Multigrain millet idli batter

A stored multigrain blend

This batter is a blend rather than a single grain. Sorghum, two millets, two rices and whole black gram are measured in equal cups and kept as one dry mix. Each batch then comes out of the stored mix, which makes the batter a convenient, repeatable base for a household that cooks idli often.

The creator keeps fenugreek apart from the stored blend. The ingredient list names one teaspoon, but the source does not say in which batch it goes, so the page does not assign it to a fixed point in the method.

Warm fermentation and steaming

The batter is fermented warm for six to eight hours, or overnight. The source gives no temperature, and the fermentation is judged by the rise and the bubbles. Those are quality observations and do not establish safety.

The batter is steamed on idli plates over water on a medium flame for eight to ten minutes. The creator claims that three glasses of the blend make about 1.5 kg of batter, but without a glass capacity that figure cannot be used to scale the batch.

Differences from the ragi batter

The ragi batch from a different creator uses whole ragi, urad and idli rava soaked and ground separately, then fermented overnight. This batch uses a pre-mixed multigrain blend and a warm fermentation of six to eight hours. The two methods are kept apart, and neither is used to fill the other's gaps.