Idli Dosa Flour

My go-to Idli Dosa Batter! This batter makes soft and spongy idlis and crispy dosa. The batter is made in a high speed blender like blendtec and fermented in the Instant Pot. I have been meaning to share this post for so long, like really long. Few weeks back, I shared the entire process of making Idli Dosa batter on my Instagram stories and it received an overwhelming response. I got so many requests to write a blog post about it and well here I am. Sorry for the delay but better late than never I guess? This is my go to Idli Dosa Batter and I make it all the time. I grew up in north India where Idli and Dosa are not a everyday thing. Indian food is very versatile and what people in the north eat is very different from what people in south eat which is again very different from what people in east eat. For us, eating South Indian food was mostly restricted to restaurants. And once in a while when dosa was made at a home, it was always from store bought batter. I don’t ever remember mom making the batter at home. Of course this is not to say that every North Indian house must be same. But I would say it would hold true for majority.


Inquiry

Idli and Dosa are traditional South Indian foods, which are also popular all over India. The only way to get the best idli's is to have perfectly fermented batter. Idli is a savory rice cake, made by steaming a batter consisting of lentils and rice. Dosa is a crispy crepe made with the same batter of lentils and rice. Being a North Indian, my mom did not make idli’s from scratch at home. Mostly we would use store-bought batter to make idli and dosa. Hence making idli dosa batter is something I had to learn for my love of South Indian food.I used to have a hard time getting the batter right. Sometimes it would not ferment and rise enough, and at other times it would be perfect, keeping me wondering what went wrong. But eventually now I can make perfect batter evert time. So here I will share all the lessons I have learnt from all the times I have made Idli Dosa Batter.Fermenting batter is difficult in colder places like the US, especially during the winter months. But guess what…the instant pot can come to the rescue here too. If you don't have an instant pot, you can use the oven to ferment batter too. 

The idli’s will be soft and fluffy if the batter is fermented well. It does take some practice to get the batter right. Even if the batter does not come out perfectly fermented, it is always great to prepare dosa. Usually batter is prepared once for the week and used multiple times.  Prepare idli's initially, as they come out soft with fresh batter.  When I prepare the batter, I first use it to make idli's, then to make dosas and any leftover batter to prepare uttapam.  All of these meals, can be enjoyed with sambar and chutney. Each state, or family in South India has a different recipe or proportion they prefer for the batter. Some also make different batter for idli and for dosa. I am sharing the recipe for Idli Dosa Batter that works for me.