Easy Watermelon Rind Dosa Recipe

Watermelon rind dosa or crepes is coastal Karnataka special breakfast recipe. Step by step recipe with a quick video is here.

This is a glutenfree and vegan crepe recipe.

Here is a kitchen waste management recipe. Delicious dosa without any after taste of rinds. It is an uncommon ingredient, but you can use this easily in your dishes.

Watermelon rind crepes is a healthy kitchen hack in using kitchen waste. A healthy dish from vegetable wastes or organic waste.

Also called as tarbuj ke chilke ki dosa.

Watermelon rind or scraps are less juicy than the red fruit. Simply eating the rind is not tasty or most delicious. However, it takes up any form of flavours from other ingredients.

The rinds do not give any flavour to the dosa however if any red part of fruit is added with rind, then batter becomes slightly pinkish.

Here is a recipe which I learnt from mother-in-law. She is a source of some amazing recipes using organic vegetable waste like peels of ash gourd, pumpkin, rind, inner pith of gourds.

I have tried many recipes using watermelon rind in cooking. There are many more like jams, dessert, candies, pickles and preserves yet to try this summer. This is the seasonal ingredient in Indian kitchen, its so economical as well.

Isn’t this a great way to cut back on kitchen waste and use these nutrient rich source ingredients.

I hope you try this dosa recipe before the summer ends.

This watermelon rind dosa recipe is

• Glutenfree
• Vegan, dairy-free
• Easy recipe
• Healthy breakfast recipe
• Nutritious
• Minimal ingredients
• Easily available ingredients
• Kitchen waste management
• Gut friendly
• Kids friendly
• Nut-free
• Suitable for plant-based diets

So, what is this watermelon rind, read about it in the coming sections.       

Check a quick video of making watermelon rind dosa and try this in your kitchen. If you have enjoyed the video do subscribe to Dice n Cook Youtube channel for more food videos.   

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What is watermelon rind?

Watermelon rind or scraps are the outer tough white part removed from red flesh. The rest of scraps are trashed to bin or used in compost. Now its time to know that the entire watermelon has many health benefits, so use them to maximum.

The rind is green on the exterior side and white from inside. The texture is almost similar to cucumber.

Why use watermelon rind?

We have seen what this watermelon rind is in the previous section, so why should we use them in our dishes. Here are the health benefits of watermelon rind.

They are low in calories but rich in nutrients. Watermelon rind is high in vitamin C, A and B6. They are also rich in citrulline.

Studies have also shown they reduce blood pressure and improves the skin, also aids in weight loss.

They are rich source of fiber as well, this aids in digestion.

Which watermelon can be used for rind?

Any watermelon can be used to separate the rind. Dark green or half green watermelon which are locally available in India can be used.

The inner white rind remains the same for all watermelons.

How to cut watermelon and rind?

This is an important step to get the maximum rind pieces. If you do not cut the watermelon properly, either lose the rind or end up adding fruit in the dosa.

Learn to cut the watermelon and use the rind properly with this video guidance here.

Use these rinds to make dosa batter.

Below is the list of simple pantry ingredients to make this healthy South Indian style watermelon rind dosa

Ingredients

Get ready with following ingredients to make dosa batter.

For watermelon rind dosa batter, we soak all the ingredients together, isn’t it so easy and not to clean different vessels!!

Dosa rice or less polished rice – We buy less polished rice to make normal dosa, if you don’t find them in your grocery shop, you can use par-boiled sona masuri rice. But soak this for long time before grinding. I would not recommend using basmati rice for this dosa batter. Short or medium grain rice is used to make this dosa batter.

Urad dal – I have used dehusked split black gram or whole black gram in this recipe, clean pest-free dal. It makes the dosa soft and helps in fermentation.

Methi seeds – Fenugreek seeds or methi seeds or menthya are used in this recipe. It aids in fermentation and gives nice golden colour to dosa.

Thick poha – This is thick flattened rice or avalakki or poha. Use clean pest free poha. Poha also aids in fermentation of batter.

Salt as per taste – Any salt as per choice can be added.

Oil as required – Any oil can be used; I have used refined sunflower oil.

Water as required – Water is required for cleaning, soaking and grinding the batter and to adjust the consistency of batter.

Equipment

• Mixer grinder
• Iron dosa tawa
• Mixing bowl
• Ladle

Consistency of dosa batter?

Watermelon rind dosa batter should be flowy consistency and not runny.

The water required to grind the batter depends on type of rice and dal.

Water used for soaking rice and dal can be used for grinding.

Add water while grinding to help grind the batter easily and prevent the rice, dal from sticking to grinder or mixer jar.

How to ferment the batter?

Batter can be fermented like usual dosa batter.

If the temperature is cold, keep the batter in warm place so that it gets fermented well. It takes more hours to ferment.

If outside temperature is warm, batter gets fermented well, so 5 to 6 hours is good enough.

Batter slightly increases its volume and raises in the vessel after fermentation. This indicates its well fermented batter. Airy and light batter is seen after fermentation.

Store the batter for fermentation in a large vessel, as the batter raises it tends to pour out if stored in small vessel.

How to make watermelon rind dosa?

Preparing dosa batter is first step and it is simple, soak the ingredients, grind and ferment.

We prepare batter by grinding rice, dal, methi seeds and poha with chopped rind. Ferment the batter and make the dosa.

Soaking the ingredients

Clean the rice, urad dal, methi seeds, poha for any dust or pest.

Add water, wash the soaking ingredients.

Add water enough to soak the ingredients. Soak them for 4 to 5 hours.

Grinding

After soaking, grind the ingredients to thick batter with chopped watermelon rinds.

Mixer grinder or tabletop grinder can be used to make watermelon rind dosa batter.

Add soaked water little by little while grinding, do not add too much water.

Batter should be flowy consistency not too thick or thin. Next step would be to ferment the batter.

Fermentation of batter and dosa making

Ground batter should be kept closed and fermented in warm place for 5 to 6 hours.

After fermentation, you see a slight rise in batter. Next morning add salt, add water if required and mix well. Now this is ready to make tasty dosa.

Apply oil on iron tawa and heat on high heat. Sprinkle little water on the tawa, wipe with a kitchen tissue or cloth.

Turn the heat to low and pour a ladle full of batter on hot tawa.

Spread the batter in circular way, close a lid and cook the dosa for a minute on medium heat.

Sprinkle oil on dosa and cook for few more seconds.

We need not flip the dosa, fold it and serve hot dosa to your family and enjoy!!

Serving suggestions

You can serve this healthy breakfast dosa with any chutney of choice like coriander chutney, simple coconut chutney, peanut chutney and many more.

In our family we also serve this with jaggery powder and ghee. If you are one who would like to have jaggery in your breakfast, then try this combination.

When watermelon is in season, this dosa is prepared every week in our house.

Variations

This watermelon rind dosa recipe can be easily tailored into masala dosa or set dosa as well.

You can also sprinkle some finely chopped onion, grated carrot and coriander leaves and make pancakes of this batter.

Tips for perfect watermelon rind dosa

1. Use good quality dosa rice and urad dal to make the batter.
2. Add only white part of rind to make the batter. Do not add green peel, it makes the batter bitter in taste.
3. For crispy dosa serve immediately, it becomes soft when it cools down.

Other uses of watermelon rind

Rind from watermelon doesn’t have taste by itself, so it goes well with flavours from Indian spices.

Other than dosa, you can use watermelon rind in other dishes as well.

There are many recipes from Indian cuisine which uses rind as one of the ingredients. Salads Curries, stir fry, pickles, jams and desserts like halwa can be prepared using rind, refreshing juice.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can we use green part of rind?

No remove green peel from rind and add white part only to make this dosa.

Can we make rind dosa without fermenting?

Watermelon rind dosa batter should be fermented as we are adding urad dal to the batter, if it’s not fermented dosa do not taste good. So I would recommend fermenting the batter.

Can we add red fruit flesh to dosa?

Do not add red flesh for grinding dosa batter.

If there is little red part still left in rind, it is ok to go into the batter. Do not add too much of it, batter becomes watery and sweet.

How will dosa taste?

This dosa tastes normal as other urad dal dosa. There is no after taste of rind in dosa.

Is the watermelon rind dosa crispy or soft?

If dosa is prepared as mentioned above in the recipe, it remains crisp when they are hot. Serve them immediately.

However, if you cool them or serve it later, they become soft.

Can we refrigerate the leftover batter?

Yes leftover dosa batter should be fermented and used within one day of grinding. Since we are adding a fruit rind, it will not taste good after two days.

Can we refrigerate the dosa in advance?

I do not recommend refrigerating the prepared dosa. It becomes dry and do not taste good. So, it is better to refrigerate the batter and use it when required.

Can I use whole urad dal?

Yes whole urad dal can be used, however add a spoon less of dal to make the batter.

Can I use sabut urad dal or black urad dal?

Yes sabut urad dal or black urad dal can be added to make the batter. However, the dosa colour changes due to the black husk of dal.