Well this is not something new but am sure this will help starters and some of my friends. This is a bit lengthy post so kindly bear with me :). Preparing this batter usually is grinding Urad dal, collecting it to a bowl and grinding rice and then mixing both with salt and letting it set in a warm place for 10 to 12 hours to ferment. I was following the same method until my friend suggested me to grind them together.
This was way easier and saved time, mess and work load. I use some Cooked/Boiled rice (old remaining rice is perfect I would say) along with this because my mom always added this for not wasting cooked rice but later I knew that this would help us in resulting soft Idlis and crispy dosas too. Adding cooked rice is optional and it can be avoided.
I am presenting my way of making batter with water measurements I use while grinding. So changes according to your need is welcome.
I am presenting my way of making batter with water measurements I use while grinding. So changes according to your need is welcome.
Ingredients:
Idli Rice / Puzhungolari - 3-1/2 cupsRaw rice / Pachari - 1/2 cup
Cooked/Boiled Rice - 1 cup(but usage is optional)
Whole Urad dal / Ullunnu- 1 cup
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tablespoon
Salt - 1 tablespoon
Water required while:
Grinding Urad dal - 1 cup water to be added little by little.
Grinding Rice together with Urad dal batter - 1-1/2 cups water to be added little by little.
My Measuring cups & Spoons:
All my recipes follow the same measuring instruments. Check out "My notes" below for more details about fermenting in oven and related tips.
Method:
For making the batter:
- Wash and soak Idli rice + Raw rice + Cooked rice(Optional) in a bowl for 4-1/2 hours.
- Wash and soak Urad dal + Fenugreek seeds in a bowl separately for 4 hours.
- Strain the water from Urad dal and Fenugreek seeds and grind them by adding fresh water(1 cup) little by little to a fine foamy paste. Remember to stir in between to avoid urad dal sticking at the sides which might not grind to paste. It took me 30 minutes exactly but it differs based on the grinder used too.
- Strain the water from rice and add it to the ground urad batter in the grinder a little at a time. Grind them together to soft but little coarse paste by adding fresh water(1-1/2 cups) little by little and stirring in the middle with a spatula. My 5th picture would show the consistency of the final batter(slightly coarse but soft). It took me 35 minutes exactly to get it ready. Now add salt and let it run for a minute to mix well.
- Transfer the batter to another storing bowl(steel or plastic). Keep it covered leaving some air space and let it rest in a warm place for 10 to 12 hours to ferment.
- We can see the batter raised by finding some pores and tear cuts in the batter mixture. The fermented batter would be fluffy and light. This batter can be directly used for making soft Idli's. Add some water and dilute it to make crispy Dosa's.
For Making Soft Idli's:
- Boil water in a idli pot (about 2 inches from the bottom). Take the required amount of prepared batter to a bowl and stir once to incorporate. Take a laddle full and pour on a greased idli tray. Arrange them on the idli pot and steam cook for 8 to 10 minutes(it took me 8 minutes exactly) or until a tooth pick comes out clean.
- Remove them from stove top and let it rest for seconds. Remove them with a spoon or spatula and serve with chutney, sambar or Idli podi.
For Making Dosa's:
- Take 1-1/2 cups of batter (The batter prepared according to the measurement here) and add 1/4 cup+2 tablespoons of water to it and mix well for making it into a dosa batter.
- Heat Dosa tawa on medium flame and grease, take a laddle full of dosa batter, pour it in the center of tawa and start spreading it equally from the middle to the end of tawa forming swirls. Drizzle some oil on the dosa and on sides and roast until both sides are golden brown and crispy.
- Serve hot dosa's with chutney or sambar.
For making Egg Dosa's:
- Follow the same steps in making dosa until spreading it on tawa, then crack an egg on top, spread using a fork throughout. Add a pinch of salt and chilli powder and drizzling some oil. Cook until egg is done and fold it.
- Serve hot with chutney or sambar...well you wont need that too :)
My Notes:
- I use 2 liters grinder so we can adjust the ingredients according to the grinder you have.
- Cooked/Boiled/old rice helps us in giving soft idlis. Its totally optional to use else we can continue the method of making batter without adding it.
- We can also stock half cup of old idli/dosa batter and add it in the end while adding salt to get it fermented easily. Nothing works better.
- For people living in a cold region we can ferment the batter by keeping it in a pre-heated oven. Pre-heat at 200'F for 5 minutes and switch off, let the door open for 2 minutes, keep the batter bowl near oven light, close the door, switch on the oven light and leave it as is for 12 hours.
love your idly dosa batter preparation...
ReplyDeleteThank you gayathri
DeleteMy God! Divya you are amazing. There is complete south Indian kitchen out there. A lot of hard work and absolutely stunning recipes. Your Idlis look so perfect and springy. I loved this post!
ReplyDeleteThank you namitha...i appreciate it
DeleteAs always, great pics and explanations Divya :) I do it this way, though I don't add the fenugreek seeds (But in my mixie). Comes out perfect every time :)
ReplyDeleteThank you priya
DeleteThese idlis and dosas look too good! Lovely batter, I must say! I will definitely try this! :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rita-bose-cooking.com/
Thank you rita
Deletelove the egg dosa spcl..
ReplyDeleteThank you kalpana
DeleteWow...perfect crunchy egg dosa and soft idli.
ReplyDeleteThank you chandrani
Deletevery soft idli..nice back to basic post
ReplyDeleteThank you veena
DeleteThose idlis look sooo soft and delicious
ReplyDeleteThank you anupa
DeleteDivya ,fluffy idlis ,crispy dosas ,yummy egg dosas..don't forget to pack me some:))
ReplyDeleteThank you meena
DeleteI have to be honest that never ever have I made idli or dosa. We eat them in shops. When I growing up, eat plenty because mum used to make for us.
ReplyDeleteI had a good lesson on making the flour and then idli and the rest. Btw, the idlis are puffy and happy.
Thank you dear..i think you should try for only one reason...its so easy for dinner or breakfast...
DeleteLovely Divya,
ReplyDeletemalligai poo idli, murugal dosai, muttai dosai kalakuureenga Divyaaa....
Super
very nice clicks....
Thank you priya :)
DeleteNicely explained. Idlis look very soft.
ReplyDeleteThank you sona
Deleteeverything about this post is so good, divya... my kids would die for idli and dosa and i'm yet to get the best batter so far... thank u so much for this detailed post. I always grind in our normal Prithi and it is not very effective to give the best batter consistency... i'm considering to get a mini grinder from India next time I go... :)
ReplyDeleteThank you rafee
DeleteThat's a neat & precise one dear !! And I had a long time doubt, I have been told that there is a difference in the qty or urd dhal for idly & dosa batter.. Any thoughts on this??
ReplyDeleteGenerally they say that while making in special for idli's add only 2 cup idli rice and 1 cup urad daal, for dosa we need to add 2 cup idli rice with 1 cup raw rice and 1 cup urad daal....well i follow the one given here and my idli and dosa's are perfect and family fav chitz...thank you
DeleteAhh.. Thanks for the info Divya.. Was searching for a long while for this one :)
DeleteYou are welcome...thank you
Deletewow.. awesome divya, i never made idli batter at home, but i think, should try once, as outcome looks superb... BTW lovely clicks .
ReplyDeleteThank you preethi
Deleteperfectly made idlis, and dosa . and, guess what..till now..i was adding the same water to grind , tha ti use to soak the rice and dal !!! now, will change. thanks for this detailed post. plz feel free to do drop by my blog too when you get the time.
ReplyDeleteThank you sona
DeleteVery nice post .. I love south indian...
ReplyDeleteWill try it for sure..
Keep in touch..
Kisses,
beingbeautifulandpretty.com
Thank you pooja
Deletei need that egg dosa right now :) well explained post divya..
ReplyDeleteThank you PT
Deletethey look soft, tender and best part, they look like homemade stuff should do, gr8 work, much appreciated
ReplyDeleteThank you guru
DeleteFantastic and very detailed post, you have done prefectly..An incredible and useful post for many of us.
ReplyDeleteThank you priya
DeleteNice detailed post dear... soft and fluffy idlis
ReplyDeleteThank you vimi
DeleteVery nice post. I envy seeing good idly pics. Can we use any other rice instead of idli rice?
ReplyDeleteHere in USA only Idli rice is available...in India they say Puzhungol arisi or boiled rice...i also prepare this batter completely with "Sonamasoori" rice too...it does works shabs,thank you
Deletethose idlis look as though they are straight out of Murugan idli kadai ! your method sounds totally new to me. been grinding separately, also the proportion of 3:1 idli rice : urad dal. i will definitely try this and tell you the results. that mutta dosa looks yummy too !
ReplyDeleteThank you shree would love to hear..
Deletelipsmacking
ReplyDeleteTasty Appetite
Thank you jay
DeleteYour idlis and dosa are so tempting, Divya.. love the presentation and the tip of the cooked rice. I am hearing it for the first time, should try it out. Fabulous captures as always.. really appreciate the the effort you put in, in preparing the entire post. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you arti
DeleteSo soft Idlis..very neatly explained. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteThank you vidya
DeleteGreat post... Perfect clicks and very well explained Divya :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you nilu
DeleteGreat informative post Divya, adding boiled rice to batter is new idea to me.
ReplyDeleteThank you swathi
DeleteI admire the hardwork that oes into each of ur post taking all step by step pic, there is no need of actually reading the recipes the picture explains it all...great job dear..i don't have a grinder So I use the mixie and grinding puzhugalari in mixie seems impossible so I am planning to get a grinder from India this time if I have space :)
ReplyDeleteThank you vineetha...i know its tough using mixer when compared to grinder...try soaking for an hour or two additional..
Deletelovely post... iam reminded i havnt had egg dosa in a while now
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU SWATI
Deletelovely Post :)
ReplyDeleteFirst here, glad to follow you.
Thank you for stopping by roha...
DeleteDosa & idly look so yummy...very informative post
ReplyDeleteThank you amila
Deletesoft and fluffy
ReplyDeleteThank you shama
DeleteGreat post and very useful tips, especially for me because I've never made these treats before. Didn't know there are quite a few steps to these simple treats. I would have new respect for them. :) Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you amy
DeletePerfect recipes and nice post..well explained..
ReplyDeleteThank you shabbu
DeleteDivya, extremely soft and fluffy ..super
ReplyDeleteThank you shanavi
DeleteI call it sponge idly :)) YUmmyyyyy
ReplyDeleteThank you kala
DeleteMaking Idli batter is intimidating for many. I am sure this post will definitely come handy. Thanks for putting it together Divi.
ReplyDeleteThank you radhi
Deletesuper soft n spongy idli..very well explained post..good job!
ReplyDeleteThank you sangeetha
Delete