Idly/Dosa Batter

Table of contents

1. About the dish
2. Ingredient
3. Preparation

1. About the dish

Making Idly batter or idly dosa batter is a long process (roughly 24 hours) to make a perfect batter for idly or for dosa. There are so many ways and combination for this batter. The process given below is totally my usual way of preparing the batter. I learned this combination from my mother and I always prepare the idly dosa batter only with this combination. 

2. Ingredient

• Raw rice  - 4 cups
• Urid dhal - 1.5 cup

Usual combination of the batter is raw rice to urid dhal is 4:1. 

3. Preparation

• First rinse the raw rice and urid dhal in water for 3 to 4 times separately, to get rid of any dirt so that the batter looks whitish after grinding.
• Soak the raw rice and urid dhal separately for minimum of 4 hours.
  
  
  
  
  
• After 4 hours, strain the urid dhal, then add the urid dhal to a grinder and grind  for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the water as and when needed for urid dhal to grind, don't add the water at once, add water little by little as required.
• A simple tip: I always use the soaked urid dhal water for grinding the batter as it makes the batter thick.
• The correct consistency of urid dhal for this batter is that it becomes puffy after 15 to 20 minutes of grinding, and the batter gets doubled. To know better, take 1 teaspoon of batter and pour in a vessel containing water, if the batter floats then the consistency is perfect. Here, I have also added grinded urid dhal photo for reference.
  
  
  
  
• Once the urid dhal is done, take big mixing bowl or any vessel, and keep the batter as side.
• Now strain raw rice from its soaked water and grind the raw rice to a paste consistency in a grinder for 20 minutes. For the raw rice, add water at first while adding the rice to a grinder to grind smoothly. If needed add the some water while grinding.
  
  
  
  
• Now take raw rice batter in the same urid batter vessel, after adding raw rice batter to a vessel add required salt to the batter. Note to add the salt as needed, because adding the correct amount of salt makes the batter gets fermented correctly.

  

  Salt added to the batter

  
  
  
• Now with the help of our hand, beat the batter to get a good mix of urid dhal and raw rice perfectly.
• Once the batter gets mixed up, leave the batter in a warm place for at least 8 hours. I personally make a batter at evening, and leave the batter to get fermented over night.
• Following day, the batter gets bloomed and will have air bubbles inside the batter that makes the batter fermented. 
• once fermented, with the serving spoon, stir the batter nicely to get rid of air bubbles.
• Batter is now ready.

  

  Batter before and after fermented.

  
  
  
• Refrigerate the batter in fridge and it remains fresh in fridge for minimum of 4 days.

Idly prepared from fresh Idly/dosa batter.