BEST Batter RECIPE for soft idliS and dosa

Dec 02, 2022
By Mary Anthony
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HOME MADE BATTER FOR SOFT AND FLUFFY IDLIS /BEST IDLI BATTER RECCIPE

IDLIS are traditional SouthIndian breakfast [ healthiest nutritious breakfast ] made with fermented rice + dal batter in different ratios. Served with sambar + chutney + molgapodi [gunpowder ].
It is also a great combo for SouthIndian non veg gravies.
Idli with sambar is a complete meal .
You can always experiment with different ingredients like ragi ,millets ,bajra etc.
It is a healthy food as it is steamed.
A great souce of carbohydrates and proteins.
Fermentation enhances vitamin B.
Idli contains only 65 calories.
Idlis are light for digestion.
It fights gastric problems.

TIP – Grinding the batter in wet grinder helps in aeration. It incorporates air to the batter making the batter light and also increases the quantity.

But grinding batter in a mixer doesn’t incorporate air in the batter making the batter dense and the idlis will turn harder. So if you grind the batter in a mixer, you need to beat the batter nicely atleast for 5 minutes using cleans hands OR use beater just for 1 or 2 mins

INGREDIENTS

Idli rice – 4 cup
Whole Urad Dal – 1 cup
Methi seeds / fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp [ optional ]
Salt to taste
Water as needed to grind and steam
Murmura [ puffed rice ] / Poha – 1 cup

Murmura works better than poha , so use murmura else we can also add 3 or 4 tbsp sabudana .- https://maryzkitchen.com/sago-idli/

PREPARATION

First wash , rinse in several water and soak rice + murmura / poha for 5 to 6 hours.

Wash and soak urad dal + methi seeds for 4 hours.

Drain both . Take urad dal and grind in a mixer / grinder , add little water at a time and make it into a super smooth batter.

Transfer this to a large container. Now take soaked rice in the same jar ,first grind without water . Add little water and grind it into a smooth batter . The rice will not be super fine but will have small grits.

Pour this over urad dal batter, add in salt .

Mix well with clean hands for atleast 4 to 5 mins .

Cover this and let it ferment overnight or 10 or 12 hours. [depending on the temperature ]

METHOD

The next day, the batter should be risen well .

Keep the steamer pot on medium flame

Grease idli plates with little oil and spoon the batter into each moulds.

Place the idli plates into steamer and steam for 10 – 12 mins. The water should be hot when placing the stand inside .

Once it is steamed, remove it and allow it to cool .

Demould the idlis with a knife or spoon and serve with sambar, chutney, gunpowder.

****VARIATION – Click on the name here – Tips for soft idlis [ for different recipes made with idlis ]

NOTES

Same batter can be used for dosa /uttapa /appe.
Use murmura instead of poha.
Wash the rice and dal in several water before soaking to get white idlis.And use the clear soaked water to grind, it helps in fermentation .
Add salt before fermentation helps in fermentation .
MEthi seed also helps in fermentation .add less for idli and more for dosa ,as it gives nice aroma while roasting the dosa.
If uisng mixer for grinding , then use cold water .
Instead of hands use beater for mixing the batter before fermentation.
Use good quality of dal .
To get fluffy urad dal batter .keep soaked urad dal in fridge for 1 hr .
if batter is not fermented well we can add Baking soda or eno to the batter , before steaming.
Try using whole urad dal instead of splitted ones .
Use warm water to soak to reduce soaking time if running short of time .
Don’t over steam the idlis .
The batter should not be very thick Or thin.
Use hands to mix the batter.
During winter it may take more time for fermentation.
When the batter becomes thin you can use it for making dosa OR adjust by adding rava or rice flour .
The consistency of batter becomes little thick after fermentation.
Some use cooked rice for soft idlis .
If you grind more in quantity you can store the batter in the fridge but for storing don’t ferment .Ferment it when u require it.
If you want to demould the idli fast then just hold the idli mould upside down below the running tap.
For mini idlis we get idli moulds with small compartments.
If you don’t have idli vessel steam it in a plate like dhoklas …steam , cut and eat .
Avoid over fermentation to avoid sour idlis.
Once the batter is well fermented ,then store in fridge else it becomes sour .
Boil the water before placing the idli stand in the steamer.
Don’t remove the idlis when it is hot.
While grinding urad dal keep adding water little by little to make the batter lighter and fluffy.
Fluffy urad dal batter results in fluffy idli.
The urad dal batter should have air bubbles.
If you put a drop of urad dal batter in water,it should float.
Grind the dal and rice separately.
In colder regions keep the batter in the oven with lights ON for fermentation.
A fist full of poha or even sabudhana soaked together or cooked rice or murmura with rice results in soft idli.
Don’t use aluminium vessels to store the batter.
While grinding in mixer ,don’t overload .If grinding a big quantity , give mixie a resting time – else the batter also becomes hot as we grind it .
Flat idlis means too much of urad dal .
Soak rice and dal separately ,also grind it separately.
Wash and rinse the dal and rice well until water runs clear.
Consistency of batter is important – if watery then idlis will be flat and sticky ,also the batter should not be very thick. It should be of medium thick flowing consistency.
Always use a steamer for steaming – don’t use microwave for making idlis.
Some add sour curd to the batter in cold weather to help in fermentation .Also we can add bread slices in batter while grinding in cold weather .
If you have old fermented batter,add it to the fresh batter for quick fermentation – the old batter acts as starter culture. [try storing little old fermented batter in the fridge.
After steaming .let it rest for few minutes before demoulding.
If storing fermented batter ,the next day use it for dosa and after few day use it for appe.
Before placing the mould in the steamer the water should be hot .
Idli batter can be frozen for more than a mnth -thaw it by keeping it in fridge for 24 hrs.
Use batter at room temperature.
If the batter is very watery the dosas will stick to the pan – add rice flour and adjust.
In cold weather use ¼ tsp baking soda .
Also adding baking soda gives white idli.
If the batter is not fermented well ,use eno.
In colder regions – preheat the oven @ 200 * F , off the oven and place the batter inside the oven for fermenting .
Sometimes in cold regions it takes 2 days for fermentation .