it to the other side again and cook for 30 to 60 seconds until crisp. Remove to a serving plate. Make sure the pan is hot before making the next one and do not forget to stir the batter in the bowl.

Make Instant Jowar flour dosa (Recipe 3)

• ▢
  In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, onions, chilies, curry leaves, coriander leaves, cumin, salt and ginger. Pour half of the water and begin to mix to a lump free batter, adding more water as needed.
• ▢
  The consistency of the batter should be runny for a thin dosa, slightly thicker for a thicker dosa. Rest aside for 15.
• ▢
  Grease your pan and heat on a medium high flame until really hot. A few drops of water sprinkled on the pan should sizzle and evaporate instantly.
• ▢
  Stir the batter very well with a ladle, as the solids settle at the bottom. Regulate the flame to medium high and begin to pour the batter, moving forward – starting from the edges in a circular pattern to cover the entire pan.
• ▢
  You will see some unfilled pockets that you need to fill up with the batter. (Check the pictures)
• ▢
  Drizzle 1 teaspoon ghee or oil across the edges & over the dry spots. Let cook for 3 mins on a medium high until the edges begin to leave the pan.
• ▢
  Gently turn with a spatula to the other side and cook for another 1 min. Lastly turn it again and cook until the base is crisp, for another minute. This is just a guideline for timing, it may vary depending on the kind of stove and cookware used.
• ▢
  Remove to a serving plate. Before you make the next dosa, make sure the pan is really hot (not smoking) and give the batter a good stir else the solids settle at the bottom.

Notes

• Recipe 1 makes about 8 to 9 and Recipe 2 makes 14 large dosas. Recipe 3 makes 6 medium dosas. This is a rough estimate and can differ depending on the size of your pan and dosa.
• Experiment and see what works well for you. If you have a high speed blender, you may soak and blend everything together. If using an Indian mixer grinder, soak them separately works better.
• Also for recipe 1, if your jar is too large it may not blend little contents so you may 2x the recipe or blend everything together.

Alternative quantities provided in the recipe card are for 1x only, original recipe.

For best results follow my detailed step-by-step photo instructions and tips above the recipe card.

NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)

Nutrition Facts

Jowar Dosa Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 80

% Daily Value*

Sodium 1mg0%

Potassium 36mg1%

Carbohydrates 16g5%

Fiber 2g8%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin C 0.3mg0%

Calcium 9mg1%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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