Complete Cooking Guide for Crispy Dosa & Soft Idli | Preservative Tips for Idli Dosa Batter

Dosa is a famous South Indian breakfast recipe which is loved for its crisp light texture. There are many types of Dosa which can be made to suit your taste buds. Traditionally dosa batter is prepared at home, but the expertized involved in it makes it difficult to get that perfect consistency. You can simply shop dosa batter online at My Home Grocers online store in Dallas TX to quicken your breakfast preparation. But if you want to invest time to make crispy homemade dosa batter then keep reading.

What’s in the Dosa batter

The two main staple ingredients in any dosa batter are Urad dal/ Minapappu and Raw rice/Biyyam. The taste and crispiness greatly depend on the percentage of these two ingredients. If we mix more Urad dal, dosa will have less to no crispiness and if we mix too much rice, then the outcome will be a crumbled dosa.

Added to these two items the batter may also contain fenugreek seeds, flat rice/ Atukulu, Idli rice, Sona Masoori or Ponni rice.

Recipe for a Perfect Plain/ Traditional Dosa

Ingredients

• Urad dal 1 cup
• Raw rice 2-2/5 cups

Soak the two ingredients for about 8-12 hours. Grind Urad dal and rice separately. Now combine both and grind for another two minutes to mix well. This batter must be left outside to ferment overnight. Traditionally salt is not added to the batter immediately. But if you are living in a colder region, it is recommended to add salt to help the batter ferment well.

How to get perfectly Round Dosa

Give the batter a nice stir. Let the non-stick pan heat without adding any oil on it as it will make it impossible to move the batter to the desired shape. Drop a ladle or a small round bowl full of batter on to the pan.

Alter the batter quantity as per your requirement. Starting from the center move the hand in circular motion. Since there is no oil on the pan it will mostly make a nice round shape. Apply little pressure and make sure you are not making a thick layer because Dosa is only roasted on one side. Grease the upper side of dosa with oil or ghee. Add onions, green chilies, cumin, coriander, sauce, jam as per your wish and roll the it.

Recipe for a fluffy and Crispy Dosa

Ingredients

• Urad dal 1 cup
• Raw rice (Idli rice, par boiled rice)-2/5 cups
• Fenugreek seeds- 1 teaspoon
• Poha- 2 tablespoon

Soak all the ingredients for about 8 hours. Grind Urad dal and fenugreek seeds to a fine paste. Combine raw rice and poha paste into it and grind them all together to mix well for another two minutes. Leave it over night to ferment. Follow the above same instructions for making a crispy dosa.

For a quick masala Dosa, add mashed potato fry and roll it. You can also add onion, chilies and tomato salad with sauce to replace the curry.

How to make Idli with Dosa batter

The main difference between Idli and dosa batter is the absence of rice. For Idli we have to mix idly ravva to Urad dal so as to make it fluffy but not too soft.

We can anyhow make Idli with dosa batter by altering its consistency. You must be doing it before mixing the batter by adding less water to make thick batter and separate it for making Idlis.

If you have Idli ravva, or very finely grounded rice ravva then soak it for about one hour and mix it to the dosa batter. Leave it for half an hour and steam your yummy Idli.

Mix carrot onion, and cumin seeds for a veggie Idli. Or simply add salt to the batter for a plain Idli.

How to preserve Dosa Batter

• Dosa batter can be stored in refrigerator for a week. However, it can turn sour after 5 days based on the storage temperature
• Always store the batter in airtight containers or in Tupper wear jars.
• Do not add salt to the entire batter and instead try mixing it to the amount of batter you want to use. It will help to retain freshness as at high temperatures salt will ferment the batter even more to make it sour.

Tips for crispy Dosa and Soft Idli

• Use Idli rice or par boiled rice for Dosa batter for a crisp texture. New rice gives better results than old rice.
• Tawa or pan must be hot before pouring the batter to circle the dosa. The considerable heat will roast the inner layer of dosa well to make it crispy.
• Using Idli rice makes Idlis whiter and softer.
• The quality of Urad dal is directly related to the taste and fluffiness of Idlis
• Old Urad dal can result in hard Idli. Hence make sure you are buying fresh produce.
• You can also make uthappams with thick Dosa batter by mixing your favorite vegetables.