How to make Idli, dosa & uttapam batter

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South Indian food is my all-time favorite food. I have been making Idli batter at home for years and now with Instant Pot, the process of fermenting the batter has become a lot easier. The best part, is I use the same batter to also make fluffy uttapam and dosa too!

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Idli is a pillowy soft cake made by steaming fermented rice and lentil batter. Popular breakfast or Tiffin food in Southern India, gluten-free and vegan Idli is easy to make using just a few pantry ingredients. Love South Indian food? Make sure to try out recipes for crispy dosa, quinoa idli, and quinoa dosa.

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Idli Batter Proportions
Ingredients
How to Make Idli Batter
Storage
Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
More Indian Meal Prep Recipes
Recipe

Steamed Idli's served with chutney and sambar

The key to pillowy-soft & light Idli is the perfectly fermented batter. Although I grew up in Western India, my mom frequently cooked South Indian food at home. Her Idli, Dosa and Uttapam are to die for! So I am sharing with you my mom's idli batter recipe! I have so many memories of helping my mom measure the lentils and rice, and the excitement of preparing my favorite childhood food!

Idli Batter Proportions

There are a lot of variations out there with various proportions of rice and idli. My Mom always did a 1:3 urad daal to rice ratio for the perfect balance of carbs and proteins. She also adds a couple of other ingredients to enhance the texture and add nutrition!

Ingredients

Here are 4 ingredients that I use in this Idli batter recipe:

Idli Rice - Short-grain pearly white rice makes the perfect idli
Skinned Gota Urad Dal - Although you can also use the skinned urad dal it still often has traces of the outer black skin which can make the batter look discolored
Poha - Optional ingredient but I would highly recommend it as these flattened rice flakes add lightness to the idli. If you do not have poha you can substitute it with idli rice
Methi Seeds - fenugreek seeds help with the fermentation process
Sea Salt or Pink Himalayan Salt - Table salt, Iodized salt, and even refined kosher salt inhibit the growth of good bacteria during the fermentation process, so use whole unrefined salts such as sea salt or pink Himalayan salt

Once you have gathered the ingredients, the process to make the homemade Idli batter is easy. All you need is a high-speed blender, and I really like my Blendtec for that!

How to Make Idli Batter

Making Idli batter has three easy steps - soaking, blending, and fermenting - here is how to do it:

Step 1: Soaking rice and Dal

Put the Idli Rice and Urad Dal in two separate mixing bowls or pots. Rinse them both a couple of times, draining out the water each time. Add methi seeds and poha to the rice bowl. Soak in water for 6 to 8 hours or overnight (photos 1 - 4)

Steps one through four of making idli batter

Step 2: Blending

Drain all the water out from both bowls. First, add soaked Urad Daal to the blender and add 1.25 cups of cold water, and blend until the batter is smooth. Scrape the sides of the blender if any dal sticks to the sides of the blender and blend again until smooth. If using Blendtec use the smoothie function. Take out the batter in a large pot or Instant Pot insert.

Add the drained rice to the blender jar with 1.5 cups of cold water and blend making sure to stop while the batter is still a bit coarse but not grainy. It is important to blend the rice batter slightly coarse (photos 5 - 8)

steps five through eight of how to make idli batter

Add the rice batter to the urad dal batter. Add sea salt and mix well. You can use a silicone spatula or mix the batter well with your hands. If using the Instant Pot Insert, place the insert inside the Instant Pot and place a nonlocking glass lid on top. Note: Please do not use the Instant Pot lid, the fermenting process may sometimes cause overflow leading the lid to get locked (photos 9 - 12)

steps nine through twelve of making batter ready for fermenting

Step 3: Fermenting

Press the "Yogurt" (normal) function that will run for 8 hours. Keep an eye on the batter after 6 hours or so, if it starts to rise, you may want to take out the inner pot. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, it may take up to 12 hours for the batter to fully ferment.

After the initial 8 hours, if needed you can then select the "Yogurt" mode again and let it ferment for additional 4 hours or so. Once fermented the batter will double up its volume and will be light and airy.

Note: If you do not have an Instant Pot, simply put the pot of batter covered in a warm place or inside the oven with the oven lights on for 10 to 12 hours.

steps thirteen through sixteen of the fermented idli batter

Storage

Once the batter is fermented, use it right away to make Idli, Dosa, or Uttapam. If you are prepping the batter ahead of time, you can refrigerate it for up to a week. Bring the Idli batter to room temperature by taking it out of the refrigerator a couple of hours before you are ready to cook. You can also freeze the batter for a few weeks.

Tips

Make sure to use cold water when blending rice and lentils
Blend urad dal to a smooth consistency while the rice batter should be slightly coarse
Use a nonlocking lid on the Instant Pot when starting the fermentation process. Sometimes, over-fermentation can cause the batter to overflow or can even lock the Instant Pot lid
If you do not have an Instant Pot, simply put the pot of batter covered in a warm place or inside the oven with the oven lights on
The water proportions for blending the batter are based on the exact ingredients I use. If you use different rice or use urad dal instead of gota urad dal you may need more or less water

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my idli batter doesn't ferment properly?

Idli Batter ferments in about 12 to 14 hours and has a light sour taste. If the batter has not fermented within this time, you can give it an extra 3 to 4 hours but any longer and the batter will start to get overly sour and will also have an unpleasant smell. In this case, instead of making Idlis, I would recommend using the batter for dosa or uttapam.

Can I use a blender or food processor to grind the batter?

I recommend using a high-power blender like Blendtec or Vitamix to make the batter. If you are using regular blenders or food processors, make sure they do not heat up while grinding. Grind in smaller quantities or add an ice cube to prevent overheating the appliance and in turn the batter.

Is it necessary to use fenugreek seeds (methi) in idli batter?

Fenugreek seeds(methi) help speed up with fermentation process. If you live in warmer weather you can skip them and still have a nicely fermented batter.

More Indian Meal Prep Recipes

Did enjoy this meal prep / cooking101 recipe? Here are some more articles on my blog that will help you with the basics of Indian cooking and also time-saving tips and tricks:

Recipe

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4.70 from 42 votes

How to make Idli Batter

Make the perfect Idli batter using just a handful of pantry ingredients and use it to make light & soft idlis as well as crispy dosas and fluffy uttapam with crispy edges

Prep Time20

Cook Time0

Soaking & Fermenting Time20

Total Time20 20

Course: Brunch, dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 8

Calories: 373kcal

Author: Archana Mundhe

Equipment

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup urad dal skinned, gota dal
▢ 3 cups idli rice
▢ ½ cup poha
▢ 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
▢ 2 teaspoons sea salt or pink himalayan salt
▢ 2¾ cups water approx for grinding the batter

Instructions

Rinse the urad dal well and then soak in 2 cups of water for 6 to 8 hours or overnight
Rinse the idli rice well and then soak it in 4 cups of water along with fenugreek seeds and poha for 6 to 8 hours or overnight
Drain the water out completely from the urad dal and add it to a high-speed blender. Add 1¼ cups of water and blend until the batter is smooth. Take out the batter in the Instant Pot insert or in a large stainless steel pot.
Drain the water out completely from the rice and add it to the blender. Add 1½ cups of water and blend until slightly grainy. Pour the batter over the lentils batter. Add salt and mix well. You can use a silicone spatula or mix by hand.
Place the Instant Pot insert inside of the Instant Pot casing and place a non locking glass lid over it. Press the Yogurt(normal) mode and allow it to ferment for 8 hours. Keep an eye on the batter after 6 hours or so, if it starts to rise, you make want to take out the inner pot. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, it may take up to 12 hours for the batter to fully ferment. So after the initial 8 hours, if needed you can then select the "Yogurt" mode again and let it ferment for additional 4 hours or so. Where I live it takes about 12 to 14 hours for the batter to fully ferment.
Once fermented the batter will double up its volume and will be light and airy. It will also have a slight sour smell to it. Give a quick stir and you are ready to use it.
This recipe makes 8 cups of batter which makes 32 to 36 idlis or 16 dosa/uttapam

Video

Notes

Make sure to use cold water when blending rice and lentils
Blend urad dal to smooth consistency while the rice should be slightly coarse
Use a non locking lid on the Instant Pot when start the fermentation process. Sometimes, over fermentation can cause the batter to overflow or can even lock the Instant Pot lid
If you do not have an Instant Pot, simply put the pot of batter covered in a warm place or inside the oven with the oven lights on
The water proportions for blending the batter is based on the exact ingredients I use. If you use different rice or use urad dal instead of the gota urad dal you may need more or less water

Nutrition

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Comments

4.70 from 42 votes (33 ratings without comment)

Idli Batter

Idli Batter Proportions

Ingredients