Comments on: Idli Dosa FAQs | How to make perfect Idlis and Dosas

By: dassana

dassana — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:42:24 +0000

i am not sure what went wrong. may be something wrong with the fermentation process.

there are some varieties of parboiled rice, but this should not make a difference, as the process and method of parboiling rice is the same.

i suggest buying rice mentioned as idli rice from the market.

By: Vani

Vani — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:51:35 +0000

Hi, I used parboiled rice and the batter was very sticky. idlis were also sticky even after steaming. Is there particular variety of parboiled rice to be used for idli / dosa. The proportion i used was 3: 1 (rice : split urad dal)

By: dassana

dassana — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:17:27 +0000

for a proportion of 2 cups rice and 1/4 cup of urad dal, you can add around 1/4 tsp of methi seeds.

By: Divya

Divya — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:48:38 +0000

Hi Dassana,

Thank youm your recipe is very well described!

I loved the food science part, this will help us experiment with some knowledge.

Please help me with one question- what quantity of fenugreek seeds should I add?

By: dassana

dassana — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:05:31 +0000

thanks sunita for the quick help and also thanks for all your positive comments.

By: sunita

sunita — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:39:43 +0000

once i faced the same problem dut to cold weather i put the entire batter in my microwave but befor doing that always pre-heat your oven for 5 mins and then after 2-3 mins put the batter covered inside the whole night so in this way mine got fermented. Hope this helips!

By: Madhumitha

Madhumitha — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:51:01 +0000

Excellent instructions and very well explained.. Thank you.

By: dassana

dassana — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:12:48 +0000

i do not know the exact reason for this strange happening…. my guess is that its got to do something with the water…. may be i am wrong… but its difficult to determine the exact cause…

By: Rose

Rose — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:36:05 +0000

I am making my dosa with red lentils and use himalayan fine grind pink sea salt. It has been cold and they have not doubled in size, but after using a warming blanket, I did achieve doubling. However, after refrigeration I get a thin layer of pink water on the top of the batter? Is this normal? My neighbor is not using a warming blanket and they are not doubleing. She is not using pink sea salt (nor red lentils) and is getting the red watery thin top? Any idea?

By: dassana

dassana — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:33:53 +0000

thanks for this info dear…

By: lall

lall — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:26:53 +0000

I asked another friend and she said its called vellai kar arisi. But I am not sure what thhis is.

By: dassana

dassana — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:23:29 +0000

thanks dear…
next time when i go to buy parboiled rice
i will look carefully

By: lall

lall — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:15:07 +0000

dassana, there is a distinct look between the boiled rice and the par boiled rice which they call idli rice. But can’t seem to get the name for it. Any way I am happy using the par boiled rice, as it turned out super.

By: dassana

dassana — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:09:27 +0000

ok…. is boiled rice different from parboiled rice. if you know the difference technically, can you shed some light as it will help the readers.

i have always seen and heard of parboiled rice, never boiled rice. i have seen the red rice and white rice in kerala and karnataka, but for me they were always parboiled rice. may be i am wrong, but i think they are different names for the same type of rice. you can help me and the rest of the readers in solving this riddle.

i have made idlis from parboiled rice. and i think you can make them from boiled rice too. you can try and let me know how the idlis turn out.

By: lall

lall — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:48:02 +0000

Dassana, By “boiled rice” , I mean, the thick rice that people of the coastal region eat normally on an every day diet. In Mangalore and Kerala its red boiled rice. I am talking about the white variety. Much appreciate that you are particular in solving each and every one’s query. Quite unlike today’s world !

By: dassana

dassana — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:55:05 +0000

by boiled rice, i think, you mean cooked rice. cooked rice makes the idli very soft and fluffy. if adding cooked rice to the idlis, then add 1/4 or 1/2 cup of cooked rice.

yes you can use both parboiled rice and cooked rice together.
grind the cooked rice with the soaked parboiled rice.

i have had idlis made with parboiled rice, urad dal and cooked rice… and they were so good…. very soft and fluffy.

By: lall

lall — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:00:28 +0000

I followed your instructions to the “t”, and THANK YOU… never made better idlies before. Wanted to know if there will be a difference if boiled rice is used along with par boiled rice ? thanks again,

By: dassana

dassana — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 13:48:57 +0000

if the batter becomes watery, than the idlis won’t turn out well. you could though make dosas with the batter.

to thicken the batter, you can add some rice flour to the batter. you can also add semolina to the batter. even ragi flour, maida can be added.

By: priya

priya — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 06:45:10 +0000

what if more water is added into batter ,,,whta shuld b done if it happened

By: dassana

dassana — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 14:16:02 +0000

thanks lall

By: lall

lall — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 10:41:19 +0000

excellent instructions. Very patiently explained each step

By: dassana

dassana — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:55:13 +0000

i have never tried making idlis with yeast and eggs… so i don’t know how they will turn out and taste. i don’t think there should be any health issues as there are some breads which are leavened/fermented and eggs and yeast are also added in the dough.

your query reminds me of sannas. these are made with rice batter in which palm toddy or yeast is added. may be should try making sannas instead of idlis.

here’s the link: http://indianfood.about.com/od/ricerecipes/r/sannas.htm

By: sujatha

sujatha — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:54:07 +0000

can i add egg and yeast to the dosa idili battery??? will there be any health issues there after?? pl answer asap

By: dassana

dassana — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:55:33 +0000

i am wondering why you used idli rava for making dosa. i have never made dosa with idli rava and also never seen anyone making it. may be i am wrong.

better to make dosa with rice, urad dal combo or mixed dals, moong dal, or just even plain rice.

you could also make dosa with regular rava.

idli rava is for making rava idlis. the idli rava is slightly thicker than the regular rava and thus this must have contributed to the thickness and hardness of the dosa.

By: Sushama

Sushama — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:03:29 +0000

Hello,
I used Idli Rava for making Dosa. The dosa has come out very bad. It is rough and thick. Then I put
some water in it, the Dosa became to hard. What is the problem?
Please let me know.
Thanks
Sushama