Ragi Dosa Batter

Ingredients

• 1 cup ragi, finger millet seeds
• 1 cup idli rice
• ½ cup urad dal
• ¼ cup poha
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, methi
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• ⅛ teaspoon sugar

Steps

1. Wash & soak ragi, idli rice, urad dal, poha, fenugreek seeds in enough water in a bowl so that there is at least an inch of extra water over the rice and dal. Soak for 8 hours.
2. Once the grains have soaked for 8 hours, drain the excess water from the bowl.
3. Grind till almost smooth with approx. 1 cup of water and 4-5 ice cubes in a mixer grinder. Add additional water if required. The consistency should be such that it can leave a thick coat on the back of a spoon and falls in a ribbon like consistency when poured with a ladle. The ground batter should feel very slightly gritty between your fingers.
4. Pour the batter into a bowl that’s large enough so that there is room for the batter to rise. Mix the batter with clean hands as shown in the video – this is an important step as it helps in the fermentation, so please don’t skip it.
5. Cover the bowl and set aside to ferment. Leave it in a warm, dry place away from direct sunlight to ferment. Fermentation takes anywhere between 12-24 hours depending on the humidity and temperature at your place. The warmer it is, the faster it’ll ferment.
6. Once fermented, the batter should have become almost 1 ½ times its size with a slight dome shape and a wrinkle, bubbly layer on top. You should be able to smell a little sourness in the batter. This smell means it has fermented. If it is too sour, it has fermented too much! You can use a spoon to check the batter – the texture should be frothy with air bubbles.
7. Take out 2 cups of batter in a bowl, add ½ teaspoon of salt and make idlis, dosa etc.
8. Heat water in an idli steamer and bring to a boil. Grease the idli plate with oil or ghee so its easier to demould the idlis.
9. Only once the water in the steamer comes to a roaring boil, pour batter into the idli mould and fill them up almost to the top (as shown in the video)
10. Place the idli mould in the steamer and steam on medium for 10 minutes till the idlis are cooked. To check doneness, insert a toothpick in the centre of idlis and it should come out clean.
11. Let the idlis rest in the steamer for 2 minutes, then take it out and let it cool for another 2-3 minutes. Use a spoon or butter knife to demould idlis from the idli plate.
12. Take 1 cup of batter in a bowl, add ⅛ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon sugar and mix well.
13. Heat a non-stick pan or seasoned cast iron dosa tawa over medium heat. Once hot, reduce the heat to low & pour one ladle of dosa batter and pour in the center of the tawa. Spread by using the back of the ladle, moving it in concentric circles to form a big round dosa.
14. Increase the heat to medium, drizzle a spoon of oil or ghee around the edges and in the center, cover with lid & cook for 30 seconds.
15. Remove the lid and let this roast for 1-2 minutes till golden brown on medium. Flip it over and roast for 30 seconds. Flip it back, fold and serve hot.
16. Follow the same steps for making the rest of the dosas.