Preparing Idli or Dosa Batter
There are different ways of preparing the batter for the traditional Idlis and Dosas. These days you can just buy the Idli or Dosa Mix and take it from there. However, if you are interested in doing it the conventional way, here is a recipe.
Hover over the highlighted Keywords below for Images and/or Description of some of the Ingredients:
Fenugreek, Rice, Urad Dahl
Preparing Idli or Dosa Batter
Print recipe| Serves | 2 - 4 |
| Dietary | Diabetic, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Main Dish, Snack |
| Misc | Gourmet, Pre-preparable |
Ingredients
- 2 - 4 cups Rice (white rice or brown rice)
- 1 cup Urad Dahl
- 1/2 teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 - 2 teaspoon Salt
Note
Options:
1) If living in cool temperatures, the batter may not rise in room temperature the next day. In that case, place the blended batter in a conventional oven and just turn on the lights, and leave the batter there overnight. First thing in the morning, take it out and check the status. The batter still might not have risen. But you can use it anyway to make Idlis or Dosas.
Directions
| Preparing Idli Batter | |
| Step 1 | |
For Idlis, the ratio for white rice and urad dahl is usually 2 to 1. That is, for 2 cups rice, use 1 cup urad dahl. However, if using brown rice, the ratio should be 3 cups of rice to 1 cup of urad dahl. | |
| Step 2 | |
Soak the rice in a large bowl of water for at least 3 hours. There should be a few inches of water above the rice. | |
| Step 3 | |
Soak the urad dahl in a separate large bowl of water for at least 3 hours. | |
| Step 4 | |
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Drain the rice. Place the rice in a blender, add a cup of water and blend. Add more water as necessary, until the batter is almost fine but slightly coarse - like coarse cream of wheat/Sooji.  | |
| Step 5 | |
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The batter should not be too thick or too runny. It should be thick but pourable batter. Place the batter in a very large container with cover, so that later when the batter rises, it will not spill out.  | |
| Step 6 | |
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Place the urad dahl in the blender, add a cup of water and blend. Add more water little by little as necessary, until the batter is bubbly and finely blended. Add this batter to the large container with the rice batter.  | |
| Step 7 | |
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Add 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix thoroughly with your hand. Cover the container. The batter should ferment and rise overnight. There should be a pleasant aroma from the batter. Stir the batter with a ladle. The batter is ready for making Idlis. Add salt to the batter according to your taste.  | |
| Preparing Dosa Batter | |
| Step 8 | |
For Dosas, the ratio for white rice and urad dahl is usually 3 to 1. That is, for 3 cups rice, use 1 cup urad dahl. However, if using brown rice, the ratio should be 4 cups of rice to 1 cup of urad dahl. | |
| Step 9 | |
Soak the rice, urad dahl and fenugreek in a large bowl of water for at least 3 hours. Drain the soaked rice and the urad dahl with fenugreek. Place all these in a blender. | |
| Step 10 | |
Add a cup of water and blend. Add more water as necessary, and blend until the batter is finely blended. The batter should not be too thick or too runny. It should be thick but pourable batter. Place the batter in a very large container with cover, so that when the batter rises, it will not spill out. | |
| Step 11 | |
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Add 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix thoroughly with your hand. Cover the container. The batter should ferment and rise overnight. There should be a pleasant aroma from the batter. Stir the batter with a ladle. The batter is ready for making Dosas. Add salt to the batter according to your taste. | |
