Idli and Dosa Batter

This recipe can be used for both dosa and idli batter.
Preparation time:40 minutes
Serves: 5 people(5 idlis per person or 2-3 dosa per person)

Ingredients:
3 cups idli rice
1 cup urad dal/black gram(without skin)
¼ cup poha/flattened rice
¼ teaspoon methi seeds/fenugreek seeds
salt

Procedure:
1. Soak the rice and poha in water for 6 hours.

2. Soak the urad dal with methi seeds in water for 6 hours.

3. Grind the urad dal with a only enough water to run your grinder and make a smooth paste.

4. Grind the rice and poha to make a smooth batter.(you will feel the slight graininess of the rice,thats ok)

5. Mix the urad dal and rice paste with your hand, add salt and place in a large bowl.

6. Place a lid(not airtight) on the batter and let sit overnight in a warm place.In about 8 hours the batter will ferment and double in size with an upper miniscus.Give one gentle mix to the batter,do not whisk it or mix too much you will lose the aeration and your batter will not be soft and airy for the idly.

See Idli procedure here

See Dosa making procedure here

Tips:
Mixing the dough with the hand is important because the warmth of the hand aids fermentation.
Both Idli and Dosa can be served with peanut chutney/tomato peanut chutney,peanut podi or coconut chutney.