MealTime Success

Idly ( plural- idlis) and dosas are staple food in many South Indian households and serve as meals for any part of the day.  Sue Chef Kumar and chef Senthil suggest that having the batters ready for idlis and dosas will save a huge deal of time for busy individuals  and families. Improving efficiency in the kitchen is the primary focus of MTS and the chefs at Temple bay have supported this MTS focus by sharing  their recipes for these ancient, yet everyday affair. While there are many permutations and combination for idly and dosa batters, the chefs at temple suggest the following combination for a very soft fluffy idly and for a very crispy dosa.  Further idlis practically have no fat from oil involved and work well over periods of  illness and recovery from illness.

Idlis with sambar

Batter for Idly (Steamed pancakes made of lentil and rice)
Ingredients:
5 cups Idly rice *
1.75 cups urad dal*
1 tsp fenugreek*
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

How to make
Wash and soak the idly rice in water and urad dal in water (separately) for 2 hours.  Do not soak it for more than 3 hours.  Drain all the water of both the urad dal and the rice.  Grind the rice with no additional water to a smooth paste.  Grind the urad dal to a smooth paste sprinkling just a little bit of water at a time.    Add salt and cooking soda and allow it to ferment in a sparingly closed container (not air tight).

Tips to ensure a fluffy idly
1. Too much water in the batter will result in poor fermentation while very less water in the batter will give eliminate the pure white color of idlis and give rise to pale yellow shade.  Rice soaks up a lot of water and needs no additional water while grinding.  Sprinkle only little bit of water at a time to the urad dal while grinding it.
2.Once the batter is fermented, stir it just once and make idles. Stirring the batter a lot will result in decreasing the fluffiness of the idly.

MTS tips for fermentation:
It will take only fours hours to ferment at places with a warm climate (70 F and above).  For colder climates place the batter in the oven with the lights on.

Batter for Dosa (Crepes made of lentil and rice)

2.5 cups Idly rice*
5 cups rice (regular)
1 cup urad dal*
1 Tbsp salt

How to make
Wash and soak the idly rice in water and urad dal in water separately for 2 hours.  Do not soak it for more than 3 hours.  Drain all the water of both the urad dal and the rice.  Grind the rice with no additional water to a smooth paste.  Grind the urad dal to a smooth sprinkling little bit of water at a time. Ferment as suggested for idlis.

Please check the MTS post on no-grind dosa batter for a recipe on dosa batter that does not require soaking or grinding.

*Available in Indian grocery stores

Make it Fast, Fun, and Facile! – Sri