I love dosa. My family loves Dosa. So, at home, I keep making varieties of this popular South Indian dish. One of our all-time favorites is the Paneer Dosa, which is a variation of a stuffed dosa filled with soft paneer, flavorful spices and healthy mixed vegetables. My recipe is also super easy, simple and results in street-style flavors. You’ll love it for sure!
About Paneer Dosa Recipe
The dosa, a thin and crispy rice-and-lentil crepe, has been a staple of South Indian households for centuries, dating back to ancient Tamil Nadu as early as the 1st century CE.
The street-style Paneer Dosa is a relatively modern adaptation of traditional South Indian dosa, born out of the bustling urban street food culture that caters to diverse palates.
This Paneer Dosa combines the crispy, golden perfection of a dosa with the richness of paneer, making it a fusion dish that reflects both innovation, fusion and inter-regional culinary exchange.
I have filled the dosa with a perfectly seasoned, spiced paneer together with mixed vegetable stuffing, giving it street style flavors and taste.
The dish continues to evolve, with variations including spicy paneer Masala Dosa, Paneer Tikka dosa, and even Jain-style Paneer Dosa (without onion or garlic). Its appeal lies in its versatility and ability to cater to diverse dietary preferences.
For this Paneer Dosa as well, you will need Dosa Batter. Either make at it home or buy from outside. This recipe is an interesting and delicious dosa variant as compared to the regular plain dosa.
Have some leftover dosa or idli batter and, unsure of what to do with it? Go ahead, make this yummylicious version.
How Is It Made
To make this lovely Paneer Dosa, you only need to spread the dosa batter on a well-seasoned tawa. Then, top it with mixed veggies, butter, spices, herbs, pav bhaji masala and salt, and mix well. Finally, finish by spreading some grated paneer and mixing it well with the masala.
For the vegetables in this recipe of Paneer Dosa, I have used a mix of onions, carrots, bell peppers and tomatoes.
You can use any vegetables that can be consumed raw or that can be partly cooked (think carrots, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes etc). Fully cooked mashed potatoes also make a wonderful addition.
I also use green chilies and coriander leaves. Skip the green chilies, if you prefer a less spicy version of the Paneer Dosa.
Pav Bhaji Masala adds a unique dimension of flavor and taste to the dish. So, I suggest to use it for the filling.
This recipe with 1 cup of batter will result in 4 dosas. ¼ cup of batter will make for 1 medium-sized dosa. You can easily scale the recipe and make more dosas.
Serve these delish dosas with Coconut Chutney or Red Chutney and Sambar.
How to make Paneer Dosa
Preparation
1. Take 1 cup dosa batter in a bowl. You can use idli batter, dosa batter and even ragi dosa batter. I have used ragi dosa batter here.
2. Prep the veggies. Finely chop onions, bell pepper (any color) and tomatoes. Grate carrots. Finely chop green chili and some coriander leaves. Grate the paneer and set aside.
You will need:
- ⅓ cup finely chopped onions
- ⅓ cup grated carrots
- ⅓ cup finely chopped bell pepper or capsicum
- ⅓ cup finely chopped tomatoes
- 1 small finely chopped green chili
- 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
Make Paneer Dosa
3. Heat a tawa or flat skillet. Make sure the tawa is well-seasoned. Take a ladle or ¼ cup of the batter and spread it evenly in a circular motion on the hot tawa.
The center portion might be raw or undercooked. No worries! We start topping our ingredients on it. As the dosa cooks, this raw or undercooked batter will also cook.
Keep heat to low or medium-low. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the chopped vegetables, green chilies and grated carrots, one by one.
4. Add 1 teaspoon pav bhaji masala or as required. Add 1 teaspoon of softened butter or as needed. Sprinkle the coriander leaves and a few pinches of salt.
Take care when you add the toppings. The dosa should not get golden or overly cooked. This way, the dosa can turn chewy, dry and hard.
Regulate heat of the pan as needed.
5. Mix very well with a spoon or spatula and spread this vegetable mixture evenly on the dosa. Let the vegetable filling cook for about half a minute.
6. Add 3 tablespoons grated paneer.
7. Mix thoroughly and spread the paneer-vegetable mixture evenly on the dosa. The mixture will become moist as the paneer will leave moisture after being mixed.
Cook & Serve
8. Now, you can increase the heat and cook until the dosa is golden. Ensure not to cook the paneer stuffing for a long time. The paneer will get chewy and dry.
9. Fold and serve Paneer Dosa hot with coconut chutney and sambar.
Similarly, make more dosas in batches.
Expert Tips
- Dosa batter variety: You can use regular dosa batter, Pesarattu batter or even ragi dosa batter for more nutrition.
- Use of paneer: Ensure the paneer is fresh and moist, and not dry. Frozen paneer also may not work well. Try not to cook the paneer for a prolonged time, as it can turn dry and chewy. Homemade paneer is a good choice to make this dosa.
- For a more street style flavor: Add garlic red chili paste or tomato ketchup or mayonnaise. Choice is yours. You can include ingredients that makes the taste top notch.
- Cooking dosa: Take care while adding the toppings. The dosa should not get golden or overly cooked. This can lead to dosa getting chewy, dry and hard.
- Extra additions: You can consider adding boiled mashed potato, grated beetroot, spring onions as well as grated mozzarella cheese along with the paneer.
FAQs
The batter is typically the same as that used for traditional dosa, made from fermented rice and urad dal (split black gram). The fermentation gives the batter a slight tang and helps achieve the dosa’s signature crispiness.
Absolutely! Follow my recipe on this post. Use a flat, wide skillet to replicate the street-style cooking experience.
Yes, this Paneer Dosa recipe is generally spicy because of the use of green chilies, pav bhaji masala to enhance the flavor. However, spice levels can be customized as per your requirements.
Yes. You can experiment with ingredients like cheese, more vegetables, or less spices. At home, you can get creative with the filling by adding your favorite seasonings or ingredients.
Street-style Paneer Dosa is popular in metropolitan cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. Look for dosa stalls in busy marketplaces, near colleges, or at food festivals for the best experience. Each vendor often has their unique twist and take on the recipe.
Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.
Paneer Dosa Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Dosa Batter – regular or ragi dosa batter
- ⅓ cup onions – finely chopped
- ⅓ cup carrots – grated
- ⅓ cup bell pepper – finely chopped, or ⅓ cup capsicum
- ⅓ cup tomatoes – finely chopped
- 1 green chili – chopped, small-sized, optional
- 2 to 3 tablespoons coriander leaves – chopped
- 4 teaspoons Pav Bhaji Masala or add according to taste, 1 tsp for each dosa
- ¾ cup Paneer – grated, about 3 tablespoons for each dosa
- 1 to 2 tablespoons Butter – softened, add as needed; can swap with ghee or oil
- salt as required
Instructions
Prepare Dosa With Toppings
- Heat a tawa or a flat skillet. Make sure to use a well seasoned pan or skillet.
- Take a ladle of the batter and spread it on the hot tawa in a circular motion to make a dosa.
- The center portion may be raw or undercooked. But we start topping our ingredients on it. As the dosa cooks, this raw or undercooked batter will also cook.
- Keep heat to low or medium-low. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the chopped vegetables, green chilies and grated carrots, one by one. You can even mix the vegetables first and then add them at once.
- Add 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon pav bhaji masala.
- Mix everything thoroughly with a spoon or spatula.
- Let the vegetable filling cook for about half a minute.
- Regulate the stovetop heat accordingly and as needed. You do not want the dosa to become golden or cooked completely, before you add the vegetables and paneer.
Make Paneer Dosa
- Add 3 tablesoons of paneer on the toppings. You can add more paneer if you prefer.
- Mix the grated paneer with the rest of the ingredients thoroughly and spread this paneer masala evenly in a single layer on the dosa.
- The paneer masala mixture will become moist as the paneer will leave moisture after being mixed.
- Now you can increase the heat and cook until the dosa is golden.
- Fold the dosa with the help of a spatula. Remove the folded Paneer dosa from the pan using the spatula and serve hot.
- Similarly make other paneer stuffed dosa in batches on the hot tawa or skillet.
- Serve Paneer Dosa with a side of coconut chutney, sambar or ketchup if you like.
Notes
- You can use regular dosa batter, moong dal dosa batter and even ragi dosa batter to make these dosas.
- Make sure to use paneer that is fresh and moist, and not dry. Frozen paneer may not work well in this recipe. Fresh homemade paneer is another good option.
- Ensure not to cook the grated paneer for a prolonged time, as it can turn dry and chewy.
- For a more street style flavor, opt to add garlic red chili chutney or tomato ketchup or mayonnaise. The choice is yours.
- Take care when you add the toppings. The dosa should not get golden or overly cooked. This can lead to dosa getting chewy, dry and hard. So regulate the heat as needed.
- You can consider adding boiled mashed potato, grated beetroot, spring onions as well as grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese together with the paneer.
