Is It Safe To Eat Over Fermented Dosa Batter
It is safe to eat over fermented dosa batter, it has many health benefits. Over-fermented dosa batter can help improve digestion because during fermentation natural enzymes are produced that help in digestion. It can also help to boost your immune system and reduce inflammation in your body.
Dosa Recipe | How To Make Dosa Batter Dosa Recipe — A south Indian lentil crepe made using fermented dosa batter. A south Indian lentil crepe made using fermented dosa batter. Fermented dosa batter comes in different forms like dry powder, liquid, or even frozen. Like bread batter, dosa batter is fermented before cooking; in case of dosa, the fermentation is done by wild bacteria, meaning that the process may change considerably from one day to another. As readers may be aware, fermenting the idli and dosa batter, usually over night, is a crucial step in preparing them.
To learn about How To Preserve Food, check out my article where I cover everything you need to know.
The shelf-life of fermented idli batter is very short, it can be stored in refrigerator conditions for around 5 days (Nisha et al. The addition of 0.1% mustard essential oil to optimally fermented idli batter extended its shelf life up to 5 days if stored at 30 C, and up to 30 days if stored at 4 C. Evaluation was also conducted on sensory acceptability and texture of the idli prepared from fermented idli batter.
| Temperature | Shelf life |
| At room temperature | 24 hours |
| In refrigerator | 2 weeks |
| In freezer | Up to 1 months |
In this study, essential oils were tested for their minimum inhibition activities on selected Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and yeast strains associated with fermenting idli batter, and for the identification of best potential biopreservatives to retain the idli batter. Therefore, a greater requirement exists for the identification of potential antimicrobial additives which could deactivate or inhibit LAB and yeast growth in batter system beyond optimized fermentation time (12 h) which would lead to extended shelf life of the idli batter.
Generally, fermentation produces lactic acid which inhibits growth of harmful bacteria, hence is a successful method for food preservation. For instance, with vegetable-based fermented foods, you usually only need to soak them in a salty solution, and naturally occurring yeasts and beneficial bacteria usually do all of their own work and start the fermentation process, inhibiting bacteria.
The benefits of fermentation are not limited to food becoming a source of those healthy bacterial and yeasts–we have yogurts and dishes such as pakhala to this effect. The fermentation process helps to develop the enzymes, vitamins, and minerals necessary for a healthy life.
Even though the fermentation process encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria, we do not recommend using batter for cooking purposes after it has been thoroughly fermented, nor do we consume it for 24 hours. No, it is not a good idea to use the batter for culinary purposes once it has fully fermented and we have not used it within the next 24 hours, even though the fermentation process produces beneficial bacteria.
The batter will also come up really nicely once ground in a blender, as long as it is a good mixer, and does not heat up the batter during grinding. While you can mix the crepe batter by hand–using a whisk, a blender, or a food processor–you will want to pay special attention to not over-mixing your batter, or you run the risk of creating too much air in your batter. While the batter should start cooking once it comes into contact with a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, if the skillet is overheated, the batter may lump together and be hard to spread evenly across the skillet. One thing that is essential when grinding batter in the Mixie is making sure the Mixie Jar does not heat up.
By the way, if you’re interested in How To Preserve Garlic, check out my article on that.
Do not go back to grinding your batter to fix any holes in your dosa; holes are a natural feature of most dosas, they cannot be avoided. In warm places and warm seasons, it is best to add salt immediately before making dosas, which are post-fermentation, otherwise, the batter will become acidic and smelly. You may even try skipping the salt during summer, adding the next morning while making the dosas. To avoid odors, you are better off adding non-iodised salt such as kosher salt or sea salt, prior to fermenting.
Table salt contains other ingredients such as anti-caking agents, etc… that can hinder fermentation. I have never made this batter in India, but if I did, I would likely skip the salt pre-fermentation. If you plan on making it yourself, you could modify the recipe to add one cup mashed or mashed rice to the sour batter, which would help to balance out the acidity.
Once these are ground to completely uniform, mix in the rice-dal batter – if it has not been mixed yet – before stirring in salt and baking soda to really get the fermentation going. Using the back of a ladle, spread out the fermented dosa batter into circles, spreading as thinly as you can. In circular motion, keep spreading the batter using the ladle, not lifting the ladle, until the entire batter has been spread.
Insert the back of the spoon after 7 minutes, if it comes up clean with no moistened batter, you are idelie is ready. Simply place a damp cloth (just damp, do not dripping water) over top of an idli tray, and pour out the idli batter onto the idli tray.
You can also add a few finely chopped vegetables in the idli batter to make idlis more delicious and healthier. Since idlis are made from rice, and rice is rich in carbohydrates, you can increase the content of urad dal or rava in your idli batter as compared to rice. Dosas made with urad dal and rice flour are easier to digest due to their texture and comparatively lower in carbs. It is mainly parboil rice which is used for making the idli or dosa batter because it ferments better than white rice; the idli rava is the mashed parboil rice.
The same batter is also used for making the crepe called dosa, often filled with a filling of spicy potatoes, amongst several other things. This recipe can be used to make masala dosa, crunchy plain dosa, uttapam, masala paniyaram, and sweet paniyaram. Some are thin and crisp, others are thick and puffy; the batter may be fermented or unfermented; dosas may be made with just one wheat or pulse, or with any number of combinations.
When the batter is fermented for over 12 hours (usually in cooler climates), it is possible for the color at the top of the batter to become a little yellowish. In colder places or countries, it takes longer hours to ferment a batter without adding any iodized salt.
How long does fermented dosa batter last?
About eight hours are required for the dosa batter to ferment. The fermented batter can be frozen for up to one month or kept in the refrigerator for up to four days in an airtight container. Defrost thoroughly before using. If the dosa batter is sufficiently thick but too sour, add some fresh milk, like half a cup. The sourness is reduced as a result.
What do I do when my dosa batter becomes sour?
If it is sufficiently thick but too sour, add some fresh milk, like half a cup. The sourness is reduced as a result. Add half a cup of rice flour or semolina (Rava) if it is too watery and sour, mix, and let soak for 15 minutes. After that, pour it into dosas or idlis.
What happens when you ferment dosa batter?
The amount of protein in the finished product is increased by fermentation of the dosa batter, which also encourages the important amino acid methionine. The batter can be used to make savory crepes without fermentation, but the texture won’t be as good as it is once the batter’s chemical makeup has changed.