Soft Idli Recipe | Idli | How To Make Idli & Dosa Batter In The Mixer Grinder (2024)

Idli or Idly is one of the most popular South Indian breakfast dishes. Learn how to make the perfect fermented idli batter that yields spongy, fluffy and soft idli every single time.

WHAT IS IDLI | IDLY?

Idlis are South Indian savory rice cakes that are prepared by steaming a fermented batter of rice and black lentils. Idli chutney and sambhar is a staple breakfast in most South Indian households. It is perfect withpodi (spiced powder), a spicy chutney, piping hot sambar and along with filter coffee, breakfast is sorted!

I have to admit, I love South Indian food to the core. I could live on it every day. Masala dosa’s, idli sambar, puri bhaji, medu vada, upmawere a weekly staple in Mumbai until I moved here to the US. Unfortunately, there aren’t any restaurants here in my little town that offer South Indian cuisine. So like most things, I had to learn how to prepare them, to satisfy my idli and dosa cravings.

If you’d like to know about who invented idly or the history of idly, then here is an interesting read from Wiki.

Idlis are one of the most delicious and healthiest breakfasts one can have. Once you have mastered the art of making the perfect idli batter, making this South Indian delight is a breeze! Sure you get readymade idli mix or idli dosa batter in the Indian stores, here in the US, but they contain preservatives and other unwanted ingredients! So I never venture into buying those!

My quest for making idlis began in 2014, the year we moved to the US. I tried various recipes from the web. The end result- big batches of batter down the drain. It’s not that the recipes were at fault, but it somehow went awry all the time. I definitely had to be doing something wrong! The idlis would turn out pasty, so inedible !!

I had to learn it the hard way. There were times when I almost gave up! It all started with using the wrong rice in the first place. Secondly, I would use split urad dal, which further worsened the problem resulting in a very poor volume of the batter. Third, I added very little water for grinding the batter. All of these yielded me the most disastrous idlis!

Now the idli batter can be used for making dosas too by thinning the batter down. But that was a pretty unsuccessful attempt & never yielded me good results either. The batter would stick to the skillet and a host of other issues followed.

I was determined not to give up. I was more intrigued as to how to get this right. And I was glad to have stumbled uponthis site that provided some really great tips, which have helped me to successfully make soft idli, and eventually, dosas too. Idlis, stuffed idlis, plain dosa, cheese dosa, masala dosa et al, are a breeze to pull off now. I’m finally at peace now that I can whip some idlis, whenever we wish to indulge in some South Indian fare.

If you are in the same boat as I was, then read on! I’m sharing tips and tricks to make idli batter, which is going to be very helpful if you live in the USA, UK or any other country! If you live in India, I bet you don’t really have issues with batter fermentation!

Idli batter can be made with idli rice or idli rava. Today’s post is all about making an idli batter recipe using idli rice. The same can be used as a dosa batter to make crispy dosas.

The idli batter all depends on the ratios of idli rice and urad dal, the water used for grinding, the consistency of the batter and the weather.

IN THIS DETAILED STEP BY STEP POST FOR SOFT IDLI RECIPE, YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO MAKE IDLI BATTER WHICH INCLUDES IMPORTANT POINTERS, ESPECIALLY FOR BEGINNERS. HERE ARE THE POINTS THAT I WILL BE COVERING IN DETAILS

• Idli batter proportion- A tried and tested idli rice and urad dal ratio and their soaking times.
• The amount of water that is required for grinding.
• How long to grind the batter.
• Idli batter consistency.
• Idli batter fermentation process

The basic problem of making idlis starts if you don’t have a stone wet grinder. What’s the difference between a stone wet grinder and a regular mixer for grinding the batter? Here’s are some basic points-

• Wet-grinders use stone for grinding, and the mixer uses a blade for grinding.

• One of the most important things for grinding idli batter- Aeration, it is whatgives a nice volume to the urad dal batter, which can be easily achieved in a stone wet grinder, due to its wide-open mouth,it gives volume to the urad dal batter. That is not the case in a mixer grinder, the design and volume of a stone grinder and mixer grinder are completely different.

• Make sure to have sufficient space inside the mixer jar in order to get some volume for the urad dal. Always grind in batches. Do not stuff the entire urad dal in one go.

SOFT IDLI INGREDIENTS | WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS OF IDLI BATTER?

• You will need basically two ingredients- idli rice and black gram to make idli batter.
• Fenugreek seeds aid in fermentation, however, it is not a necessary ingredient.
• Poha or cooked rice helps in making softer idlis, and that too is optional.

WHICH RICE IS USED FOR IDLI?

To make idli you need ‘Idli rice’.

Wondering what is idli rice? It is nothing but a parboiled, fat and short grained rice. It is easily available in stores.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IDLI RICE AND PARBOILED RICE

Idli rice and parboiled rice is the same thing. Parboiled rice is boiled in the husk. And since it contains a high percentage of a special starch, it is the rice of choice to make spongy and soft idlis.

THE TYPE OF URAD DAL (BLACK GRAM) TO USE

Always use whole dehusked black gram (urad gota). I have got great results with1.5 cups of urad dalto 3 cups of rice for dosa and idli, it yields fluffy, soft idlis and crispy dosas every time.

IDLI BATTER RATIO

To make it easier, remember it is1:2 (urad dal:rice) part by volume i.e1/2 cup of urad dal for every cup of rice for idli batter proportion in the mixie. If you have a stone grinder you can use 1:4 or 1:3 (urad dal:rice) ratio.

OTHER INGREDIENTS (OPTIONAL)

Like I mentioned above, fenugreek seeds and poha (flattened rice) or cooked rice can be added. They aid in fermentation and help in achieving soft idli.

GRINDING THE BATTER, CONSISTENCY OF THE BATTER AND IDLI BATTER FERMENTATION

I have shared all the detailed instructions for the perfect idli batter in the steps below with pictorials for reference.

HOW TO MAKE IDLI WITHOUT IDLI MAKER?

Follow the same recipe and steam the fermented idli batter in small steel containers like it is done for Goan sannas (Goan idlis). You can refer to that post here for pics.

Simply take a big vessel, put some water. Place a stand and place all the containers over the stand. The water level should be at least half an inch below the stand. Proceed with steaming the idlis as mentioned in the instructions below.

IS IDLI HEALTHY?

Idlis are healthy and packed with many nutritious benefits.

Each idli contains just 39 calories.Idlis contain no fat, no saturated fat and no cholesterol.In a single idli, you consume 2 grams of protein, 2 grams of dietary fiber and 8 grams of carbohydrates.One idli contains 1 milligram of iron, and trace amounts of calcium, folate, potassium and vitamin A. The iron is mostly from the black lentils, with about 25 percent of it from the rice. (Source- here)

HOW TO EAT IDLI?

I love to douse idlis in sambar and enjoy them piping hot. Or you could serve the idli and sambar separately, then break off small pieces of idli, and dip it in sambar and/or chutney, slurp some sambar and enjoy it that way too. Either way, it simply tastes great!

The secret for soft idli or crispy dosas is a well-fermented idli dosa batter.Once you get past that then making idli or dosa or uttapam etc are really effortless.

You should have successful results with all these details, please go through all the steps carefully. All I can say is,with practice eventually you will master the skill of making really good and super soft idli 🙂 Patience is the key!

It is best to make idlis on the first day, you can make different recipes with idli batter likedosa, uttapam/uthappam, paniyaram etc the following day.

DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF IDLI

• stuffed idli
• poha idli
• Kanchipuram idli
• rava idli
• oats idli
• oats and rava idli
• quinoa idli, ragi idli
• daliya idli
• masala idli
• idlis with veggie puree etc.

I hope to share them soon in the coming months!

It took me this long to share a post on soft idli on the blog because I wanted to make sure I share a fail-proof procedure. I’ve tried and tested this a little too much, that I think it’s time to share it with you guys!

And before we hop on to the recipe, did you know this fun fact? Since the past three years, March 30th has been celebrated asworld idli day 🙂

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THESE DELICIOUS ACCOMPANIMENTS TO SERVE ALONG WITH SOFT IDLI

• Coconut chutney
• Coconut coriander chutney
• or try Coconut peanut chutney
• Spicy and tangy tomato chutney
• Sambar

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE SOFT IDLI | IDLI BATTER RECIPE

SOAKING THE RICE AND DAL

1.Rinse the idli rice well, soak in about 5 cups of filtered water, preferably 8 hours or at least 4 hours.

2.One hour before you begin to grind the batter, wash and drain the urad dal about 2-3 times. Soak the urad dal with enough water, about 3-4 cups of filtered water. Also, soak thefenugreek seeds along with the dal.

3.Just 15 minutes before you begin grinding the dal and rice, soak poha in sufficientfiltered water. Then drain, squeeze excess water and add it to the rice whilst grinding.

HOW TO GRIND IDLI BATTER IN THE MIXIE?

1.After the specified soaking time, drain the urad dal & methi (reserve the water for grinding). Add ice cubes to the reserved water, plus use more filtered water as required for grinding, add ice cubes to that as well.

• Transfer 1/2 of the drained urad dal to your grinder/mixer along with 1/2 cup water, run the mixer on the lowest speed for 30 seconds.
• Open the lid and let the jar rest for another 30 seconds.
• Add another 1/2 cup water, cover the mixer and grind for another 30 seconds.
• Repeat the grinding process 2 to 3 times more if required with a resting time of 30 seconds, the batter should be fluffy and smooth. Do not let the mixer heat up. (I ground the batter in 2 batches & used a total of 2 cups ice cold reserved water). Then transfer this batter to a large vessel, with sufficient volume as the batter will rise during fermentation.

2.Next, drain the rice, and grind along with poha or cooked rice in the mixer to a slightly coarse batter, adding little water as required. (I ground the rice in 3 batches and used a total of 1 & 1/2 cups water, 1/2 cup ice cold reserved water per batch. Follow the same procedure of grinding the rice, grind 30 seconds then rest for 30 seconds, repeat one more time.) Do not add too much water in one go. When you touch the batter, you should feel tiny rice granules. Do not grind to a smooth batter. Transfer this batter to the vessel containing the urad dal batter.

HOW TO FERMENT IDLI BATTER?

1.Add salt and whisk the batter for 2-3 minutes. Incorporate the batters using clean hands. The final batter must be thick and flowy, not watery and runny. Add saltonly while you mix the batter with hands, not when you are grinding the rice and urad dal. Cover with a lid and keep aside in a warm place to ferment overnight. (I switch on the oven to 180 degrees F for 10 minutes, then turn it off, switch on the oven light and let the batter ferment in the warm oven. The warmth of the oven light also aids in fermentation). If you do not have a big vessel, you can divide the batter into two containers/vessels. If the weather is warm and humid where you live, you can leave the container on the countertop, away from a draft-free place.

2.Next morning, give the fermented batter one or two gentle swirls. Do not mix it vigorously. It took a total of 15 hours to ferment the batter in this chilly winter, I think it was 3 degrees C the day I made this batter. During the summer it should ferment in 8 hours. If your batter did not rise to the brim or didn’t even overflow, it doesn’t mean that your batter did not ferment. To check, take a ladle full of batter from the vessel if the batter in the vessel has air bubbles and you can feel the fermented smell then your batter is ready to use.

HOW TO STEAM IDLI AND HOW LONG TO STEAM IDLI?

1.Bring water to a simmer in the idli steamer. Pour spoonful’s of batter into greased idli molds.

2.Steam it for about 10-12 minutes. Insert a toothpick or knife in one of the idlis to check for doneness. They are done when the toothpick comes out clean. Unmold the idlis using a butter knife or a spoon. Repeat the same procedure for other idli batches. Serve hot with sambar, coconut chutney, and podi.

NOTES, TIPS, AND TRICKS TO MAKE SOFT IDLI PERFECT IDLI BATTER IN THE MIXIE

1. Do not let the mixer heat up whilst grinding the batter. When the batter heats up, it does not ferment well as the heat kills the good bacteria in the batter. Hence ice cold water helps to avoid that to an extent. At any point, if you feel your mixer is heating up, simply stop and let it cool down and continue.
2. The above-mentioned ratio has yielded me excellent and soft idli.However, if the urad dal quality is good, 1: 4:: urad dal: rice works well too.
3. The quality of urad dal is another important factor for a successful fermentation, so make sure your urad dal is fresh or not from an old batch.
4. Soak urad dal for a shorter period.This helps in giving volume to the batter.
5. Do not use split urad dal, it will not give the required volume to the batter.
6. Do not go stingy on the water, the water proportions that I have mentioned have always given me good results. I do not know about the amount of water required to grind the batter in a stone wet grinder. But if you use a mixer grinder these water proportions should work fine. Still, it is always good to add water gradually, since the quality of rice and dal differs.
7. During the winters if you want your batter to ferment quicker, you can add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp baking soda or powder to the batter, before fermenting it.
8. Fenugreek does 3 things-

• Helps in fermentation.
• It gives a nice aroma to the batter which in turn passes to the aroma of the idli and dosa.
• Imparts a nice golden color to the dosas.

HOW TO MAKE SOFT IDLI?

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Regards,

Freda

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