Idli Dosa Batter Recipe | How to ferment idli batter | Tips & Tricks for making Idli Dosa Batter
Learn the easy & simple recipe to make Idli Dosa Batter, along with tips and tricks to grind using a wet grinder and ferment to perfection. Applying all these techniques will yield soft , spongy idli’s and also perfect thin crisp dosas!
Idlis and dosas are probably the most popular south Indian breakfast foods. Though its much easier to get ready made fermented batter from stores, making it at home is what we prefer as its not only economical but also healthy. I have my share of struggles in perfecting it during my early days when in US but once you figure that the right proportion, measures & tricks it works easy peasy!
When it comes to the batter, it is all about the ingredients, their proportion, consistency, and to an extent, the weather. Here is a foolproof idli and dosa batter recipe, you can make and enjoy perfect soft idlis and crispy dosas any time at home.
In this recipe, you will learn the following
- The ingredients and proportions for idli/dosa batter (and possible substitutions)
- Consistency of batter and fermentation tips
- The perfect dosa pan and tips on how to care for it
- The secret to soft, fluffy idlis every time
- Variations of dosa and idli
Idli Dosa Batter Recipe – How to Ferment Idli Batter – Tips & Tricks for making Idli Dosa Batter
Ingredients
- 4 cups Idli Rice
- 1 cup Whole Skinned Black Gram
- 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds
- 4 tsp Coarse Kosher Salt crystal salt / rock salt
Instructions
Rinse & Soak
- If you plan to use the water in which the rice & dal is soaked, then rinse rice & dal separately and then soak in enough water. This is very nutritious and also helps with fermentation during cold season.
- First, soak Idli rice separately in enough water. Soak Whole skinned black gram / Ullundhu / Urad Dal with fenugreek seeds in enough water in another bowl. A minimum of 5 to 6 hours of soaking time is required. Overnight works too.
Rinse & Drain
- Rinse and drain if you plan to use regular water if not reserve the water drained from the rice & dal.
Grind
- First, grind black gram / urad / ullundu along with fenugreek seeds in a wet grinder using about 1/2 cup water. It might use about 1.5 cups of water approximately to grind. Add little by little every 5 minutes.
- Grind for about 20 to 30 minutes or until its light and fluffy.
- Test to see if its ground to the right consistency. Add a little of batter to a bowl filled with plain water. Batter should not sink nor melt but has to float. It should be not sticky & light. This is the right texture & consistency and once that is attained, transfer the batter.
- Second, grind the idli rice adding 1 cup water. This should drink about 2 to 2.5 cups of water for total of 4 cups of rice. Add little by little and grind for about 15 minutes.
- Test to see if this has reached the right stage. The ground rice batter should feel like fine rava like texture. When pressed between finger should mash up well. This is the right texture & consistency and once that is attained, add this to the ground Urad batter.
Mix
- Add salt preferably rock salt / crystal salt / coarse kosher salt / Kallu uppu. This salt is free of iodine and other chemicals. Helps with fermentation.
- Mix well using your hands. Warmth of your hands will help to ferment, so do wash your hands and then mix the batter.
How to ferment
- Cover the batter with lid and place in a warm spot for 12 hours to ferment. (Applies only if you live in a warmer climate)
- If you live in a colder place, then preheat oven to 350 F and switch off! You may keep the oven light on if you wish for added warmth.
- Keep the batter inside the oven to ferment. In summer months it should ferment in 8 to 10 hours and in winter it might take up to 15 hours.
- The batter will rise once it ferments. Always use a wide big pot to ferment the batter as it might need extra room when it rises. It will definitely rise for 2 to 3 inches from its original place almost doubling in quantity.
- After fermentation, the batter will rise with tiny air pockets. This is an indication that its fermented well and is ready for making idli or dosa.
- If the batter ferments too much, it might smell and taste sour. This batter won't last long and will continue to over ferment with time. Make sure to finish soon by making Uttappams.
To make Idli
- Do not mix the batter too much, gently mix and pour a ladleful of batter scooped out of the pan. Undisturbed tiny air-bubbles in the batter helps in making soft spongy idlis. Steam cook for 10 minutes over high medium flame. Switch off and let in rest in the pan for few minutes before you scoop out. Taking them immediately will result in torn idlis with rugged top and sides. Making idlis the traditional way… using light cotton cloth ”thunni idlis” are always the best.
To make Dosa
- Mix the batter with little water and bring the consistency slightly thin. Adding about 1/8 teaspoon of sugar to your dosa batter makes nice red golden color dosas. This is purely optional. Preferably use an iron pan to make dosas.
- Scoop some batter the swirl over the hot tawa and drizzle some oil. Once it turns brown on one side, flip to the other side and cook for few seconds. Flip again, fold and serve.
How to store batter
- If you plan to store the batter for more than 5 days then do not add salt nor ferment. Just refrigerate the ground batter which should stay good for 10 days. Bring it room temperature, add salt and then ferment when required.
- Fermented Batter stays good in refrigerator for a week
Possible mistakes & fixes.
- If the batter doesn't ferment well – idli won't come soft and will look flat after steaming. Dosa will be very chewy and white. Add little baking soda or eno to rise it a bit and try to finish the batter soon
- If the add too much water while grinding urad dal – idli will have a shiny feel / slimy with rubbery texture. Dosas will be very chewy. Using less water will yield a thick sticky batter will make the idlis go hard after steaming and dosa will be hard and batter will stick more to the pan. This will still work for dosa but trying making thick kal dosa.
- If you add to much water while grinding rice will make the batter runny and the water will separate and settle at the bottom after fermentation. The batter will still work for making dosa but idlis will look very thin and slimy. Grinding rice with less water, will yield a very tight batter that will result in hard idlis and cardboard like dosas.
- All these not so good batter can be used for making rava paniyaram (just mix some with rava, soak and then make kuzhi paniyaram ) punugulu (using grated veggies) bonda (using rava and veggies) or wheat dosa (mixing wheat flour)
Wet Grinder or Mixie
- Using a wet stone grinder will yield best results. Large quantity can be made plus the batter will be ground evenly without too much heat.
- Mixie / Blender will still work but the texture and batter consistency will look a little different. If using a regular blender or mixer jar to grind… refrigerate or freeze the jar ahead of time to chill the empty jar and then use it for grinding to avoid overheating of the motor. Or use ice cold water to grind the batter. Too much heat while grinding will result in killing the bacteria and the batter won't ferment well.
- Only a little can be ground each time and need to adjust water quantity to keep the blades running.
- To yield soft idlis use little soaked aval / poha while grinding rice.
Measurements: Whatever cup you use, its always 4 cups Idli rice : 1 cup Urad dal : 4 tsp salt. May include few additions listed below to boost the fermenting process and yield better quantity and quality.
1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds helps to yield softer idlis.
2 tsp of cooked rice helps with better fermentation.
2 tsp of pre-soaked poha / aval helps for making softer idlis.
2 tsp of puffed rice (pori) can also help for making softer idlis.
Wash and rinse the rice and urad dal.
Soak rice in enough water, add fenugreek seeds to urad dal and soak them separately with enough water. Let these soak overnight.
Tips to ferment the idli batter perfectly
1.Using the water in which its soaked – Next day, Do not rinse or wash rice and dal. Drain the water in which it was soaked and keep it aside. This water will be used for grinding the rice and dal. This way the fermentation will work effectively.
2. Grind rice separately – Grind the rice separately using a grinder. If using cooked rice or poha add along with the rice and grind. Suggested time for grinding rice would be less than 15 minutes. Add water little by little (1 to 1 and 1/4 cup approx) and grind to a thick batter. This batter should not be too soft, you should feel the texture like Bombay rava.
Ok… When it comes to rice varieties, there are many types. Some of the common types are fully boiled rice, par boiled rice and plain white raw rice.
(a) White raw rice: These are often termed as “white” or “polished” rice, This variety is made by removing the outer husk and the layers of bran are milled away until the grain becomes white. (Ponni Pacha arisi in Tamil) This variety is mainly used for preparing adai and cooked for plain consumption.
(b) Parboiled rice: Parboiled rice is treated with a special steam-pressure process before milling. The grain is soaked for 4 to 5 hours, steamed, dried and then milled to remove the outer hull. Water-soluble vitamins and mineral salts are spread throughout the grain, making it the most nutritious. Because of this special steaming process the rice tends to look pale yellow with brown spots. Good quality par boiled rice, which is specially processed for making idlis is sold in the name of ” Idli Rice”, so this variety can be used for making idlis.
(c) Fully Boiled rice: Here it is made the same way as par boiled rice except for the soaking time. It needs to be soaked for 8 to 10 hours before steaming. (Puzhungal arisi in Tamil)
You can use both varieties, idlis turn slightly pale yellow when made with fully boiled rice(Puzhungal arisi), taste doesn’t vary much.
3. Grind Urad dal separately – Next grind Urad dal along with fenugreek seeds to a very soft consistency. Add about (1 to 1 and 1/2 cup approx). Texture of the batter should be silky soft, let it grind for more than 20 minutes.
What Urad dal to use -Use only Whole Urad dal for making idli dosa batter, split urad does not yield good results plus the quantity will be very less.
4. Mixing with Salt – Take a big vessel combine, ground rice, urad dal batter along with salt. Mix well with your hands.
(a) warmth of your hands will help to ferment, so do wash your hands and mix the batter.
(b) Always use Kosher salt – Kallu Uppu which is free of iodine and other chemicals. This really helps to ferment and fluff up the batter.
5. Keep in a warm placed, covered – Once mixing cover with a loose lid, it needs to breathe… keep in a warm place in your kitchen
(a) warm microwave works perfectly.
(b) lightly warm up your convention oven, switch off and then keep the batter in it overnight.
(c) keep it close to vent during winter months helps the warm air circulating help with fermenting.
(d) Cover with a thick kitchen towel of baby blanket.
6. Adding few Chillies – add a couple of dry red chili or green chilli to the ground batter…. the heat from the chillies can speed up fermentation.
Next day the batter should rise almost 2 to 3 inches high with tiny bubbles. Do not mix right away. Take the portion which you want to use that day and store the rest in a different container undisturbed. Store in refrigerator for up to a week. Do not add salt, if you intend to keep the batter for long time.
For Idli batter : Do not mix the batter, pour a ladleful of batter scooped out of the pan. Undisturbed tiny air-bubbles helps in making soft spongy idlis. Steam cook for 10
minutes over high medium flame, switch off and let in rest in the pan for few minutes before you scoop out. Taking them immediately will result in torn idlis with rugged top and sides. Making idlies the traditional way… using light cotton cloth”thunni idlis” are always the best.
For Dosai batter: Mix the batter with little water and bring the consistency slightly thin. Adding about 1/8 teaspoon of sugar to your dosa batter makes nice red golden color dosas. This is optional if you make dosa in iron pan,it will automatically come in that color. Non stick dosa tawa doesn’t yield good color, so use sugar when using this pan. Proceed making dosais.
Using best quality Idli rice / boiled rice is the trick to make nice soft white idlis. Par-boiled / Puzhungal arisi yields soft but light pale white idlis. Split or whole urad can
be used, usually whole black urad dal with skin (Karuppu ullundu) yields more quantity and also helps for softer idlis, except This variety has be washed many times to remove the skin.
Fermenting using oven is only for friends living in cold climatic conditions. Rest can just allow it to ferment at room temperature.
These are two gadgets that i use for grinding…
Elgi Ultra Dura+ 1.25-Litre Wet Grinder, Purple
Preethi Plus Mixer Grinder (old model though) I very rarely use my mixer for grinding… as the motor may get heated up and its life will end soon 🙂 Once in while i use the mixer … use ice water for grinding. My personal experience… though many say mixer idlies turn out great but still there is always a difference that i see!
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