Who doesn’t love dosa – Indian-style savory crepes, often served with a spicy potato stuffing. This hotel style onion dosa is a variation of the popular rava dosa recipe with more onions and some spices and herbs. This is one of the easiest dosa variants to make as no grinding is required and no fermentation of the batter is required. Make these dosas for a delicious breakfast or brunch. You can enjoy them for a light lunch or dinner. Onion dosa recipe is not only vegetarian but also vegetarian.

About Onion Dosa
If you are someone who really can’t get enough of onion dosa, then this recipe is a must try for you! Because with this recipe you don’t have to go to a restaurant. Instead, make and enjoy a restaurant style version of the same dosa in the comfort of your home.
Onion Dosa is a super popular South Indian breakfast dish. Not only throughout South India, but even in other regions, this dosa is an all-time favorite among many.
The simple texture of onion spiked dosa is one of the USP of the dish. Hence, it is not only a feast for the palate but also appealing to the eyes. Make sure to do this as soon as you make it.
This onion dosa recipe is quite simple and easy, where you just need to prepare the batter, temper it and use it to make perfectly golden and crispy dosa. You can use ghee (clarified butter) instead of oil to cook dosa.
This hotel style onion dosa is served hot or warm with a creamy coconut chutney, a comforting sambar or even both. I know people who eat it with tomato ketchup. You can try too!
To make this quick onion dosa, mix all the ingredients and let the batter sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Then, you are ready to make the dosa. While the batter rests, you can prepare the coconut chutney. The simplicity of this recipe makes it a good option for breakfast or even brunch.
So, the common ingredients that go into this onion dosa batter are of course onions, unroasted rawa or semolina (semolina), rice flour, all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour, green chillies, ginger, crushed black pepper, chopped coriander leaves and salt. .
To make pita, you can use water or buttermilk. Sometimes I make pita with water and sometimes with buttermilk. Onion dosa tastes good both ways.
The spices, herbs that go into the dosa butter also give it its unique taste. Not to forget, the presence of onions, adds an element of crunch and some sweetness too.
I temper the dosa batter with mustard, cumin and curry leaves. This tempering gives the dosa a really nice flavor and doesn’t take more than 5 minutes.
Some other similar instant and healthy dosa varieties that you can make in no time are Oats Dosa and Wheat Dosa.
Step by step guide
How to make onion dosa
Make the batter
1. In a mixing bowl, mix the following ingredients with a spoon:
- ½ cup fine textured un-roasted rava or semolina (semolina flour or cream of wheat)
- Half a cup of rice flour
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
- ½ or 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilli or 1 green chilli
- ½ cup finely chopped onion or about 1 medium onion
- 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger or 1 inch, optional
- 9 to 10 black pepper powders
- 1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves, optional
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2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a small frying pan. First, roast half a teaspoon of mustard seeds on low heat.
Then, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and 5 to 6 chopped curry leaves. Fry for a few seconds or until the cumin seeds brown and splutter.
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3. Add this tempering to the oil along with the other ingredients in the bowl. Also, add salt as needed.

4. Pour water or buttermilk as needed and make a thin batter without any lumps. Let the batter rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
The batter should not be thick or medium in consistency. I added about 2.25 cups of water to the batter. If the batter becomes too thin, add some rice flour to thicken it slightly.
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Make onion dosa
5. Heat a cast iron kadai, tawa or a non-stick pan. Using a small piece of cotton cloth, paper napkin or onion halves dipped in oil, grease the pan all over.
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6. With a ladle, pour the prepared pita. First, start pouring the batter from the edge. Keep the flame on medium.
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7. Then, pour the batter towards the center. If there are large gaps, fill lightly with batter.

8. Drizzle ½ tsp oil on top. This dosa takes little more time to cook than normal dosa. The pan should be really hot before you pour the batter.
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9. Let the base become golden or crispy. Flip and cook on the other side. Usually, I cook both sides. But you can cook only the base and once the top is cooked, fold the dosa and serve immediately. Prepare all the dosas in batches like this.
Note: The rava and flour settle to the bottom of the batter in the bowl. So, you have to stir very well every time you make dosa. If the batter becomes thick after making a few dosas, add a little water or buttermilk. Stir and mix again.
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10. Hotel style onion dosa served hot or with hot coconut chutney or vegetable sambar for a comforting breakfast, brunch or lunch.
You can also serve it with other chutney varieties like tomato chutney, onion chutney, peanut chutney or ginger chutney.
If you have leftover dosa batter, refrigerate it for 1 day. Add little water to thin the batter if it seems thick.

Expert tips
- You can use either all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour in the batter.
- Ginger, black pepper and coriander leaves are optional in the batter. You can skip them.
- You can adjust the amount of spices according to your taste. Some finely chopped fresh coconut can also be added to the batter.
- The batter can be made with water or buttermilk, whichever you prefer. Be sure to make a batter, which is thin (not medium or thick) and free of lumps. If your batter is too thin, add some more rice flour and mix.
- Make buttermilk by dissolving 3 to 4 tablespoons of curd (yogurt) in 2 cups of water. Stir well before adding the other ingredients.
- Adjust the heat while cooking the dosa. The heat will depend on the thickness of the pan or skillet you are using. If using a heavy pan, cook over medium-high heat. If the pan is light or thin, cook on medium-low to medium heat.
- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for more servings.
More dosa recipes to try!

Breakfast recipe
Neer Dosa Neer Doze (Soft Rice Crepes)

Breakfast recipe
Pesarattu Moong Dal Dosa (Classic Healthy Recipe)

Breakfast recipe
Set the dosa Soft Sponge Dosa Recipe

Breakfast recipe
Paneer Dosa
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
Onion Dosa (Hotel Style Recipe)
Simple hotel style onion dosa that is crispy yet soft and lacy. The recipe can be made quickly with a batter made of semolina, rice flour, all-purpose flour, onions, herbs and spices. This recipe requires no grinding and no fermentation as a quick breakfast or brunch alternative.
Q. Time 25 minutes
cooking time 20 minutes
total time 45 minutes
Prevent your screen from going dark while making the recipe
making pita
In a mixing bowl take rava, rice flour, all-purpose flour, green chillies, ginger, onion, coriander leaves, crushed black pepper.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a small frying pan. First grind the mustard on low heat. Mustard seeds should be popped before you add cumin.
Then add cumin seeds and chopped curry leaves. Fry for a few seconds until the cumin seeds turn brown.
Add this tempering mixture to the oil along with the other ingredients in the bowl. Add salt as required.
Add water or buttermilk to make a thin batter without any lumps. Let the batter rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
The batter should not be thick or medium in consistency. If the dosa batter becomes too thin, add some rice flour to thicken it slightly.
Cook Onion Dosa
Heat a cast iron kadai or tawa or non-stick pan. Apply some oil with a piece of onion or a piece of cotton or paper napkin. Keep the flame on medium.
Using a ladle, pour the dosa batter from the edges towards the center.
Drizzle ¼ or ½ or 1 tsp of oil on top.
Let the base become golden and crispy. Flip and cook on the other side. When both sides are cooked, remove the dosas from the pan.
Prepare all the dosas in batches like this.
While making the second dosa, the batter should be stirred very well and the rava and flour settle to the bottom of the batter in the bowl.
Serve hotel style onion dosa hot with coconut chutney or vegetable sambar. This dosa should be served immediately.
- *To make buttermilk – Mix 3 to 4 tablespoons of curd (yogurt) in 2 cups of water. Whisk the buttermilk very well before adding to the other ingredients.
- The recipe can be scaled to make a larger serving.
- Adjust the spices according to your taste preference.
- You can omit ginger and black pepper if you want.
- Additionally, you can add some finely chopped fresh coconut to the batter.
- Cook the dosa on medium to medium high heat depending on the thickness of the pan. Cook on medium-low to medium heat unless your pan is heavy. Use medium-high heat for a heavy skillet.
nutrients
Onion Dosa (Hotel Style Recipe)
No. per job
calories 185 Calories from fat 72
% Daily Value*
thick 8 grams12%
1 gram of saturated fat6%
0.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat
7 grams of monounsaturated fat
Sodium 106 mg5%
potassium 70 mg2%
carbohydrates 24 grams8%
1 gram of fiber4%
Sugar 1 gram1%
protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 41 IU1%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) 0.2 mg13%
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) 0.1 mg6%
Vitamin B3 (niacin) 11 mg55%
Vitamin B6 0.1 mg5%
Vitamin C 18 mg22%
Vitamin E 3 mg20%
Vitamin K 1µg1%
calcium 18 mg2%
Vitamin B9 (folate) 132 μg33%
iron 1 mg6%
magnesium 17 mg4%
Phosphorus 43 mg4%
zinc 0.3 mg2%
* Percent Daily Value is based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This Onion Dosa post was updated from the archive first published in April 2014 and republished in March 2023.
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