Most people who eat urad dal regularly have no idea how nutritionally dense it actually is. It shows up at breakfast as idli and dosa, at lunch as a side dish, and at dinner as dal makhani, but rarely does anyone stop to ask what is actually in it. The answer is impressive. Urad dal […]

Every South Indian has had that moment. You bite into a hotel idli and it practically dissolves on your tongue. Then you go home, follow the same recipe you have always used, and end up with something dense, flat, or faintly rubbery. What is going on? The difference is almost never the recipe. It is […]

If your idlis have been coming out flat, dense, or rubbery, the problem is almost never the recipe. It is almost always the batter. Specifically it is either the quality of the urad dal, the soaking time, the grinding technique, or the fermentation conditions. Get those four things right and the rest takes care of […]