Abut Idli

About Idli- the measurement for par boiled rice and black gram must be 5:1. Normally the fenugreek seeds are added when soaking the dal. But a friend of mine does not use fenugreek seeds for idli and her idli is always very soft. The black gram should be fresh and the whole white black gram must be used. Do not use iodized salt for the batter. Ordinary salt is enough. The batter should not be very thick. For dosai, use 4 cups of par boiled rice to one cup of black gram and also add 1 tsp of fenugreek seeds and 1/2 cup of raw rice when soaking. Mix well the batter and allow it to ferment for at least 10 hours.

Some people will add a handful of cooked rice when grinding the rice to get soft idlis. Some will make’kanji’ out of the washed water of the grinder after grinding the rice and will add the cooled kanji to the batter before the fermentation to get soft idlis.