Ever felt that your idly is not spongy enough or the dosa not crispy enough? Don’t worry. Let’s see how you can make this two-in-one-purpose batter using just half a glass of skinned whole black gram (urad dal) to make soft idli or cotton-crisp dosas.
Ingredients
3 glasses short grain raw rice (chamba pachari)
½ glass urad dal
1 tablespoon fenugreek
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
½ glass boiled rice/ avil or sabudana
Preparation
Rinse the rice and the urad dal a couple of times with fresh water
Soak them separately for five hours
Do remember to keep both items in the refrigerator
This will help to keep the grinder cool even while making the batter
Grind the lentils (urad dal) to a soft, fluffy batter
Add the sesame oil to it and stir it once again in the mixer
Take some water in a glass and pour a couple of drops into the batter
If the water does not spread, the batter has reached the desired softness and consistency
Shift this batter to another vessel and keep it aside
Now, grind the soaked rice into a fine consistency using the water in which the lentils were soaked
Add the boiled rice into the batter and grind it once again
Thoroughly mix both batters using a roll stick
Allow the batter to ferment by keeping it in a vessel with a lid at the ambient temperature, overnight
The fermentation largely depends upon the temperature and climate as a warm temperature is conducive for a good fermentation of the batter.
As you take out the vessel the next day morning, you may find that the batter has increased in volume to five litres
A well-fermented batter will have a nice sour aroma with many tiny air pockets in it
Now, take out the batter and make your spongy idli or cotton-crisp dosa
