For the idli batter

Day 1 - morning

• Wash and soak idli rice, urad dal, poha and methi seeds in enough water in a way that there is at least an inch of extra water over the rice and dal.

Day 1 - evening

• Once the grains have soaked for about 8 hours, drain the excess water from the bowl.
• Grind the idli rice-urad dal mix with cooked rice until almost smooth with approx. 1 ½ cups 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Day 2 - morning or afternoon

• Once fermented, the batter should have become almost 1.5 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. This will yield approx. 1.75 litres (6-7 cups) of batter.

Making Idlis

• Take out 2 cups of batter in a bowl, add ½ teaspoon of salt and mix well.
• Heat water in an idli steamer and bring to a boil. Grease the idli plate with oil or ghee so it's easier to demould the idlis.
• 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).
• Place the idli mould in the steamer and steam on high 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.
• Let the idli mould 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 the idlis from the idli plate.