Idly/Dosa Batter

Idly/Dosa batter

Idlies and dosas can be prepared with one batter. The speciality of this batter is we get soft idlies and crisp dosas. If the idly/dosa batter is readily available we can prepare idlies one day, dosas the other day or the combination of both. The proportions I’ve used for this batter is one cup of Urad dal and four cups of par boiled idly rice along with fenugreek seeds. The soaking time is minimum 3 hours.The idlies/dosas are very delicious when served with any South Indian chutney. Here I present idly/dosa batter along with the preparations of soft idly and crispy dosa. Njoy Cooking, Serving n Savoring!

Author: Akshayakumbham
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: South Indian
Servings: 20 Idlies and 20 dosas(Approximately)

Ingredients:

Urad dal: 1 cup

Par boiled idly rice: 4 cups

Fenugreek seeds: 1 tsp

Salt: As required(Approximately 2 tsp)

Method of preparation:

1. Take one cup of Urad dal, 4 cups of par boiled idly rice and two teaspoons of fenugreek seeds.

2. Rinse well Urad dal, par boiled idly rice, fenugreek seeds for two times and soak in enough water for 3-4 hours.

3. Take a wet grinder and clean it once. First Put soaked dal, rice and fenugreek seeds without adding water. The soaked water can be used for grinding the batter.

4. Slowly add water to grind the batter.

5. Likewise grind the batter for 25-30 minutes to get smooth and fine consistency.

6. Now add required amount of salt and grind for a minute. Switch off the grinder.

7. Transfer the batter into two big vessels. Leave some space above the batter. Because after fermentation the batter rises well. Allow the batter to ferment overnight or 8-9 hours. The fermentation time depends on local climatic conditions.

8. The batter appears like this after fermentation.

9. Mix well with the ladle. Use the required quantity and the remaining quantity store in a refrigerator. Now the idly/dosa batter is ready to use. This batter can be used for 7 days if refrigerated.

Idly

Ingredients:

Idly/dosa Batter: 1 cup

Ghee: For greasing idly moulds.

Method of preparation:

1. Take a pressure cooker or idly cooker and pour enough water for steaming.

2. Take required number of idly plates, grease them with ghee. Pour this batter in idly plates.

3. Keep the idly plates in a pressure cooker and steam them for 8-10 minutes. Do not keep the weight of the pressure cooker.

4. Switch off the flame and allow the pressure to settle down.

5. Open the lid and spoon the idlies from the idly plates and transfer them onto a serving plate.

6. Serve hot idlies along with any chutney. Use the same batter for preparing dosas too.

Crispy dosa/paper roast.

Idly/dosa batter: 1 cup

Oil/ghee: As required for roasting

Method of preparation:

1. Heat cast iron tawa or non stick pan. Season well with oil.

2. Pour one ladle full of batter and spread the batter evenly with the bottom of the ladle in circular motion.

3. Drizzle half teaspoon of ghee/oil. Roast the dosa on high flame.

4. To get crispy dosas, roast the dosas on one side keeping on high flame.

5. Fold the dosa into half or wrap like a paper. My kids call this dosa as topi(Hat) dosa. To get this dosa, after roasting cut the dosa as shown in the picture below and wrap to get like hat shape. Wrap carefully to get the shape otherwise the dosa breaks very easily as it’s super crispy.

6. Likewise roast all the required number of dosas.

7. Transfer the dosas onto a plate and serve with coconut chutney/tomato chutney.

8. Usually I prepare idly or dosa with different varieties of chutneys so that we can relish different flavours and tastes.

Tips:

1. Temperature of the tawa plays an important role to get crispy dosas. Drizzle little oil and sprinkle few drops of water before pouring each dosa. This helps to maintain correct temperature of the tawa.
2. I’ve mixed urad dal and idly rice together. But few people soak dal and rice separately. If you soak separately, First grind the urad dal to get smooth and fine consistency. Transfer the ground batter into a vessel. Later rice is added separately to grind into fine Rava consistency. Now mix both the batters together and add required amount of salt. Allow the batter to ferment overnight. I’ve tried both the methods. Both gave same results. So I prepare the batter mixing urad dal and idli rice together(Soaking).