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how to make soft idlis (step by step idli recipe)


idli recipe
By dassana amit on June 25th, 2014 332 Comments
idli recipe - how to make soft idlis
this very popular idli recipe post has a lot of tips on making idli batter and s
tep by step photos for making soft idlis at home. so take your time to read this
detailed guide on making soft idlis at home and enjoy the pics :-)
after a lot of requests, i am finally writing a detailed post on how to make flu
ffy and soft idlis at home . i don t know what took me so long to write a post on id
li . it is something i make home regularly.
idlis . one food that i grew up having . idli was a regular breakfast at our home. c
ome sunday, and there would be idlis & dosas for breakfast as well as lunch.
idli recipe

i would see the way my mom would soak the rice, dal and then grind it and then l
eave it to ferment. this was a regular saturday ritual in my house and i knew th
at on sunday we would get steaming hot idlis with chutney for breakfast. for lun
ch it would be dosa with sambar and a veggie.
i never knew that when i would start making idlis, i would run into problem the
very first time i make these. i had seen countless times idli preparation in my
home. i was least expecting, that the idlis i made for the first time for my mom
-in-law would become an embarrassment for me. i was working hard to make the idl
is soft :-)

the idlis were not soft and fluffy at all. i had done everything so perfectly an
d yet the idlis became a little hard. i know the aroma of the batter when they
are being ground and mixed i know the slightly sour aroma of the fermented batter
.
when i had seen this batter, i knew that the batter had not fermented well in th
e cold winters of delhi. still i made idlis from the batter and all of us had not
so soft idlis . much to my embarrassment .. but now i am good in making idlis. the
hubby just loves the idlis i make at home.
idli recipe sambar
having a food science background i also know how fermentation is important to ge
t the best results in certain food products like wines, cheese, yogurt, breads e
tc. idlis and dosas also fall in the fermented food category.
what contributes to fermentation is the optimum temperature conducive for that s
pecific food to get fermented and to give desired results. in the case of idli b
atter, the temperature is very important. generally the warmer indian temperatur
es are the best for making idlis. the ideal temperature is between 30 to 32 degr
ees C.
the wild air borne yeast causes the fermentation process and it is drawn from ai
r by the urad dal & fenugreek seeds. at home we would never add fenugreek seeds.
idlis were just made with rice and urad dal. still they would be soft and fluff
y.
when i make idlis, i do add fenugreek seeds, as i add split urad dal and not who
le urad dal as i don t get them here. the wild yeast on the whole urad dal aids in
the fermentation process. a point to note is that it is not only yeast, but som
e anaerobic bacteria also that also help in the fermentation process.
idli recipe - urad dal
so remember temperature and wild yeast are your best friends while making idli.
this is also the case with breads . temperature and baker s yeast are my best friend
s when i make breads. luckily i have not had a single disaster when making bread
s at home.
now we come to the type of rice that is used for idli. from my personal experien
ce i have used basmati rice, sona masoori rice, kolam rice in various combinatio
ns, for making idlis and never had any problem. i also make idlis using half-hal
f of basmati rice and parboiled rice. they have also come out well.
when i was working for a project one & a half year ago, we had a cook who would
make very soft idlis. i asked her once how her idlis were so soft. she told me t
hat she adds some poha/flattened rice or cooked rice to the idlis just a handful
and these would make the idlis soft.
idli recipe - poha flattened rice
my mother would never add poha or cooked rice to the idlis and her idlis also us
ed to be soft. but my mom would put damp muslin cloth on the idli mould and then
steam the idlis. as a result the softness of the idlis would be more pronounced
.
the recipe posted here is what i follow now after listening to our cook s advice.
for this recipe i have used basmati rice and goan red parboiled rice . i do not ge
t idli rice here. so i make idlis with the goan red parboiled rice along with re
gular rice.

idli recipe - basmati rice


this is my standard recipe for making both idlis and dosa now. i have also added
methi seeds along with urad dal and some poha. the proportion of rice and urad
dal is always a matter of controversy. so i suggest experiment with different ty
pes of rice and come to your own standard measurements which will give you perfe
ct idlis.
idli recipe - main ingredients for idli
the day the batter was fermented i made idlis. i served the idlis with mom s reci
pe of kerala sambar and coconut chutney. the next day i made masala dosa with th
e same idli batter. the dosas became crisp and got a nice golden color due to th
e addition of poha. don t believe me. take a look at the pic below.
idli recipe - masala dosa
this is a step by step recipe for making soft idlis at home:
1: pick and rinse the urad dal & rice. soak the urad dal with fenugreek seeds in
a separate bowl or pan. soak the rice with the poha separately. soak for atleas
t 4-5 hours.
idli recipe
2: drain the urad dal, but don t throw away the water. reserve the water.
idli recipe
3: in a wet grinder, add the urad dal.
idli recipe
4: add 1 or 2 tbsp of the reserved water and grind the urad dal. keep on adding
a few tbsps of water in between grinding. the batter should be light and fluffy
when completely ground.
idli recipe
5: pour the urad dal batter in a deep pan or bowl.
idli recipe
6: drain the rice & poha. this pic is before i drained the rice and poha.
idli recipe
7: add them in the wet grinder.
idli recipe
8: use the urad dal strained water to grind the rice and poha too. keep on addin
g a few tbsp while grinding. the rice should be completely ground. when you feel
the batter with your finger tips, the batter should not feel grainy. it should
be smooth and paste like. don t add too much water in the beginning. keep on addi
ng little water in between. remember that batter should not be thick or thin. i
hope all the pics give you an idea about the consistency of the batter.
idli recipe

9: now add the rice batter to the urad dal batter and mix well.
idli recipe
10: add salt and mix it with the rest of the batter.
idli recipe
11: mix the batter well. cover the bowl or container with a lid and keep the bat
ter in a warm place. it should be left undisturbed for 8- 9 hours. don t use an ai
r-tight lid.
idli recipe
12: next morning you will see this. the batter will rise and double up and might
even throw away the lid as it happened with this idli batter. you can see the f
ermented batter bursting from the edges. my calculations of the batter versus th
e pan went wrong :-)
idli recipe
13: time for making idlis now :-) take your idli steamer or pressure cooker. add
some water and keep it on the stove with the fire on. grease the idli mould wit
h oil. gently and lightly swirl the batter. don t over do. now with a spoon pour p
ortions of the batter in the greased idli moulds.
idli recipe
14: keep the idli mould in the steamer or pressure cooker. if using a pressure c
ooker, then cover the pressure cooker with its lid. remove the vent weight/whist
le from the lid. steam the idlis for approx 10-12 minutes.
idli recipe
15: check for doneness by inserting a tooth pick. if it does not come out clean,
then keep again for a few more minutes. when done remove the idli mould from th
e cooker. remove the idlis. they come out easily. don t overcook as then they beco
me dry.
idli recipe
16: serve hot idlis with sambar and coconut chutney.

soft idli recipe


if you are looking for similar recipes then do check idli recipe with idli rava,
idli chaat, rava dosa with video, idli dosa faq and making idli in microwave.
soft idli recipe details below:
4.6 from 42 reviews
idli recipe - how to make soft idlis
SAVE PRINT
PREP TIME
9 hours
COOK TIME
25 mins

TOTAL TIME
9 hours 25 mins
idli is a popular breakfast recipe in south india but now getting popular in oth
er parts of india too.
AUTHOR: dassana
RECIPE TYPE: breakfast, snacks
CUISINE: south indian
SERVES: 18-20 medium sized idlis or 9-10 medium sized idlis & 4-5 dosas
INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
1 cup basmati rice or sona masoori rice or regular rice
1 cup parboiled rice
cup urad dal/black gram, skinned whole or skinned spilt
cup poha/flattened rice
tsp methi seeds/fenugreek seeds
water as required
salt
oil to apply to the idli moulds
INSTRUCTIONS
pick and wash both the rice and urad dal.
soak the rice and poha in water for 4-5 hours.
soak the urad dal with methi seeds separately for 4-5 hours.
drain the soaked urad dal. reserve the water.
grind the urad dal, methi seed with some of the reserved water till you get a sm
ooth and fluffy batter.
grind the rice to make a smooth batter.
mix both the batters together in a large bowl or pan. add salt and mix well.
cover and let the batter ferment for 8-9 hours.
after the fermentation process is over, the batter will become double in size an
d rise.
gently mix the batter.
grease the idli moulds.
pour the batter in the moulds steam the idlis in a pressure cooker or steamer.
if using pressure cooker remove the vent weight.whistle.
steam for 10-12 mins or until the idlis are done.
remaining batter can be stored in the refrigerator.
serve the steaming hot idlis with coconut chutney and sambar.

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Filed Under: Cooking Tips & Methods, Indian Breakfast Recipes, Kids Recipes, Sou

th Indian Recipes, Starters & Snacks, Vegan Recipes Tagged With: Gluten Free
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RATE THIS RECIPE:
Dipti Kar says
November 3, 2014 at 6:32 pm
Please note,i prepared batter at night for idli. While i am starting to make at
morning very bad smale is coming from there. Can You suggest what can i have do
for that? Pl mail me the solution I he above mail id.
Reply
dassana amit says
November 3, 2014 at 7:28 pm
bad odour does not come. either the batter has got over fermented or has got spo
iled due to some reasons like hygiene, water etc, which i cannot pinpoint.
Reply
Neha says
October 29, 2014 at 8:30 pm
Hi,
I tried to make idli for the first time, left it overnight yesterday. The batter
did not ferment ,What do I do now?
Reply
dassana amit says
October 29, 2014 at 10:20 pm
keep for a few hours more.
Reply
navin says
October 28, 2014 at 9:55 am
thanks for the recipe. I am making it for first time. I have got the readymade b
atter from the market. I am not sure if i need to ferment that. Do i need to add
baking powder as well? wish me luck. thanks.
Reply
dassana amit says
October 28, 2014 at 8:51 pm
if the batter is not smelling slightly sour, then you need to keep it for a coup
le of hours outside at room temperature. if its smelling sour, then no need. gen
erally ready made idli or dosa batter are not completely fermented. also no need
to add baking powder. all the best.
Reply
Radhika says
October 14, 2014 at 10:46 pm
Hi,your recipes are very tasty .but I have one doubt actually I want to know cup
means how much ml cup that is 200ml or 250ml please can mention cup measure

Whatever I am trying is very taste ,keep it up


Reply
dassana amit says
October 14, 2014 at 11:03 pm
thanks radhika. 1 cup = 250 ml.
Reply
Radhika says
October 15, 2014 at 8:16 am
Thanks.
Reply
dassana amit says
October 15, 2014 at 7:15 pm
welcome radhika
Reply
Radhika says
October 16, 2014 at 1:09 pm
Hi, can i now how many days we use the idly batter if we keep in fridge,
Reply
dassana amit says
October 16, 2014 at 8:09 pm
about 6 to 7 days easily
Reply
mamthasrinivas says
October 13, 2014 at 7:22 pm
U can also add hand full of saabudan to get more fluffiness
Reply
dassana amit says
October 13, 2014 at 9:02 pm
i know. thanks for the tip.
Reply
Soba Singh says
October 17, 2014 at 4:48 pm
What is saabudana Can you show me a pic. Is it round little tapioca pearls?
Reply
dassana amit says
October 17, 2014 at 7:33 pm
sabudana are tapioca pearls. pics here
-khichdi-navratri-vrat-recipe/

http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/sabudana

Reply
sarwade smita says
October 10, 2014 at 1:41 pm
good
Reply
Maithili Umate says
October 8, 2014 at 12:43 pm
Idlis turned out well..nice recipe. I always had a problem with flat idlis
Reply

dassana amit says


October 8, 2014 at 3:51 pm
thanks maithili. glad to know that this idli recipe worked for you.
Reply
shruti says
September 29, 2014 at 10:43 am
Hi, my idlys are not getting cooked properly whether i cook for 10 or 15 min, in
middle its left little uncooked..ehst should i do i used normal rice tht we use
at home and urad daal..
Reply
dassana amit says
September 29, 2014 at 3:02 pm
if the center is uncooked, the continue steaming for some more minutes. if you u
se normal rice, then depending on the quality of rice, the idlis may or may not
turn out soft.
Reply
Umesh Mehta says
August 5, 2014 at 9:21 am
I learn so many things. Thanks
Reply
dassana amit says
August 5, 2014 at 12:54 pm
welcome umesh
Reply
ruthwika says
July 26, 2014 at 1:26 am
Hi Dasanna! I live in cold climate, My batter doesnt seem to ferment after 12 ho
urs. idlys are sticky and hard even though i left it in the oven in a steel cont
ainer.
do i cover it or not?
my recipe is 1 cup idly rava + 1 cup cooked rice + 1/2 cup split urad dal+ 1/4 t
sp fenugreek seeds.
are there any tips you can give to improve the fluffiness, thank you!
Reply
dassana amit says
July 26, 2014 at 6:28 pm
you need to cover the batter. but not air tight. just cover with a lid. the stic
kiness and hardness is due to the lack of fermentation. i think the recipe is fi
ne. do you preheat the oven before you keep the batter. preheat the oven for som
e minutes. switch off the oven. then keep the batter inside covered with a lid.
Reply
Shahi says
July 9, 2014 at 7:27 am
I preferred adding cooking rice to the batter.. But with that batter, dosas stic
ks to the pan..
Will dosas stick to the pan if added poha?
People here suggest me to grind rice coarsely for idli.. Will it help to get sof
t idli?
Reply
dassana amit says

July 9, 2014 at 10:24 pm


if your pan is well seasoned, then no dosa can stick on it. if you use the pan r
egularly for making dosa, then there is no problem for stickiness. if you use a
tava or pan on which chapatis or phulkas are made for making dosa, then the dosa
wills stick. whether you add rice or poha, does not matter. the problem is not
the dosa batter but the pan/tava. you can grind rice to such a texture, where yo
u can feel small tiny particles. but the consistency of the rice particles in th
e batter should be like fine rava/sooji. don t keep the particles coarse. you will
feel a grainy texture in the idlis.
Reply
Rahul says
July 3, 2014 at 3:57 pm
Thanks for the recipe. I am not an expert cook but with the methods you suggeste
d the idlis turned out to be soft,spongy and delicious.Thanks Madam !! :)
Reply
dassana amit says
July 3, 2014 at 6:58 pm
welcome rahul. nice to know that you are able to make soft idlis using recipe in
structions.
Reply
Rahul says
July 23, 2014 at 2:59 am
Dear Mam,
I just have a small query. Although the idlis turn out to be soft and rise well,
I still have difficulty in getting them out in round edges.Somehow ,the edges of
idlis are not round.Do i have to leave the idlis in the stand after steaming fo
r few minutes before taking them out from the mould.please help..
Reply
dassana amit says
July 23, 2014 at 10:14 pm
keep for some minutes and then you remove them. probably the batter has some ext
ra water and this is not giving the shape. try reducing a bit of water. also mak
e sure that the steam droplets do not fall on the idli. they also make them mois
t.
Reply
Yojana says
May 17, 2014 at 8:29 pm
Hi, I thought of using idli rava for making idli instead of rice & by mistake I
soaked idli rava and urad dal together. I think there must be a remedy :) Any cl
ue what do I do now?
Thank You.
Reply
dassana amit says
May 18, 2014 at 1:14 am
drain the water completely and grind both of them together. you may not need to
add any water while grinding as idli rava absorbs quite an amount of water. cove
r and let the batter ferment. then you can make idlis or dosa with this batter.
Reply
Prathyusha says
May 16, 2014 at 2:41 pm
Can I make idlis using 1cup normal rice + 1/2 cup urad dal + 1/4 tbsp. fenu gree
k & 1cup normal rice + 1/4 poha?
What is the difference between the idli made with Idli rava & idli made with ric

e?
Reply
dassana amit says
May 16, 2014 at 11:51 pm
you mean two cups 2 normal rice. urad dal is fine. 1/4 tbsp is too much. it is 1
/4 tsp. you can but depending on the quality of rice, the idlis may or may not c
ome out good. i would suggest you to use short grained rice if making the idlis.
idli rava is made with parboiled rice or idli rice. since the rava is not groun
d to a batter, these idlis have a different texture than the regular idlis. in t
amil nadu idlis are made with rice and urad dal.
Reply
Nuti says
April 24, 2014 at 10:20 am
I am a big fan of south Indian cuisine and my taste buds keeps craving for it ev
ery now and than. Whenever I have to cook something the only thing that comes in
my mind is to check your website for the delicious recipes. They are so easy to
understand along with the beautiful, mouth watering pictures. Thanks a lot ! :)
Recently I tried medu vada and idli. The medu vada turned out really well with pe
rfect crispness (though the shapes were horrible but could manage the hole in th
e middle :D )and taste. But the idlis were bit disappointing. The batter ferment
ed really well.. double the size but the idlis did not puff up well. They were s
ticky and dense.
I have one more query :do we use the same consistency as of the idli batter to m
ake dosa? Thank you :)
Reply
dassana amit says
April 24, 2014 at 11:42 pm
thanks nuti. the amount of water to be added in the batter also makes a differen
ce. since in your case, the batter fermented well, then it must be less amount o
f water. the batter has to be thick but still a bit flowing. i make idlis every
weekend and never have any issue. stickiness can also be due to the quality of r
ice. for making dosa, you can use the same consistency of the batter. you can al
so add some water to make it loosen up a bit, so that you can spread the dosa ea
sily.
Reply
Sini says
April 21, 2014 at 10:40 am
Dear Dassana,
Your recipes are very inspirational and I admire your sincerity and effort in de
scribing every step so clearly.
I have couple of questions :
1) the poha we are adding , is it white or brown ? Any difference ?
2) if we are adding cooked rice instead of poha, is it raw or parboiled one ?
3) if I m using table top wet grinder is there any change in proportion of rice an
d urud dal ?
Thank you !
Reply
dassana amit says
April 21, 2014 at 11:05 pm
welcome sini.
1. poha can be white or brown. i have used thick white poha. not much difference
except the nutritive values.
2. its cooked rice.. the rice which has been steamed or cooked.
3. no change (while using using table top wet grinder).

i hope it helps.
Reply
revathisrinivas says
April 21, 2014 at 9:06 am
I have gone through my favourite south indian recipe idli . i came to know to kn
ow that how to prepare . thank you so much . it is very helpful to the youngster
s i have a small doubt in some of the places we wont get whole urad dal if it is
broken what is the measurement. please guide me.
Reply
dassana amit says
April 21, 2014 at 11:02 pm
revathisrinivas, use the same proportion as mentioned in the recipe for broken/s
plit urad dal.
Reply
revathisrinivas says
April 21, 2014 at 9:02 am
I have gone through my favourite south indian recipe idli . i came to know to kn
ow that how to prepare . thank you so much . it is very helpful to the youngster
s
Reply
dassana amit says
April 21, 2014 at 11:02 pm
welcome revathisrinivas. glad to know that the idli post was helpful to you.
Reply
D gupta says
April 5, 2014 at 8:39 am
I have bought premade batter. What can I do in the steaming process to ensure so
ft idlis.
Reply
dassana amit says
April 13, 2014 at 9:32 pm
you can make straight away. replying late as we had some server issues. generall
y pre made batter are not sour. so you can keep them at room temperature for som
e hours to get that light sourness.
Reply
renu says
April 4, 2014 at 11:56 pm
Hi.. I made this batter yesterday.. For some reason it didn t ferment at all. I us
ed the same ratios as you did. Used basmati and idli rice. Kept in the oven over
night with the light on. But still it didn t ferment. Can you tell me what must ha
ve went wrong? Also any ideas on what I can do with the unfermented batter?
Thanks
Reply
dassana amit says
April 5, 2014 at 12:37 am
Its due to the temperature. I would suggest you to add about half teaspoon of dr
y active yeast to the batter and keep at room temperature for some minutes. The
batter will leaven. You can also add 1 tbsp yogurt with one fourth teaspoon of b
aking soda. This will also leaven the batter. If sour aroma is coming and you do
n t see the batter doubled up then also you can make idlis or dosa. You can also k
eep the batter for a few more hours till it ferments. Eno or fruit salt can also
be added to the batter and you can make dhokla from it.

Reply
Renu says
April 5, 2014 at 3:10 am
So you think I should have not kept the light on?
Reply
dassana amit says
April 13, 2014 at 9:33 pm
no, you can keep the light on.
Reply
Samiya says
April 2, 2014 at 4:29 pm
Hi dassana I bought idli rice and dosa rice yday.would like to knw the exact propo
rtions..should idli rice be used with basmati rice.
Reply
dassana amit says
April 2, 2014 at 11:44 pm
dear samiya, same proportion as mentioned in the recipe 1:1 or if you are a bit
nervous then 1.5 cups of idli rice and 1/2 cup of basmati rice :-) you can also
make idlis just with the idli rice and urad dal. add about 2 cups of idli rice a
nd 1/2 cup of urad dal. soak separately and then grind separately. grind the ura
d dal very well. the urad dal batter should be fluffy and soft.
Reply
Samiya says
March 30, 2014 at 8:59 am
Hi dassana.Would like to knw if we can use basmati rice only for idli.since i do
not hv idli rice with me and not sure if we get it here in KSA.if its only basm
ati rice whats the ratio to be used.
Reply
dassana amit says
March 31, 2014 at 12:28 am
i would suggest to use short grained rice like sona masoori or broken rice. basm
ati rice work well with parboiled rice or idli rice. it also works well without,
but depending on the quality the idlis may come out good or not. so one has to
experiment. use 2 cups of short grained rice for 1/2 to 1/3 cup of urad dal. the
rest of the ingredients remain same. you can also use idli rava instead of basm
ati rice if you can get it where you live.
Reply
Samiya says
March 29, 2014 at 9:27 am
Hi Dassana
I usually add lil yeast or soda to my idli batter and it comes out really soft b
ut this time I followed ur recipe of idli batter except for parboiled rice and t
he batter was so hard that I could not even move my spoon. SO I ADDED water and
mixed it in a mixie..but my idlis were flat and did not rise..Is it because that
I did not use parboiled rice or I mixed it in the grinder in the mning coz I co
uld not move my spoon also.Kindly help..I want to make idlis without the use of
yeast or soda.
Reply
dassana amit says
March 31, 2014 at 7:57 pm
hi samiya. did you grind everything together. the urad dal has to be ground firs
t and it should be really fluffy and soft batter. the fact that you could not ev

en move the spoon means there enough water is not there. even after adding water
, if the idlis did not come out well, it means the batter was not made properly
and it has affected the fermentation. the batter has to be thick but flowing. yo
u should be able to easily stir the batter with a spoon or spatula.
Reply
chandani says
March 24, 2014 at 10:55 pm
parboiled another name plz tell not able to understand
Reply
dassana amit says
March 31, 2014 at 12:45 am
they are also called as ukda chawal in hindi.
Reply
pushpa says
March 23, 2014 at 10:05 pm
The number of comments n queries here show how many ppl tried ur recipe succesfu
lly n i wanted to be one of them.:)
I have reached the fermentation level n just to check if the batter is ready to
put in fridge for making idli tmrw i made a test dosa
N u know wht my hubby commented, r u sure u want to make idlis tmrw. Make dosas r
ightaway!!!
He liked the supercrisp n golden dosa a lot! Thanks to ur recipe keep it up! :)
Reply
dassana amit says
March 30, 2014 at 7:27 pm
welcome pushpa. loved reading your comment. i am sure your comment will motivate
more people to try this idli recipe.
Reply
anita says
March 19, 2014 at 10:19 pm
The idlis were just the way I have been wanting to serve my kids , who enjoy the
m tremendously when we eat out. thank you ! You were a big help!
Reply
dassana amit says
March 20, 2014 at 7:01 pm
welcome anita. glad to know that you liked the idli.
Reply
Ramona says
March 18, 2014 at 4:57 am
Dassana jee I wanted to know if I am supposed to soak basmati rice with the parb
oiled rice?
Reply
dassana amit says
March 18, 2014 at 9:22 pm
yes you have to soak the basmati or short grained rice or regular rice along wit
h the parboiled rice.
Reply
yogesh says
March 15, 2014 at 5:32 pm
1st of all Thanx for this detailed recipe, will definitely try it
but i need to know why should i soak rice and urad dal in different containers.

How will my idlies be different if i soak them together ?


Could you please tell me the scientific reason behind soaking them separately.
Thanks once again
tc
Reply
dassana amit says
March 15, 2014 at 9:11 pm
the soaking can be done together for small amounts. but its important for the ur
ad dal to be ground really well. the urad lentils hould become fluffy and soft a
fter grinding. if not done well, its affects the texture of the idlis. the rice
can be ground a bit grainy. hence the soaking in different containers.
Reply
yogesh says
March 19, 2014 at 6:41 pm
Thanx dear
tried it and the outcome was really delicious
keep up the good work
tc
Reply
dassana amit says
March 20, 2014 at 7:00 pm
welcome yogesh
Reply
Ss says
March 9, 2014 at 12:12 am
In continuation to my previous message, just wanted to tell that the idilies tur
ned very soft in the first case than the latter. Also, should we take the idily
from the vessel when it hot or cooled down? Pls advice.
Reply
Ss says
March 9, 2014 at 12:08 am
Hi
Quick question ..when i prepared idly battar last time, I used 1 cup basmati rice,
1 cup split -urad dal, handful of cooked rice and the battar rised well enough
that it ozzed out of the vessel. But this time I prepared the battar by using 2
cups basmati rise, I cup split dal, 1 tsp methi seeds n a Handful of cooked rice
. But this time, despite keeping it for 12 hrs, there was no smell n the battar
didnot ooz out. Can you please advice me. Thanks!!
Reply
dassana amit says
March 10, 2014 at 9:43 pm
i would suggest to use half-half of basmati rice with a short grained rice like
sona masoori or any other small grained rice. the quality of rice does affect th
e fermentation process. also i hope the temperature was also conducive to fermen
tation. sometimes the rice quality, the batter everything is good, but the tempe
rature is cool or cold and this also affect the fermentation. you can easily rem
ove the idlis when they are hot. if you have greased the idli moulds well, then
they are easy to remove.
Reply
Ask says
March 11, 2014 at 12:12 am
Thank u for your quick response!!
I live in US and at this time it is cold can you pls advice me on how I can fermen

t my idily battar better?


Thanks in Advance!
Reply
dassana amit says
March 15, 2014 at 9:27 pm
preheat your oven at 150 or 160 degrees Celsius for 15-20 mins. switch off the o
ven. you can also keep the light in the oven on, but it should not be getting pr
eheated. wrap the bowl in a warm towel or napkin and place in the oven. this eve
n i do as here too it was difficult to get the batter fermented well.
Reply
Dr neelofer says
March 8, 2014 at 11:33 am
Wow its really to soft and testy thanks
Reply
dassana amit says
March 8, 2014 at 7:13 pm
Thanks Dr neelofer
Reply
Anne says
March 6, 2014 at 6:33 pm
Thanks for the tips . your photos are beautiful! AR
Reply
dassana amit says
March 6, 2014 at 8:04 pm
welcome anne
Reply
Sharan says
March 6, 2014 at 4:55 pm
Hi dassana,
Thankyou so much for sharing such wonderful and amazing recipes. I got married j
ust two months back & didn t know anything about cooking. Then one day I came acro
ss your blog and now I thank God so much to have found you. It seems you have a
solution for everything. Thanks a bunch for being my backup ;-).
My husband really loves idlis. I am thinking of giving it a shot this weekend. C
an you tell me if its ok to make them with normal basmati rice instead of parboi
led rice as I m not very sure if I ll get them in the market. Also if I can make par
boiled rice at home.Will wait for ur reply. Love God Bless:)
Reply
dassana amit says
March 6, 2014 at 11:44 pm
thanks sharan. glad to know that the blog is your back up. parboiled rice or idl
i rice gives a good soft and fluffy texture which you won t get if making with any
other white rice. depending on the quality of rice you use, the idlis may or ma
y not turn out soft. so its a chance one takes. as an alternative you can use id
li rava (cream of rice) or brown rice to make idlis. i have not yet made idlis w
ith brown rice, but my mom has and she says they are good. parboiled rice cannot
be made at home. they are always commercially made.
Reply
rajeev bhalla says
March 4, 2014 at 2:29 pm

Hi dassana
Thanks for sharing this excellent recipe.it realy shows your experience.
Reply
dassana amit says
March 4, 2014 at 8:29 pm
welcome rajeev
Reply
sonia says
February 22, 2014 at 1:37 pm
Wow! Very nice!
Reply
dassana amit says
February 22, 2014 at 7:34 pm
thanks sonia
Reply
Unni says
February 17, 2014 at 12:29 am
Hi dasanna
Thanks for the recipe. I have a query. My wife is suggesting to by a table top w
et grinder ( now we use mixer grinder). She is says batter made using wet grinde
r gives far better results and give very tasty/soft idles. Is it true?
Reply
dassana amit says
February 17, 2014 at 11:39 pm
i have heard from friends that a table top grinder is better than a mixer grinde
r. i have never used it, but a lot of folks recommend it. so if suits your budge
t, you can buy a table top grinder.
Reply
Unni says
February 21, 2014 at 8:59 pm
Thank you.
I have one more query. My mummy adds salt after fermentation of batter. She says
adding of salt retards the process of fermentation. What is your comment?
Reply
dassana amit says
February 22, 2014 at 9:38 pm
i usually add rock salt and the had had no issues with the fermentation. but iod
ized salt retards the fermentation. the iodine destroys the wild yeast that help
in the fermentation.
Reply
sandy says
February 12, 2014 at 1:27 am
Dasanna, whenever I have cook somthing, the first thing I go to your site and tr
y to find the receipe I want. But you know, I spend hours in reading the comment
s(I mean compliments) people have been showering on you. I really get so engross
ed and it becomes late for me to start cooking. You are so generous in giving ea
ch minut details of the receipe. You are amazing and making so much difference t
o so many families. When I am in India, I would like to meet you briefly atleast
to say hi. My daughter would love to meet you. When I have to make something, s
he will say, go to your favarite person and check her site

Reply
dassana amit says
February 13, 2014 at 11:28 pm
thanks again sandy. sure. you can let me know when you come to india. give my lo
ve and hugs to your daughter.
Reply
sandy says
February 12, 2014 at 1:18 am
Can you please give receipe for molaga pudi. Whenever I go to restaurants in Mad
ras or Bangalore, I order more molaga pudi than idlis
Reply
dassana amit says
February 13, 2014 at 11:26 pm
i had got the podi from kerala shop and still using it. once it get over, i will
make a homemade podi and then post it also. i am a fan of milagai podi. in fact
i just like the idlis coated all over by the podi :-)
Reply
Kavita Mishra says
February 11, 2014 at 8:07 am
Thanks for the recipe. Tried it yesterday n the idlis were awesome. Finally I co
uld make the restaurant style idlis. Thanks a million!
Reply
dassana amit says
February 11, 2014 at 10:28 pm
welcome kavita
Reply
dassana amit says
February 11, 2014 at 10:52 pm
thanksa and welcome.
Reply
Radha says
February 6, 2014 at 6:24 pm
First of all Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I never liked idlys sinc
e my childhood. My husband loves them so tried makin a couple of tyms , but it w
as always a disaster. Even though we used to prepare it so often in my home I ne
ver got it right. I gave a try today n I m on cloud 9 . I have never tased such
soft n yummy idlis. Just cudnt stop having. Thanks a ton. U made my day. Finally
I learnt it. Not just learnt but perfected it. All credit to u. Keep sharing, l
ooking foforwarto cook more of ur reipes.
Reply
dassana amit says
February 9, 2014 at 12:08 pm
welcome radha and thanks for this positive feedback on idli recipe. reading such
positive comments, i feel motivated and its nice to know that the blog is helpi
ng people in learning recipes.
Reply
Dee Dee says
February 2, 2014 at 9:57 am
After seeing all of the great comments, I want to try your recipe! I just have a
question about idli rice. You mentioned in your replies that idli rice can repl
ace regular rice. Would that be the basmati rice or the parboiled rice? I live i

n a small town in California, USA, so I have to drive a couple of hours to purch


ase ingredients from an Indian grocery or order them online, which can be pretty
expensive with the cost of shipping. I just picked up some idli rice before I h
ad read your recipe. What exactly makes idli rice different? I know I can get ba
smati rice locally. Not sure about parboiled rice. Isn t that Minute rice in Ameri
ca? Or would you even know? Thank you for helping us all become Indian cooks. My
husband and I lived in Coimbatore, India for 9 months as research students over
twenty years ago. Or landlord s wife would surprise us with delicious, fluffy, sl
ightly sour, idlis from time to time. Have never tried any other as good. She ha
d showed me once how to make them, but didn t speak English and it seemed too inti
midating to try and replicate them. With your instructions, I m ready to take a st
ab at it. Hope they turn out. We really miss yummy idli.
Reply
dassana amit says
February 2, 2014 at 11:17 pm
You can use parboiled rice. Both idli rice and parboiled rice are rice grains wh
ich have been parboiled. Idli rice is specifically used for making idlis. Wherea
s parboiled is cooked and served like steamed rice. I do not know what is minute
rice. You can use parboiled rice in this recipe. Even idli rice will work. You
can also use 2 cups of idli rice and omit the regular rice.
Reply
jasee says
January 27, 2014 at 11:33 am
Hi dassana
I jst fnshd ma idlis wth sambar n it ws vry nic,alhamdu lillah.thanks alot
I wnt som clrfication on makng battr n thnks again that ur site mad me clear al.
I made battr ydy mrng cz i liv in kuwait n its winter here n also added bit yeas
t 2 get fermntd.any wy it cam gd bt gt stick on d mould evnthough i grcd it:-(
I usly us 3:1 proportn 4 dosa n usd it 4 idlis too n it coms gd, ma mom us ds pr
optn n her s alwys com perfct n tasts best.
I wnt 2 knw 1 mor thng dat hw 2 roast channa dal 4 chutney? I dn gt d rstd 1 her
e. In oil? Ur chutny recipes feel fantastic.
Any way thnks alot n am flng homl 2dy,am a malayali. Am gng 2 make massala dosa
2 mrw insha allah,usng ur masala recipe n am sur it ll be grt
Reply
dassana amit says
January 28, 2014 at 7:58 pm
thanks jasee. if the idli moulds are greased well, the idlis won t stick. so next
time you can try applying a little more oil. agree with your mom.
for chana dal chutney you take some oil and then saute the chana dal in the oil
till they get golden and fragrant. then cool them and make a chutney with the ot
her ingredients. you can also soak the chana dal for an hour. drain and then wip
e them dry. then saute till oil till they become golden.
i hope the masala dosa was good. happy cooking.
Reply
Azzy says
January 16, 2014 at 1:56 am
Hi! I normally make idlis using the idli rava. A few days ago I tried using parb
oiled rice(3 cups) with split urad dal(1/2 cup). It was a disaster! Although the
batter had fermented very well, almost overflowing out of the container, the id
lis were flat as can be, and I couldn t even make dosa with it. Any idea where I w

ent wrong? I live in Canada, so I made sure that I added methi seeds and kept th
e batter in a slightly pre-heated oven for fermentation. Anyhow fermentation was
n t a problem. I used just regular parboiled rice.Any tips you could give would be
greatly appreciated. I really want to try this version, but don t want to go thro
ugh all the grinding, before Im sure about the kind of rice to use.
Reply
dassana amit says
January 16, 2014 at 10:23 pm
i suspect the water must have been less. if the water is less in the idli batter
, than the idlis become dense and flat even when the batter gets fermented. i ma
ke idlis at times with just parboiled rice as well as idli rice too and never ha
ve any issues. the quality of parboiled is also important and it must be within
its shelf life. try adding some more water just a few tbsps more next time when
you make the idlis.
Reply
Richa says
January 9, 2014 at 5:43 pm
Thanks a lot for wonderfull idly recipe.I am not fond of rice idly but my husban
d love them.Earlier i have tried according to the ratio of 1:1 of rice and urad
dal but it use to be hard.
Now when i made it with your recipe ,the idly come out just perfect.
And on next day i made dosa of remaining battar and that was also very crispy an
d so tasty.
Thanks a lot.
Reply
dassana amit says
January 9, 2014 at 8:16 pm
welcome richa. glad to know that your idlis are coming soft now. happy cooking a
nd do try more recipes.
Reply
jyoti says
January 9, 2014 at 4:44 pm
Urad dal to rice proportion should be 1:3 but yours is 1:4 (Your measure of rice
is 2 cups totally and urad dal is 1/2 cup). We south indians use 1:4 proportion
for dosas and for idlis we have to increse the urad dal quantity. I don t want to
try and take risk.
Reply
dassana amit says
January 9, 2014 at 10:43 pm
if you are sure of your idli recipe and proportions then you don t need to try thi
s one. i have been using this proportion for some years now and it works very we
ll for me. in fact after your comment i referenced the cook books which i have a
nd found that most of them are using 1:4 proportion for idlis and sbout 1:3 for
dosas. and these books are written by south indians. so they must not be wrong.
Reply
Sue says
January 5, 2014 at 2:20 pm
Hi Dassana, I have made idlis with your recipe today but I didn t have poha, the i
dlis turned out really nice and soft, I used an egg poacher to steam the idlis a
nd I made dosa with the rest of the mixture. I will be trying your other recipes
, my husband and I are very fond of Indian food, your blog is now saved on my fa
vourites, thank you once again for sharing your recipes. Happy new year to you a
nd your family

Reply
dassana amit says
January 7, 2014 at 8:15 pm
welcome sue. happy new year to you and your family. do try more recipes and feel
free to ask any query.
Reply
w m u madusanka says
December 27, 2013 at 11:38 am
Actually it is very nice .
Reply
Shriya says
December 14, 2013 at 11:57 am
Thanx foh all ua recipe we njoy ua recipe prepared by our mom n dat are so delicio
us !!!
1nce again thanq ..!1!!! :)
Reply
dassana amit says
December 14, 2013 at 6:59 pm
welcome shriya. mom s food is always good :-)
Reply
Raj says
December 11, 2013 at 8:01 am
I made idlis using your recipe this past weekend and they turned out great! Than
ks for posting this.
Raj
Reply
dassana amit says
December 11, 2013 at 8:28 pm
welcome raj
Reply
bhumika says
December 2, 2013 at 10:13 am
Einstein Said: If you can t explain it simply, you don t understand it well enough.
You make idli recipe so easy. I could not believe that i made it. The way you ex
plain the whole recipe with photographs & descriptions is excellent. I got good
comments from home, that all i am giving you.
Reply
dassana says
December 2, 2013 at 6:49 pm
thanks a lot bhumika for your generous comments.
Reply
reena says
December 2, 2013 at 2:23 am
Can i just use regular rice instread of paraboiled if so how much?
Thank you.
Reply
dassana says
December 2, 2013 at 6:49 pm

if you use regular rice, then the texture of the idli might get compromised. act
ually it depends on the quality of the rice. you can halve this recipe and make
a small batch. if you have idli rava, then you can try this recipe of idli with
leftover steamed rice
http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/cooked-rice-idli/
Reply
Pravina Parikh says
December 1, 2013 at 3:56 am
so fluffy idli my grand kids like good for lunch box for them I will try thank y
ou for sharing
Reply
dassana says
December 1, 2013 at 3:13 pm
welcome pravina
Reply
Bartanwale.com says
November 24, 2013 at 11:54 am
Idli Makers now available online at bartanwale.com
Our team says, we find idlis is perfect food for any season keep in mind the sam
e, we are constantly adding more products which makes cooking idli a breeze.
you can check out ildi makers at http://www.bartanwale.com/steamer-pressurecooke
rs/idli-cooker.html
Reply
namratapatra says
November 16, 2013 at 11:47 am
Hi, There are thousands of food site but must admit that urs is unique .really im
pressed. Me a beginner and have just married. My husband loves idly ,so I want t
o try it. I have a doubt.
what is paraboiled rice and from where can i get it? what if i use basmati rice
only? waiting for ur suggestion .
Reply
dassana says
November 17, 2013 at 10:22 pm
thannks. if you live in india, you can get parboiled rice or idli rice easily. p
arboiled rice is rice which has been partially boiled in the husk and then dried
. if you don t get parboiled rice, then use basmati rice. actually depending on th
e quality of basmati rice, the idlis can come out good or not so good. you can t
ry with a small batch. if the idlis become soft, then next time try with a large
r batch of rice.
Reply
omkar Gurav says
November 14, 2013 at 2:15 am
plz give me more n more recipe .. n tech
Reply
RIMPA CHOWDHURY says
November 9, 2013 at 5:20 pm
plz tell me what is poha?
how to cook dosa at home?
And thanks 4 this recipe.
Reply
dassana says

December 1, 2013 at 11:30 pm


poha is flattened rice. they are rice which have been husked and then flattened
into flat dry flakes. dosa recipe here
http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/masala-d
osa-recipe-how-to-make-masala-dosa-recipe/
Reply
jayshree says
November 8, 2013 at 10:10 pm
hi dassana
finally i made dosa today and all d credit goes to u bcoz without ur tip(seasone
d the tava) it would have been impossible.I am so happy today bcoz the first dos
a itself came out very gud.Thank you soooooooo much & keep giving d important ti
ps also
Reply
dassana says
November 17, 2013 at 11:47 pm
welcome jayshree. glad to know that your dosa came out well.
Reply
Ashwini says
November 7, 2013 at 8:08 pm
I tried this recipe for idli and they turned out soft and fluffy just as in the
your post.Also, I made dosas with the leftover batter and they were yummy too.Th
anks for sharing !
Reply
dassana says
November 17, 2013 at 11:46 pm
welcome ashwini
Reply
thirunash says
November 2, 2013 at 6:21 pm
Hello Ms Dassana,
First of all I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the above Id
li recipe . today is Diwali I followed your recipe step by step note by note and i
t turned out perfectly perfect for me to serve my family on this day ..
You know something this is the first time I made Idli for my family and even my
wife was so envy that my Idli turned out better than hers .
By the way if you re celebrating Diwali happy Diwali to you and your family once ag
ain thank you so much.
Reply
dassana says
November 2, 2013 at 11:24 pm
thanks thirunash for this positive comment. i am glad to know that you made a pe
rfect idli. wishing happy diwali to you and your family.
Reply
jayshree says
October 22, 2013 at 7:09 am
thanks dassana for sharing this imp. tip.
now m going to make dosa very soon & will surely let u know
Reply
dassana says
October 22, 2013 at 10:57 pm
welcome jayshree

Reply
jayshree says
October 21, 2013 at 7:34 pm
hi dassana
i spread the dosa on the tava but when i tried to turn or flip ,i was nt able to
do so bcoz the dosa stick on the tava & it was nt coming out and also i want to
mention that i used my dosa tava almost after one yr. pls reply
Reply
dassana says
October 21, 2013 at 8:12 pm
thats exactly the reason why the dosa got stuck. dosa tava has to be used often
and regularly. if it is used even after a gap of 6 months the dosas stuck on the
pan. in such a case they have to be seasoned before using. so just heat up the
dosa tava and apply some oil. switch off and let the oil be on the tava for atle
ast 2-3 days. don t use the tava. before making dosa, wipe the oil and then procee
d to making dosa. the first few will break and stick. but after that there won t b
e any sticking. also keep the dosa tava separate and the roti tava separate. if
you make rotis in the dosa tava, then again the dosas get stuck to the tava.
Reply
Prabhakar says
October 15, 2013 at 10:14 pm
Where did you get Panchapathram and Uddarani in the Photos. They look good.
Reply
dassana says
October 17, 2013 at 11:34 pm
from an antique shop.
Reply
jayshree says
October 6, 2013 at 11:09 pm
hi dassana
i tried ur recipe yesterday and it came out very well.The idlis were very soft a
nd fluffy but when i tried to make dosas with this batter it didnt worked for me
,i dnt know why and what went wrong .can u plz tell me
Reply
dassana says
October 8, 2013 at 5:59 pm
the dosa do turn out good. what happened. were they soft or they could not be sp
read on the tava.
Reply
chetan says
October 6, 2013 at 12:45 pm
Further to my earlier commets yesterday I wish to add that I made idlis yesterda
y on the basis of your instruction and they came out supper soft. Now I am confi
dent about this and will making idlis quite often. Many thanks.
Chetan
Reply
dassana says
October 8, 2013 at 6:33 pm
welcome chetan.
Reply
Beejal says

October 4, 2013 at 4:41 pm


Hello Dassanna,
This is a lovely receipe and very well written and presented. I am going to try
it. Is it ok to soak everything in hot water instead of tap water? Weather is co
ld. I am bit worried about ferementation but will try your tips for the same.
Reply
dassana says
October 4, 2013 at 8:00 pm
thanks beejal. soaking in warm water or hot water does not help really. it would
just quicken the time required for soaking. keep the batter in a oven which has
been preheated before. switch off the oven and then keep the batter. if the bat
ter does not rise than add 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1 or 2 tbsp yogurt before mak
ing the idli. the leavening reaction between the baking soda and yogurt will hel
p to make the idlis fluffier and softer.
Reply
Chetan says
October 4, 2013 at 1:56 pm
Excellent recipe of Idli
step by step instructions are very useful. I followed t
his recipe a few weeks ago and the result was fabulous. I am going to make idlis
tommorrow and I am very confident that they will come out excellent as I am goi
ng to follow the instruction very carefully. Many thanks Dassana.
Reply
dassana says
October 4, 2013 at 8:01 pm
thanks chetan. glad to know the steps and the detailed post helped you.
Reply
Rashmi says
September 29, 2013 at 2:43 pm
Hi Dassana,
Thanks a ton for sharing the recipe with us in such great detail with nitty grit
ties and pictures. I tried the recipe the idli s came out very soft and tasty.
Thanks Again.
Regards,
Rashmi.
Reply
dassana says
October 2, 2013 at 7:06 pm
thanks rashmi. glad to know that your idli recipe came out soft and tasty.
Reply
Deepthi says
September 23, 2013 at 1:25 pm
First time I prepared idli s following ur recipe :) they came out gud.. Since I di
dn t use poha , I think the idli s were not very soft
But it was better than store b
ought idli batter :) Thanks for such detailed description of recipe
Reply
dassana says
September 23, 2013 at 6:49 pm
deepthi, i am glad you liked the recipe and idli came out well.

Reply
nabila says
September 2, 2013 at 3:12 pm
hi i made idli batter today but my batter especially rice is very fine like suji
is that ok . now i have put it to ferment . i am not sure how my idlis will com
e i have guest coming tomorrow please reply
Reply
dassana says
September 2, 2013 at 5:47 pm
a slight grainy texture of the ground rice is alright in the idli batter. don t wo
rry. the idlis will turn out good if the batter ferments well.
Reply
Anjali says
August 29, 2013 at 9:20 am
Hi,
Idlis look great. May I know where did you use parboiled rice?Also if thin or th
ick poha should be used?
Thanks
Reply
dassana says
August 29, 2013 at 10:53 pm
anjali, poha is added with both the parboiled and regular rice to make a smooth
batter in step 6.. check the step by step recipe.
Reply
Divya says
August 25, 2013 at 7:59 pm
Is the par boiled red rice the same as matta ari/rice?I get idli rice here,so I
use that,love the red specks on idli:)
Reply
dassana says
September 4, 2013 at 10:23 pm
its the same rice divya.
Reply
Sreepriya Nitin says
August 21, 2013 at 8:30 pm
Hi Dassana your idly recipe is great i would say it is superb i tried your recipe to
day and both dosa and idly are wow .thanks for the tips may god bless you to make mo
re delicious food
Reply
dassana says
August 22, 2013 at 12:44 pm
thanks sreepriya. you have already blessed me with your positive energy.
Reply
shruti says
August 14, 2013 at 8:12 am
rating it 5 star :)
Reply
dassana says
August 15, 2013 at 1:09 pm

thanks shruti for giving 5 star rating to this idli recipe. it surely inspire ot
her readers to try the recipe.
Reply
shruti says
August 14, 2013 at 8:10 am
thanks for the recipe, tried it yesterday, and made the idilis today in the morn
ing . they turned out just wow!! spongy and big. i forgot to soak methi seeds, so
didnt add that in the dough but they are still spongy, next time i shall remembe
r to add that too :)
Reply
priya says
August 8, 2013 at 11:41 pm
this is a awesome way of preparing idli as step by step thanks for this and i wi
ll surly try this coz my idli was so hard when i prepared that.
Reply
dassana says
August 9, 2013 at 7:56 pm
thanks priya. this idli recipe has been tried successfully by many readers. so g
o ahead and give it a try.
Reply
afshan says
August 4, 2013 at 2:15 pm
thanks 4 giving such a complete recipe .waiting for more recipes from u ..
Reply
aarti says
August 4, 2013 at 11:32 am
Supperb. thanks to giving such idea to make idli. :)
Reply
dassana says
August 5, 2013 at 11:12 pm
thanks.
Reply
Heather says
August 4, 2013 at 5:24 am
Hi,
I don t live anywhere you can get an idli mold, would it be okay to steam them in
a egg poacher or something similar?
Reply
dassana says
August 5, 2013 at 10:58 pm
hi heather, egg poacher would do. even heat and steam resistant steel bowls, smo
oth individual muffin bowls or ramekins would be fine. just grease them before a
dding the batter.
Reply
Sara says
July 28, 2013 at 5:16 pm
Dassana your recipes are very healthy and easy.I like your recipes.Thank you for
sharing such great recipes with us.
Reply

dassana says
July 29, 2013 at 11:56 pm
thanks sara.
Reply
Sara says
July 28, 2013 at 4:50 pm
This recipe is like kya bat kya bat kya bat.Just amazing.
Reply
dassana says
July 22, 2013 at 11:49 pm
thanks parween
Reply
Kevlar says
August 19, 2013 at 9:04 pm
Some amounts and coherency would be nice, but Thank you.
Reply
Deepthi says
July 22, 2013 at 8:15 am
Hai Dassana, ur name is nice ..it came out awesome thanks for sharing this receipe..
Reply
dassana says
July 22, 2013 at 11:28 pm
welcome deepthi.
Reply
Harleen says
July 17, 2013 at 5:33 pm
Hi Dassana,
Nice post, what to do if the rice after grinding still remains a bit grainy. My
batter after fermentation became thick. Can I add water to make it thinner, woul
d it affect the softness/ fluffyness of the idlis?
Reply
dassana says
July 17, 2013 at 6:02 pm
hi harleen, if the rice is bit grainy its ok. the batter has to be thick but flo
wing. yes you can add some water. it won t affect the softness of the idlis unless
too much water is added.
Reply
Ramesh says
July 13, 2013 at 4:42 pm
Hello Dassana,
This is a fantastic post,one that Inspires (and probably salivates) us to cook!
The pictures of Idlis and Dosas are mouth watering, to say the least.
I have cooked idlis and made dosas numerous times in the past, but never regular
y;so i always miss the proportion of Rice to urad dal and have to always look up
the net.
I have saved your page in my favourites and probably will reference it for many
more times to come .
Thank you for sharing your tips. Heartily appreciate it.

best wishes
Ramesh
PS : I forgot to rate this recipe in my earlier post..doing it now :-)
Reply
dassana says
July 13, 2013 at 9:03 pm
thanks ramesh for this sweet reply as well as rating the recipe.
looking forward to more honest ratings from you.
Reply
Nara says
July 11, 2013 at 2:45 pm
Hello, thank you for the recipe! I would like to know what is the wooden box wit
h the carving of the Flower of Life on the photo? thanks!!
Reply
dassana says
July 11, 2013 at 11:46 pm
nara, i think these type of round boxes were used to keep salt, but i am not sur
e. this is an antique box. they were used at least 50-100 years back but not now
.
Reply
Akshay Hindustani says
July 8, 2013 at 10:28 pm
Will try it soon and tell you,
but soft to banenga na?
Reply
dassana says
July 9, 2013 at 11:20 pm
akshay, give it a try. all the recipes posted on this blog are tried and tested.
you can also read the comments of other readers on this idli post.
Reply
Akshay Hindustani says
July 21, 2013 at 8:57 pm
Made the idlis. They were awesome.
Do you have a recipe for chow mein,
I searched your blog but I didn t get it.
Reply
dassana says
July 23, 2013 at 12:10 am
thanks akshay for the feedback. i don t have recipe for chow mein.
Reply
Preetham says
July 7, 2013 at 4:25 pm
Hi, I made the idli batter as you have said and it came out awesome. The idli s ma
de were so good (soft and spongy) I rushed it to my mom and she liked it as well
. I used a handful of poha/avalakki and that made all the difference. Thank you
so much for sharing this and keep up the excellent work
Reply
dassana says
July 9, 2013 at 11:21 pm
thanks preetham for this nice reply.

Reply
Frank says
July 3, 2013 at 12:06 am
Hi, I have just finished eating Idili with Sambar and Chutney from here. Absolut
ly the best.
Thanks for the post and the pictures.
Frank
Reply
dassana says
July 3, 2013 at 12:24 am
frank, thanks for this positive feedback on idli recipe.
Reply
dassana says
July 3, 2013 at 12:26 am
frank, thanks for this positive feedback on idli recipe
Reply
rahmat says
June 20, 2013 at 3:06 pm
if i want 2 make idli wid idli rawa ., whats da quantity of rawa n urad daal 2 b
e taken?
Reply
dassana says
June 20, 2013 at 11:03 pm
you can check the proportions in this idli rava recipe
dia.com/idli-recipe-with-idli-rava/

http://www.vegrecipesofin

Reply
chanda says
June 18, 2013 at 5:32 pm
superb love it .yummy umaaah
Reply
sushmitha biswas says
June 16, 2013 at 7:09 pm
awesome!!!!!!!
thank you author to showing this type of recipes to everyone.
Reply
dassana says
June 17, 2013 at 11:11 pm
thanks sushmitha.
Reply
dassana says
June 19, 2013 at 12:36 am
thanks sushmitha
Reply
Reema says
June 16, 2013 at 2:46 pm
Hi I just wanted to confirm whether its half cup urad dal to two cups rice or tw
o cups of urad dal to two cups of rice
Reply
dassana says

June 16, 2013 at 5:25 pm


its half cup urad dal for two cups of rice.
Reply
Virginia Dsouza says
June 15, 2013 at 8:18 am
Very detailed. Thanks.
Reply
dassana says
June 15, 2013 at 11:31 am
thanks virginia
Reply
sheeja says
June 5, 2013 at 6:51 pm
hii i tried to make idilies in pressure cooker but when ever i prepare steam from
the lid is spoiling the idilies..its a total disaster ..it seems to be not cooke
d .can u give me tips to prepare idilys in cooker
Reply
dassana says
June 5, 2013 at 10:42 pm
i hope you are not using the whistle/vent weight on the lid when cooking the idl
is in the pressure cooker. hence the steam gets collected. you have to remove th
e whistle and steam the idlis. the steam passes through the outlet on the lid th
roughout the entire cooking.
just add some water in the cooker. place the idli stand. remove the whistle from
the lid. cover the lid tightly as you would do when pressure cooking dal or ric
e. steam the idlis on medium flame. the water should not dry up in the cooker. i
f the water dries up, add some water and continue to steam in the same way.
Reply
sheeja says
June 6, 2013 at 4:55 pm
thank u for your fast reply actually i was keeping that whistle over it .i will t
ry tomrw in this method .hope it will come soft and cooked :-)
also ur blogging is quiet good.because i never seen other bloggers sorting of th
e queries of the readers . your advice is just like getting from elder sister or
mother.keep it up
Reply
dassana says
June 6, 2013 at 10:08 pm
okay thats why the idlis become soggy. thanks for your sweet comment.
Reply
Sushmita says
May 25, 2013 at 3:23 pm
Awesome receipe I was preparing it for first time on hubby s request n they cm o
ut super delicious ..I ws scared as I hv disturbed the batter many times while it
was in fermentation process and had put eno in the batter but they turned out su
per soft I had added two packs while it ws resting n agn before steaming
Reply
dassana says
May 25, 2013 at 10:35 pm
thanks sushmita. there is no need to add eno if the batter ferments well and dou

bles up. however eno will help in making the idlis soft and porous.
Reply
sushmita says
May 25, 2013 at 12:10 am
Hi this recipe helped me so much I ws
my hubby s demand n the outcm ws soft
der one after grinding n second while
ferment or not but those were softest

mkng idli frm rc n dal for the frst tm on


idli I did one for thing I add two eno pow
preparing idlis I ws scared whthr it will
idlis I hv ever md wl try dosa tomorrow

Reply
Shilpa says
May 21, 2013 at 10:11 am
Hi Dasanna,
I ve become a regular follower of your blog. Everything that I have tried from you
r recipies has turned out just the way you descibed them. I made idlis following
all your instructions and they turned out more than perfect. I have never had s
uch super soft, melt in the mouth idlis.
Thank You once again.
Reply
dassana says
May 21, 2013 at 10:04 pm
thanks shilpa for the positive feedback
Reply
Saili says
May 7, 2013 at 11:18 am
Hi Dassana,
I have followed your recipe almost word to word; and have reached the step of fe
rmenting the batter.
I kept away the batter to ferment last evening. Today morning, it has risen and
become almost double. But I am having a problem as I do not have to make the idl
is immediately. I have to make it tonight, which is atleast 9 hours away. So can
I leave the fermented batter undisturbed for another 9 hours or should I store
it in the fridge? Will storing it in fridge affect the softness of the idlis?
Please suggest..
Reply
dassana says
May 9, 2013 at 7:35 pm
have mailed you. i hope the idlis were good.
Reply
Saili says
May 12, 2013 at 10:09 pm
Dassana,
The Idlis were great, supre soft and super fluffy!!
Just loved them!
take a look at them here..
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151375940822551&set=a.1015041991980255
1.349163.543277550&type=1&theater&notif_t=photo_comment
Thanks again!!
Reply
dassana says

May 12, 2013 at 10:53 pm


thanks saili. i cannot see the fb pic. i guess you will have to give this pic pu
blic access.
Reply
Pranesh says
May 4, 2013 at 4:03 pm
Perfect measurements to get soft idli and we got super soft idlies today.
It s really an adventure for us after so many attempts.
Thanks for your help in replying our queries for this recipe.
Reply
dassana says
May 4, 2013 at 6:02 pm
i was wondering why no reply from you. thats good to know. and welcome pranesh.
Reply
Divyesh says
May 3, 2013 at 4:39 am
Hi I am leaving in uk and you know temperature is not warm like India so what sh
all I used to get fermentation in cold weather like -1 , , please let me know th
anks
Reply
dassana says
May 4, 2013 at 5:58 pm
you can keep the batter in
the oven. then switch off
e lights in your oven, you
n the kitchen will do. you
keep the batter in a large

an oven which has been preheated


the oven. keep the batter inside
can also keep them on. any warm,
can also wrap the container with
casserole.

before. just preheat


the oven. if you hav
cozy lighted place i
warm towels or even

Reply
Rebecca says
April 30, 2013 at 11:14 am
Namaste Dassana,
I would just like to thank you for your wonderful collection of recipes here. I
came across your site when I was looking for directions on how to make homemade
idli. As an American living in Bangalore, I have found learning how to cook Indi
an dishes very challenging, but so rewarding when I get them right. I must say t
hat I love the way you write out your recipes, and the lovely photographs add an
important touch for learning the steps that I have not found in recipe books. I
will be visiting your site often.
Rebecca :)
Reply
dassana says
April 30, 2013 at 11:16 pm
hi rebecca. thanks for the appreciation. some indian dishes are pretty complicat
ed. but many of them are simple to make. i agree it is rewarding when one gets t
he dish right. do browse the blog around in your free time and do try the recipe
s.
Reply
Rini says
April 27, 2013 at 4:52 pm
I was just trying to make idli and the mix turned out to be too salty. Can you t
ell me what to do if the idli mix is too salty?

Reply
dassana says
April 27, 2013 at 11:42 pm
you can add some rice flour to balance the saltiness in the idli batter.
Reply
Pranesh says
April 24, 2013 at 9:56 pm
Thanks a ton for your well cleared reply.
Going to soak it by tomorrow.
I come again with my feedback on friday.This time
not going to leave the idly till it comes good.
Have 3 more queries.
1. 1/2 tsp methi seeds is level tsp of 2.5 ml right?
2. What is the one cup measure (in ml) for this recipe
Given by you that we can add half teaspoon of methiseeds.
We can see black cup from the picture but not able to come to
conclusion about the measures.
3.how many cups of water can be added in the pressure cooker (for the measure of
4:1:1/2 (poha), as we got water getting inside the idlys or sometimes
there is no water atall after sometime of steaming when we tried before.
Can u guide us?
These are really basic qns and bachelors like us will be able to make it without
mistakes if
We come to know about this if u guide.
Thanks and waiting for the reply.
Reply
dassana says
April 24, 2013 at 10:11 pm
i use american cups and spoons measurement equivalents. what you see in the pics
, is just a fancy spoon with the methi seeds :-) just for photography s sake. howe
ver the measurements are done by actual measuring spoons and cups.
1: so 1/2 tsp is approx 2.46 ml
2: 1 cup is 240 ml
3: i usually add approx 21/2 to 3 cups water. if the water dries in the process
of cooking, then i add more and keep the idlis to steam again. remember not too
put the whistle/vent weight on the cooker lid. place the idli mould. cover the c
ooker tightly with the lid. check after 8-10 minutes. if the idlis are not done
and the water dries out, then add more water and continue too cook.
do give the feedback later.
Reply
Pranesh says
April 24, 2013 at 2:58 pm
Idlys are all time favourite but unfortunately never turned out good sofar and s
topped making it now.
By looking at your recipe now we got inspired and going to make again soon as th
e pictorial representation and explanation are excellent from your side.
Thanks.
As u have mentioned i am going to follow 4 cups of idli rice and 1 cup of whole
urid dal.
Please guide me with the following queries to make it without mistakes.
1. Can i use thin variety of white poha?
2.We need poha in cup measures.
3.Fenu greek seeds to be added in teaspoons measures.

Sorry for troubling u by asking many qns.


Thanks again and expecting your reply eagerly.
Pranesh
Reply
dassana says
April 24, 2013 at 9:06 pm
hi pranesh. firstly thanks. your queries answered below:
1: you can use thin or thick variety of poha
2: 1/2 cup poha is fine
3: 1/2 tsp methi seeds
Reply
Ekta Jain says
April 24, 2013 at 9:47 am
Thank you soooooooo much for wonderfully presenting idli recipe. I exactly follo
wed steps mentioned by you. Idlis came out so soft and yummy :) Everyone in my f
amily liked it !!!
Reply
dassana says
April 24, 2013 at 9:09 pm
thats nice ekta. good to know that.
Reply
P.B. Saji says
April 16, 2013 at 11:05 am
Thanks Dassana for the quick reply. Pl. suggest when I have to make the packing
after fermentation (in hours) and keep the batter in refrigerator for sale. Also
please tell me how many days we can keep the batter in refrigerator for sale an
d what is the ideal temperature to keep the batter in refrigerator. For packing
LD , PP plastic or plastic container (food grade cups) is good?. Thanks once aga
in for your quick and expert opinion.
Reply
dassana says
April 16, 2013 at 8:00 pm
sometimes i have brought readymade idli batter from out. what i have noticed is
that in the pack, the batter is still not fermented. so i assume that the packin
g is done before fermentation. i am not sure though. i would suggest you to ask
some local vendors as how they when the batter before or after fermentation. as i
don t have a business of this type, i cannot help you with your packing and refri
geration queries. best is to ask someone who are already into this business.
Reply
Saili says
April 15, 2013 at 8:25 pm
Hi Dassana,
Firstly, the pics are AWESOME! Just by seeing the pics, I feel like making the i
dli right away!!! really, great pics! My problem is that I have never made idlis
at home; and I am going to try your recipe for the first time. I am not sure wh
at parboiled rice is. Does it mean cooked rice? I have normal Basmati rice, whic
h I will use. please tell me what is parboiled rice! I will start making these i
dlis as soon as you reply!
Thanks for the great recipe!

Saili
Reply
dassana says
April 15, 2013 at 9:32 pm
thanks saili. parboiled rice as the name suggests is rice which has been partial
ly cooked or boiled in the husk. they are then dried and then husked. they are a
lso called as ukda chawal in hindi. parboiled rice is easily available in the we
stern and southern states of india. see if you can get parboiled rice where you
live. if you cannot, then you can use sona masoori rice along with basmati rice
to make the idlis.
Reply
P.B. Saji says
April 15, 2013 at 11:42 am
Dear Dassana,
Please suggest a small and good wet grinder machine suitable for making 3 to 5 k
gs of rice for making idli / dosa batter on a daily basis for business in Delhi.
Your post is very helpful and encouraging. Thanks Dassana.
Reply
P.B. Saji says
April 15, 2013 at 11:35 am
Dear Dassana,
Your post is very good. Pics are very very good. Pl. tell me why little yellowis
h colour is on idli s. Also pl. tell me a combination for making batter with 1kg r
ice.
pl. suggest the best from the following combinations for good idli batter:(1) Raw-rice (pachari) and urud dal
(2) Idli rice and urud dal
(3) Idli rice, raw-rice (pachari ) and urud dal?.
which combination is good for idli batter?. This is for a small business venture
.
Reply
dassana says
April 15, 2013 at 9:56 pm
dear pb saji, thanks. i don t see any yellowish color on the idlis. 1 kg of rice w
ould be approx 5 cups of rice.
so, the following proportions would be fine:
with Idli rice, raw-rice (pachari ) and urad dal combination:
4 cups raw rice
1 & 1/4 cup idli rice
1 & 1/4 cup urad dal
with Raw-rice (pachari) and urad dal combination:
5 cups rice
2 cups urad dal
with Idli rice and urad dal combination:
5 cups idli rice
1 & 2/3 cup urad dal
i have made idlis will all the above three combinations. however the best textur
e and taste i got from the raw rice, idli rice and urad dal combination.
i did ask some of my friends for a good idli grinder and they suggested to inves
t in prestige or ultra brand of grinder. prestige has stopped their model. ultra
has grinders in different capacities. you will have to check if they have grind

er which can grind 3-5 kgs of rice. when i had checked, i had seen grinders grin
ding 1kg or 2kg idli batter. if not, then you will have to look out for a commer
cial grinder.
Reply
vani says
April 3, 2013 at 3:20 am
Hi i live in nottingham uk ..i used 5 cups of idli rice, 2 cups of split urad dh
al ( whole urad dhal is not available in my place) and 2 tsps of fenugrk i kept it
for 8-9 hrs in a warm place but ma dosa is yellow in colour..plz help me
Reply
dassana says
April 3, 2013 at 8:33 pm
the proportion of rice and urad dal is alright. amount of fenugreek is a little
much. 1 tsp would have been fine. not sure why the yellow color, but i guess its
due to the extra fenugreek.
Reply
Sonu Kumar says
April 2, 2013 at 11:03 pm
Awesome! Thanks for share
Reply
Pramila says
March 26, 2013 at 8:56 pm
Hi Dassana, Can I use ordinary liquidiser for grinding.
Reply
dassana says
March 27, 2013 at 6:29 pm
i am afraid, you cannot use liquidiser for grinding. you can grind the batter in
a mixer-grinder or in a wet grinder. in india, the mixers that are sold have an
attachment and blade for grinding heavy batters like idli or dosa.
Reply
Abhi says
March 14, 2013 at 11:40 am
I ve never seen an article which is this much lengthier for just an IDLY very nice p
hotographs indeed, also described beautiful art of words. You did an awesome job
by teaching us (as called the amateurs of newly married life).My wife and me en
joyed reading this article kept us busy for over an hour and made Idli s the same
way came out very nicely thank you.
Reply
dassana says
March 14, 2013 at 7:17 pm
thats great abhi. glad you liked the post. thanks for all your comments.
Reply
Rajesh President
March 9, 2013 at
Thank u Dassana
mpliment from my
thanks a lot
Rajesh
Reply
dassana says

Fort Katta says


12:29 am
it s simply great n i like this , this tip has brought me a nice co
family as well as in friends circle.

March 9, 2013 at 6:48 pm


thanks rajesh. glad that the tips helped you.
Reply
Priyanka Salvi says
February 23, 2013 at 5:34 pm
This web side is to good bec s all type cooking item get it fast & easy to make it
.
Thanx
Reply
dassana says
February 26, 2013 at 3:06 pm
thanks priyanka.
Reply
Pavithra says
February 20, 2013 at 3:17 pm
I lost interest in Idlies from the time i was 10 years old because my mom used t
o make really hard & stone-faced idlies more or less everyday as breakfast. From
then on, i never ate or prepared idli at home.
But im gonna ask my mom(yes me too) to follow the steps that you have jotted dow
n to make soft idlies, Thanks Divya!!
Also, I had no clue that Poha can be added to make idlies.
Reply
Pavithra says
February 20, 2013 at 3:20 pm
Thanks Dassana!
Reply
dassana says
February 20, 2013 at 7:38 pm
alright :-)
Reply
dassana says
February 20, 2013 at 7:38 pm
it does happen that we loose interest or dislike a certain food since we do not
have pleasant memories with it or what was served to us was not good. do try the
se steps. poha helps in making the idlis soft and fluffy.
Reply
Nipa says
February 7, 2013 at 3:35 pm
Hi,
can you help me with the receipe of making medu vada, if you have one.
With your advice and GOD s grace, i have got the consistency in the idli / dosa ba
tter. Thanks a ton.
Regards,
Nipa
Reply
dassana says
February 7, 2013 at 5:07 pm
mailed you nipa.
Reply
TLT says
January 8, 2013 at 10:32 pm

I use only pachari, uzhunu , boiled rice and fenugreek seeds . With these ingred
ients can you tell me the proportion please.
Reply
dassana says
January 9, 2013 at 6:29 pm
you can make the idlis with the same proportion as mentioned in the recipe
1 cup
pachari/white rice, 1 cup boiled rice, 1/2 cup uzhunu/urad dal and 1/4 tsp fenu
greek seeds.
Reply
Sam says
December 25, 2012 at 8:37 am
hands down the best idli I ever made!
THANK YOU!
I did add a pinch or two of bakers yeast because I was scared that midwest US wi
nters won t let it ferment. Next time I will try without it. They came out soft an
d melt in the mouth delicious. I have pinned your recipe too
thanks again
Reply
dassana says
December 26, 2012 at 8:23 pm
thanks for the nice feedback sam. i am glad as idlis to come out perfect in wint
ers is difficult and quite a challenge.
Reply
Nipa says
December 20, 2012 at 4:50 pm
Hi dassana,
I have the same issue. My idlis also rise but as soon as I remove them from the
gas, it again becomes flat. The softness is there, white colour is also there. I
am also having the rice paste which is too thick, let me try tomorrow with litt
le more water and check out. i use idli rice (2 cups ) and pacheri rice (1 cup).
Idli rice grinds only to the rava consistency whereas pacheri rice grids very f
ine smoot paste, so I grind idli rice and then pacheri rice.
Else all is fine
Thanks a ton again for this recipie but still need your expert advice for the sa
me
Nipa
Reply
dassana says
December 21, 2012 at 5:50 pm
hi nipa, do try by adding some more water and let me know. not sure why the idli
rice grinds to a rava consistency. actually the rice should be grind to a find
consistency. i hope you have started your business venture.
Reply
Nipa says
December 24, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Dear Dassana,
yes, I have started this small business of selling idli/dosa batter. I do sell 1
-2 kgs per day as of now as more poeple are not aware about the same.
I had order for 6 kgs, that time I soaked for 3 hours dal and rice, but to get f
ermentation fast (especially when you have bulk order and less time), please adv
ise.
Idli became little hard as I soak at 9:30 a.m., grind at 12:30 noon and had to p
ack and deliver at 8:00 p.m.

I need your advise for fast fermentation only when I have bulk order, otherwise,
if I keep for 14-18 hours as it is winter now, the idlis come out very soft and
smooth.
Do reply.
Thanks a ton again to bosst my confidence.
Nipa
Reply
dassana says
December 24, 2012 at 7:23 pm
thats great nipa. i wish you all the best in your venture.
for faster fermentation, without changing any flavor or taste in the batter you
could keep in a warm place like inside a lit oven or in the warm corner of your
kitchen. you can even keep the batter in a casserole if the batter is less in qu
antity. wrapping the batter container with towel or a thick woolen cloth or shaw
l also helps in faster fermentation in the winters.
another technique is to use a starter to ferment the batter. preserve some of th
e fermented batter (fermentation starter) in a small bowl in the refrigerator. t
hen to the freshly ground rice-urad dal batter add the starter. the fermentation
will be somewhat a little quicker than allowing the batter to ferment on its ow
n. this will take less time. i have never tried this method though, but being a
food science student i know it works. for 1 kg of batter you can add approx 1/2
to 1 tbsp of the starter. i would not suggest adding yeast etc as it will change
the taste and flavor of the idlis completely.
Reply
Patrick says
December 20, 2012 at 7:01 am
Hi,
We are having trouble with our idlis. They are falling during the cooking instea
d of rising.
The beans are grinding well, until a drop of it floats in water. The fermentatio
n is OK, the batter doubles overnight and smells slightly sour.
The rice does not seem to be grinding correctly. We are using Indian parboiled r
ice and grinding it in a Vitamix blender. It is getting too pasty and taking a l
ot of water. Do you grind all the rice at once or do you do it in partial batche
s? What is the proportion of water to soaked rice at the start of the grinding?
Thank you, Patrick
Reply
dassana says
December 20, 2012 at 4:26 pm
hi patrick, the rice does become paste like while grinding. some rice types do t
ake a lot of water while grinding. i think the amount of water added to the whol
e batter is less than what it should be, hence the idlis are not rising. so try
adding some more water.
if the rice proportion is in less quantity, then i grind it once or else i grind
in batches. it is difficult to give the exact proportion of water added before
grinding. i can just tell you that the rice batter should not be thick or thin.
so accordingly you can add water.
Reply
Priyanthi Silva says
December 1, 2012 at 11:56 am
Hi Dassana,
Many thanks for this recipe. I made it (both iddli and thosai ) yesterday and th

ey came out perfectly. I have been searching for an iddli and thosai recipes for
ages and have tried many but none worked out. This is the best. I won t be buying
prepackaged mixes again.
One small problem I had was that the iddli stuck to the molds. I just rubbed a v
ery small amount of oil with my finger as I don t want to use too much oil. Also i
t was olive oil. Any suggestions on this?
Again many thanks for the recipe with all the detailed pictures. It was so easy
to make. I have put another batch to soak today.
Reply
dassana says
December 2, 2012 at 3:44 pm
hi priyanthi. this is so nice to hear. am glad that the recipe worked for you.
i would suggest to add a little bit more oil to the idli moulds. you can also gr
ease the moulds overnight and keep. better to use sunflower oil as that is what
i use when making idlis. another option would be to steam the idlis in a moist m
uslin cloth.
Reply
Priyanthi Silva says
December 4, 2012 at 11:45 am
Thanks
Reply
dassana says
December 6, 2012 at 2:09 pm
welcome priyanthi
Reply
Neha says
November 5, 2012 at 8:34 pm
Thanks a lot,
Your recipes are very easy to learn as its step by step and with pics.
M.imp your way of explaining seems to be a friend or sister teaching personally.
I am enjoying all your blogs.
Thank you
Reply
dassana says
November 5, 2012 at 10:05 pm
thanks neha for your sweet comment.
Reply
Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb says
October 30, 2012 at 3:01 pm
Nice Guide Dassana! I have only had once Idlis and thats ages ago, maybe I shoul
d try making my own some times. Thanks for sharing the detailed recipe and tips!
PS: Love your new blog design!
Reply
dassana says
October 31, 2012 at 1:33 am
thanks helene :-)
Reply
Nipa says
October 29, 2012 at 6:46 pm

Hi,
I also tried your idlis and they came up very well. Thanks a ton for this receip
e. You made my day.
But one thing, I want to ask though I kept the remaining unused batter in the fr
idge, still it became sour, please guide me on this. I soak the rice and urad da
l for 5 hours and leave it for ferment 8 hours, is this right?
Thanks
Reply
dassana says
October 30, 2012 at 4:01 am
thanks nipa. soaking for 4-5 hours is alright and fermenting time is also alrigh
t. i used to have this issue of batter becoming sour but now it does not happen.
what you do is you take the required amount of batter you need for making the i
dli or dosa and then keep the remaining covered in the fridge. when you want to
make next time, again take the required amount of batter in another bowl and kee
p the rest again in the fridge. if you use the same bowl or pan for making the i
dli or dosa and then the souring happens. even i don t know the exact reason for t
his. but this method works for me.
Reply
anu says
October 11, 2012 at 11:00 am
hi dassana, tried your bhel puri at home it was great. now since i am from tamil
nadu i would like to say that we dont make idly from basmati rice,we use idly ri
ce .ratio of the rice to the urad dal should be 5:1.fenugreek can be used.
Reply
dassana says
October 12, 2012 at 12:47 am
i know anu, in south they don t make idlis from basmati rice. but if you have live
d in the north, then it is not easy to get idli rice there. so the only option i
s to make idli with some other variety of rice or basmati rice. when i was livin
g in north india, i have made idlis with basmati rice :-)
thanks for sharing the ratio too. the ratio depends from a person to person and
what works out with them in the given temperature conditions. personally i have
never tried 5:1 ratio and i am going to try this soon.
Reply
vishma says
October 10, 2012 at 3:15 pm
hi Dassana,
your explanations and tips are too good could not stop myself frm commenting enjoy
ed ur site
Reply
dassana says
October 10, 2012 at 9:00 pm
thanks vishma
Reply
sagarika says
August 23, 2012 at 4:38 pm
i think by this idlis will not be that white. How the whiteness can be increased
Reply
dassana says
August 23, 2012 at 7:23 pm
since i have added red parboiled rice, the idlis will obviously be not white. ju

st use the white colored parboiled rice or idli rice. then the idlis will be whi
te :-)
Reply
Sara says
August 19, 2012 at 1:59 am
Oh, finally I feel like I have the key to making good idli! Thank you so much, a
nd the pictures are super helpful.
One VERY IMPORTANT question that I have for you
how much water to put in the pre
ssure cooker when you steam them? And do you set the idli pan directly on the bo
ttom of the pan, or on a triveet?
Reply
dassana says
August 19, 2012 at 8:18 pm
thanks sara. you can add so much water with a gap of about 1.5 inches between th
e water and the lower idli mould rack. i generally don t use a trivet. but you can
use it no issues there.

Reply
hemlata says
August 12, 2012 at 8:48 am
I always wanted to know the secret of fermenting the dosa batter .with all your
tips you have no idea how happy i am
.i w ll try soon.dear dassana,can you please sen
e tips to ferment the batter for khaman (chana dal+yogurt) please. now i feel li
ke your my cook book guru thank you so much.
Reply
dassana says
August 13, 2012 at 10:30 pm
thanks for your lovely words hemlata. the fermentation process works in the same
way. i have never ever made dhokla by fermenting the batter. i usually make the
instant dhokla. but i will give a try to make the dhokla by fermenting the batt
er.
Reply
roopanagaraj says
July 5, 2012 at 10:24 am
What is the difference between boiled rice and par-boiled rice ?
Reply
dassana says
July 5, 2012 at 5:29 pm
i think technically both rices are parboiled and then husked. but boiled rice is
eaten as rice with sambar, curries in kerala & karnataka. conjee or pej as we c
all it is also made from boiled rice. it is usually thick and reddish brown in a
ppearance. whereas parboiled rice is used to make idlis, dosa and is white or cr
eamish in appearance. the rice that i have used in this recipe is a variety of g
oan boiled rice.
Reply
smita dasgupta says
June 9, 2012 at 2:14 pm
I made idlis last sunday. idlis were so soft and tasty. i tried it first time as
per your recipe and it was superb
Reply
dassana says
June 11, 2012 at 1:09 pm

thats nice to know smita. feels good.


Reply
CELINE SANTHARAJ says
May 18, 2012 at 9:55 am
PLEASE GIVE US SOME TIPS ON MAKING PARAATHAAS AND CHICKEN KURMAA AT HOME. HOTEL
PARAATHAAS ARE RATHER OILY AND SOURCE OF OIL UNKNOWN.
Reply
CELINE SANTHARAJ says
May 18, 2012 at 9:56 am
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF

YOUR COMMENT IS AWAITING MODERATION ?

Reply
dassana says
May 18, 2012 at 5:23 pm
it means that your comment will be approved and then it gets displayed on the po
st.
Reply
dassana says
May 18, 2012 at 5:22 pm
i shall post the tips on making parathas in some time. i do not make chicken dis
hes at home. so for a chicken kurma you will have to search on google.
Reply
CELINE SANTHARAJ says
May 18, 2012 at 9:51 am
IDLY IS A WHOLESOME MEAL FOR THE BREAKFAST.THIS PROVIDES ALL THE NECESSARY VITAM
INS ALONG WITH THUVAR DAAL- SAAMBAR AND URAR DAAL IN THE IDLY ALONG WITH THE GOO
DNESS OF COCONUT CHUTNEY.ELDERS AND CHOLESTEROL CONSCIOUS PERSONS CAN AVOID THE
COCONUT CHUTNEY. BUT THE THUVAR DAAL SAAMBAAR IS VERY GOOD AND IT IS FULLY VEGET
ARIAN.
PEOPLE WHO USE PRESSURE COOKERS PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT THE LID OR THE WHISTLE SHO
ULD BE REMOVED WHILE STEAMING. IT SHOULD NOT BE COOKED LIKE RICE WITH THE LID ON
.
Reply
dassana says
May 18, 2012 at 5:18 pm
thanks for the bit of info celine.
Reply
Asmita says
April 24, 2012 at 9:00 pm
I love idlis but really suck at making them. This post is so well done. I love t
he step by step method. Your idlis look awesome! Going to try this recipe for su
re. Thanks for the recipe.
Reply
pinky says
April 22, 2012 at 5:14 pm
pls also tell me proper ratio of idli rava with urad dal and for without parboil
ed rice can we make normal rice like sona masori only or kolom rice for idli nd
dosas, nd for rava idli also plsssss.
Reply
dassana says
April 22, 2012 at 6:59 pm
dear pinky

you can use the foll ratios:


2 cups idli rava
1/2 cup urad dal or 3/4 cup urad dal
1/4 cup poha
you can make idlis or dosa with regular rice varieties like sona masoori or kola
m. our maid which i have mentioned in the post above would make the soft idlis w
ith kolam rice. even i have made soft idlis and dosa both with sona masoori and
kolam.
Reply
pinky sharma says
April 23, 2012 at 6:33 pm
thanks ,
dassana i will try this then i will let u know abt my experience.
bye
Reply
dassana says
April 23, 2012 at 8:32 pm
sure pinky. do let me know.
Reply
pinky sharma says
April 26, 2012 at 5:22 pm
hi,
dassana
thanks, i made idli and dosas as per ur recipes , both were very very nice , i w
as so happy
that at last i made good idly and dosa and whole credit goes to u dassana, first
i was depressed when i saw my batter which was not so fermented as i expected b
ut then i tried both nd both were good.
hey dassana i took 2nd half cup of normal rice nd 1 cp of urad dal ,1 cup poha a
nd little bit methi seeds , may be cause of this ratio my batter did not ferment
ed as i expected is this so pls tell me.
byeeee
Reply
dassana says
April 26, 2012 at 6:44 pm
dear pinky
nice to know that both idlis & dosas were good.
the proportion of rice and urad dal is alright. but the quantity of poha is more
. just a handful of poha is needed to make the idlis soft. at the most you can a
dd 1/2 cup poha.
Reply
Ansh says
April 22, 2012 at 7:03 am
I lived in Hyd for almost 9 years and every single morning, we would eat Idli fo
r breakfast. We had a cook who made the softest idlis. That was when I was not i
nterested in cooking. LOL ! so never asked her how she did it. Now that I have y
our recipe, I know how to do it :) I love your descriptive posts and beautiful p
hotography.

Reply
dassana says
April 22, 2012
thanks ansh. i
s there from a
uld serve with
hat chutney.

at 6:55 pm
too lived in hyderabad for some time. used to have excellent idli
joint. don t remember the name. i cannot forget the chutney they wo
the idlis. i am still figuring out the ingredients that go into t

Reply
Suhas says
April 20, 2012 at 11:46 pm
Pls share receipe on how to make Chida which we eat during fasts with lots of po
tato sticks, nuts, chillis & caster sugar etc what we call farali chivda.
thanks
Reply
dassana says
April 21, 2012 at 5:30 pm
i know about farali chiwda. i used to have lots of it in mumbai. i will keep you
r request in mind.
Reply
Richa@HobbyandMore says
April 19, 2012 at 9:15 pm
Those idlis look super soft.. I should give the plain idlis a try.. mine are nev
er as perfect.. just about edible:)
luckily i married into a marwari family and so if something doesnt come out as p
erfect, it is discounted to the fact that I wouldnt know the basics of marwari c
ooking and anything punjabi works out well too, coz there arent any authentic ve
rsions around they can compare it to ;)
Reply
dassana says
April 19, 2012 at 11:02 pm
you must post some marwari dishes. i had a few marwari students and they would g
et the best of marwari rajasthani food like ker sangri, gatte ki sabzi, mango pi
ckle with the berries.
Reply
suhani says
April 19, 2012 at 5:49 pm
i make idlis the same way with the same ingredients..only difference is that i p
ut salt after fermentation is complete i.e. when i make idlis..
Reply
Komal says
April 19, 2012 at 4:35 pm
Thnku so much for delicious recipe .thnx dear thnx alot ..
Reply
familycook says
April 19, 2012 at 11:10 am
What lovely pics, useful tips and detailed recipe you have on this post Dassana!
I have always made my idlis from idli rawa and they were just good, and now I kn
ow the secret to making the best idlis ever. Thank you!
Reply
beena says

April 19, 2012 at 10:21 am


hey dassana, my baby loves idlis but i am yet to master the art of making idlis
:) i have a friend who suggested using idli rice incase i m using idli rice what
should be my measurements? your idlis looks really nice & soft! wonderful post.
Reply
dassana says
April 19, 2012 at 6:48 pm
thanks beena. if you are using idli rice, then there is no need to add regular r
ice. 2 cups of idli rice with 1/2 cup of urad dal would be fine.
Reply
anitha says
April 19, 2012 at 8:59 am
thank u for ur support to cook my food make tasty and delicious
Reply
Jay says
April 19, 2012 at 7:10 am
awesome presentation hot soft idlies makes me droooooool..:)
Reply
safya says
April 18, 2012 at 10:01 pm
yummy idleeees .danx for d recipe i appreciate ur effort .
Reply
dassana says
April 18, 2012 at 10:30 pm
thanks safya.
Reply
Poornima says
April 18, 2012 at 9:22 pm
Wonderful post Dassana and the pics are making me drool. I have watched my mom m
ake idlis a million times and I would even grind the batter when I was at home,
but I ve never had any success with idlis. I always curse the weather here, but I ve
no clue if i m doing something wrong. I would love to try this, is the parboiled
rice absolutely necessary?
Reply
dassana says
April 18, 2012 at 10:30 pm
thanks poornima. the parboiled rice makes the idlis softer and fluffier. it is n
ot absolutely necessary. you can still make idlis with regular rice or idli rava
. i don t make idlis with idli rava as i don t like the taste and texture.
for cold temperatures, this is what i used to do:
1: preheat the oven and then switch it off.
2: snuggly wrap and cover the batter container in a warm thick kitchen towel and
place it in the oven.
3: the batter would ferment nicely.
but then indian winters are much different than american winters. yet keeping th
e batter in a warm place does help it to ferment. probably you might have keep t
o the batter for a long period of time.
Reply
Suhas says

April 18, 2012 at 8:00 pm


Thanks for a detailed post. your efforts r commendable, I am avid fan of your re
ceipes but never make comments just for the sake of making but always appreciate
the way you take pain as things are not as easy as it looks but you make it wit
h elaborate pictures & explanations.
pls keep up good work
Reply
dassana says
April 18, 2012 at 10:24 pm
thanks suhas. things are not easy sometimes as you have said, especially when ph
otographing food. but i enjoy these moments of cooking and clicking.
Reply
VZ says
April 18, 2012 at 7:18 pm
Hi,
What if I want to make the idlis using only the basmati rice?what would be the p
roportions in that case?can i replace the parboiled rice with the basmati rice?
Reply
dassana says
April 18, 2012 at 10:22 pm
yes vidhi, you can replace the parboiled rice with basmati rice or any regular r
ice. but just increase the proportion of urad dal to 3/4 cup. the overall propor
tions would be:
2 cups basmati rice/regular rice
3/4 cup urad dal
1/4 cup poha
Reply
Kevlar says
August 19, 2013 at 9:04 pm
Thank you for the clarity.
Reply
sreebindu says
April 18, 2012 at 6:42 pm
nothing is better than a soft idly with a bit spicy , loads of coconut, tempered
along chana dal & garlic. to die for =). by this u can say I am the die heart f
an of Idili and extra coconut chutney.
Lovely pics :)
xoxo
Reply
Anamika @ madcookingfusions says
April 18, 2012 at 5:15 pm
The idli s look so damn tempting, I and my kids have one South Indian meal almost
daily, we are a big South Indian food freaks. I have to now try your Idli recipe
version soon, I use urad dal and rice combo with methi seeds or else I now use
Idli rawa with urad dal to make the batter as feel it s easier and the Idlis also
come out fluffy and too soft I liked the first click too much idlis in a row, all re
ady to be picked up one by one :)!
Reply
Kamini says
August 31, 2013 at 9:52 pm

HI ,,I Tried this and very happy to inform you that the idlis are really very so
ft,and especially loved the dosas, the dosas are absolutely wonderful.
the day we tried this,we have stopped bringing ready flour.
Thanks for the recepie dear
Regards
Kamini Paradkar
Reply
dassana says
September 2, 2013 at 6:26 pm
thanks kamini
Reply
Binita Patwal says
February 11, 2014 at 6:03 pm
Hi Dassana, thanks for sharing the recipe. I just have one query that usually wh
en I make idli s I add baking soda in the batter for fermentation, will it ferment
even if I dont add baking soda in it ?? Pls suggest
Reply
dassana amit says
February 11, 2014 at 10:19 pm
no need to add baking soda. the batter will ferment even without adding it.
Reply
Binita Patwal says
February 12, 2014 at 5:55 pm
Thanks for your reply.. would like to know one more thing that during winters is
it advisable to store the batter for fermenting in preheated microwave or oven?
Reply
dassana amit says
February 13, 2014 at 11:39 pm
you can keep the batter in a preheated oven or microwave. just preheat and then
switch off the main switch. keep the batter. you can also insulate the bowl or p
an with a warm napkin or towel and keep in the oven. i myself do this as where w
e live now its pretty cold and the batter does not ferment well if kept outside.
Reply
Binita Patwal says
February 14, 2014 at 12:34 pm
thank u so much.. I am definitely going to try this tomorrow..
Reply
dassana amit says
February 14, 2014 at 8:01 pm
welcome binita
Reply
sudha sinha says
February 14, 2014 at 9:58 pm
There are two kinds of idli mold. With or with hole. I would like to know which
one of the idli mold is better for making idli. I have non stick idli mold witho
ut hole..
Reply
dassana amit says

February 16, 2014 at 7:54 pm


i have idli molds with holes and that too steel one. i think the hole one is bet
ter. as it allows for the steam to pass through.
Reply
Murlikrishna says
February 13, 2014 at 8:44 pm
Thanks for very informative post. Can you advise me on the following:
* Maximum shelf life of idli batter
till how many day batter would continue to g
ive soft idlis.
* What is the best packaging for batter
* Planning a commercial production for idli batter
* Can you suggest suitable machinery in bangalore / coimbatore.
Thanks in advance
Murli
Reply
dassana amit says
February 16, 2014 at 7:53 pm
- since the batter i make at home is well fermented, it stays for about 3 to 4 d
ays. but i tend to finish up the batter in 2 to 3 days. the commercial batters a
re not that well fermented, so they stay for a longer period of time.
what i have seen outside, is that they use plastic. but i am not the best person
to advise on this.
i do not know of any place in bangalore and coimbatore where industrial wet grin
ders are available. but i think you should be able to get them easily there.
Reply
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