I love a good dosa and so I am always making different variations of them in my kitchen. One of my top favorite in this paneer dosa. This golden brown, crispy dosa is filled with a spiced paneer filling which is made with paneer, onions, tomatoes, and cashews. This dosa doesn’t really need an accompaniment and can be enjoyed as such but I often pair it with a bowl of sambar and tomato chutney.
Crispy Paneer Dosa=Perfection!
My love affair with dosa began when I was a child growing up in North India. My mom never made dosa at home (since they were not that popular in north India back then) and so we always had dosa outside. To me, dosa was that elusive meal that happened only once in a while.
I spent years in my kitchen perfecting the idli dosa batter and being able to make crispy dosas. Now, that I can make good dosas, I am always coming up with new variations/versions of them. The paneer dosa is one of my favorites. I make it crispy because that’s the way I like it. If you prefer crispy dosas too, here are my top 2 tips for that:
- Add some chana and toor dal to your dosa batter, much like what I do in my crispy dosa batter.
- Use a cast iron pan to make your dosa. You will honestly end up with the best dosas if you make them on a well seasoned cast iron pan.
These paneer dosa are so filling that when I eat them for breakfast (with a cup of filter coffee because it’s the best!), I usually skip lunch. Who doesn’t want a dosa that’s also packed with protein?
Make Crispy Paneer Dosa With Me
- Start with making the paneer filling
I like adding cashews to my paneer dosa filling since my husband loves it, but it is totally optional. If you are using cashews like me, sauté them separately first and splutter some cumin seeds, ginger and chilies in oil.
- Make the onion-tomato base
The base of the paneer filling is made with fresh onions and tomatoes. Cook the onions first until they are translucent and then add the tomatoes.
- Let paneer be the star of the show!
I go easy on the dry spices and actually add only turmeric, you can definitely add more spices as per your preference. After you stir in the paneer, cook for only couple of minutes and then turn off the heat.
- Prep your tawa/pan first!
I always like to emphasize that you should rub your tawa/pan with a onion dipped in oil before you pour dosa batter onto it. Then pour batter in the center of the hot tawa. You can use either my all purpose idli dosa batter or the crispy dosa batter (this is what I have used here).
rubbing the iron pan with a sliced onion dipped in oil prevents the dosa from sticking to the pan!
- Spread the dosa batter thin
Use a ladle (flat bottom preferably) and move the ladle from the center towards the edges going to circular motion until you have a thinly spread batter.
- Fill the dosa with the paneer filling
Cook the dosa until it’s crisp golden brown, and don’t forget to pour some oil on the edges. And then fill it with that prepared paneer filling. Serve hot with coconut chutney or tomato chutney.
Extra Tips!
- You can add some pav bhaji masala or schezwan chutney to this dosa to make it like Indian street-style. I have given a very simple version which I make regularly in my home.
- If you don’t have time to make dosa batter at home, it’s totally okay to use store-bought batter for this recipe. In fact, I do that too when I am pressed for time.
- Sometimes, I also add mashed potatoes to this paneer filling, so that’s another variation you can try.
- Using homemade paneer will result in a creamier and softer paneer filling. Paneer tends to becomes chewy quickly and in my experience, homemade paneer remains the softest.
Paneer Dosa (Crispy)!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons cashews, raw, whole cashews
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon ginger, chopped
- 1 green chili, chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped, I used red onion
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 225-250 grams paneer, slightly crumbled
- cilantro, chopped, optional
- 2- 2½ cups dosa batter
- oil or butter, for cooking the dosa, as needed
Instructions
- Heat ½ tablespoon oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons cashews (whole or slightly broken) into the pan. Sauté for 1 minute until the cashews that light golden brown spots on them. Take the cashews out of the pan, using a spatula and transfer them to a plate.
- To the same pan, now add the remaining ½ tablespoon oil. Then add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add 1 teaspoon ginger (finely chopped), and 1 green chili (finely chopped). Cook for 1 minute.
- Then add 1 small onion (finely chopped) and cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft. Then add 1 medium tomato (chopped) and cook for 2 minutes.
- Once the tomatoes are a little soft, add ½ teaspoon turmeric and ¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste). Stir well. Now, add 225-250 grams paneer (slightly crumbled) along with the cashews that we had fried earlier.
- Stir and cook for 2 more minutes until everything is well combined and cooked through. Add chopped cilantro if desired and turn off the heat.
- Heat your iron pan on high-medium heat. I have used around 2 to 2 & ½ cups dosa batter here which will give approximately 8 dosa. Once the pan is really hot, sprinkle some water on it to bring the temperature of the pan down. Wipe with a paper towel.
- Now, dip a sliced onion in oil and rub it on the pan. Then take a ladle full of the batter (around ¼ to ⅓ cup), and pour it in center of the pan. Using your ladle, spread the batter moving from the center of the pan and going outwards. If you are unable to spread the batter, your pan might be too hot.
- Once the dosa is well spread, pour oil or butter on the edges of the dosa- approx. 1-2 teaspoons per dosa. Cook it on medium-high heat. Once you see the dosa becoming brown from the bottom, then add the prepared paneer filling, around 2-3 tablespoons per dosa, use a spatula and fold the dosa over the filling.
- Make all dosa similarly. Serve with chutney or sambar!
Notes
- If you prefer spicy dosa- add more green chilies and use schezwan sauce in your filling or you can also apply the sauce over the dosa. It works great with this paneer filling.
- You can use any dosa batter of your choice to make these dosa.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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