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.
