Idlis are very famous breakfast dish from South India. Every state has a different set of ingredients to get fluffy idlis. This is the way we get idlis in Tamil Nadu. Nowadays idli batter is readily available in the market. So it has become very rare to prepare batter at home. Though the batter sold in the stores is highly priced, the taste of idlis can never beat the home made ones. The ingredients used for the batter are parboiled rice and urad dhal. The quantity of urad dhal in the batter decides the fluffiness of idlis. If the urad dhal is less you get hard idlis and if it is more then you get softer but flatter idlis. Grinding the batter has a lot of techniques involved.
There are two types of urad dhal available in the market. Fresh dhal gives a large amount of batter and the older ones give a little less. So while purchasing it is better to ask the salesman about the dhal. But nowadays, in supermarkets we get packed dhal and it is very hard to trace the condition of the dhal. My mom usually prefers older dhal because it tastes nice. So it is important that you do a little experimenting. Start with smaller quantity of rice and dhal. Prepare the batter and prepare idlis out of it. If the idlis are perfect then you can use the same proportion until you finish the dhal. If the idlis are soft but flat, then you need to reduce the amount of urad dhal. If the idlis are harder, then you need to increase the amount of dhal. This surely needs some experience to get it right.
Usually 1cup of rice is used along with 1/4cup of urad dhal. If you are preparing large quantity and will be using the batter for a week, then you can go for 1 kg rice and 250gm of dhal.
Soak rice for 4-5hours. Soak urad dhal for 15minutes(this will give a fluffy batter)
Wash the grinder thoroughly, add the soaked dhal and grind for 15-20minutes until fluffy.
When taken in your hand, you can see a lot of air bubbles in the batter. This makes the batter light and the idlis will come out very soft and porous. Transfer the batter to a large vessel.
Now add the soaked and drained rice to the grinder and add water and grind it to a smooth batter.
Transfer the batter to the vessel containing dhal batter.
Add salt. This is the amount of salt added to 1 kg of rice and 250gm of dhal.
Mix well and cover the vessel. Let it ferment for 8-10hours. The batter will be double the volume.
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With a spoon whisk the batter to release air bubbles. When lifted with spoon, the batter should feel light. Use this batter to prepare idlis.
Hi Gayatri
For the idli recipe is soaking the dal for 15 minutes enough? Also do you have any practical tips to ferment the batter in very cold weather?
Yes, soaking dal for 15 minutes tend to give fluffier batter. And you can warm the oven, switch it off and place the batter inside to ferment..
Thankyou so much. Appreciate it. Tried the Sannas today. They are so delicious. I also added coconut milk while grinding. Love your site.
Add some methi at the time of grinding the dal..for the fermentation
hi gayatri,
Thaks for the blog. Could you please tell me that from 1 kg of rice and 250 ms of dal how many kgs/ ltrs of batter can make?
With the water added to grind, it may result in 1.5 – 1.75 kg of batter.
And in 1.5 KG batter how many idlis can be prepared.
Hi,
may i know how many of dosas can de made out of 1 kg of batter. Diameter= approx 6inches
I am sorry, as we do it for family, I have never calculated..
thanks gayathri
Hi dear
Please suggest I want to buy wet grinder, as a north Indian I don’t know which one is good for me .
A tilting grinder is better than table top. So check if you can get a tilting grinder. Check this https://www.amazon.in/Prestige-Grinder-PWG-01-attachment/dp/B00935MABA/ref=sr_1_1?crid=322KZWWJCC2QY&dchild=1&keywords=tilting+grinder+5+ltr&qid=1595049380&sprefix=tilting+grinder%2Caps%2C412&sr=8-1
hi I don’t have a grinder ,for mixer grinder also can I use the same measurement?
Yes, you can use the same. Try giving short breaks for your mixer if it gets over heated.
Hi Gayathri I live in Africa and we don’t get raw rice here!I also have a blender not a wet grinder!If I’m using parboiled rice then what should be the proportion and also can we add methi seeds to the Dal while soaking?I also read that poha also can be added before grinding the batter kindly suggest the best method in the conditions I mentioned above
For idli, we use parboiled rice only. SO use it. While grinding dal, you need to grind it for a long time if using mixer grinder. The disadvantage is, it gets heated up easily. So you need to grind it at intervals, give your mixer time to cool down in between and grind until urad dal is nice and fluffy. Your idlis will turn out fine.