Instant Pot: Fermented Dosa Batter

March 07, 2024 2 Comments

Moving to Chicago years ago, there were two things that I always had trouble making - homemade yogurt and fermented dosa batter. That's likely because of the cool temps here. Enter the Instant Pot. The yogurt setting can be used to easily and successfully set yogurt and now I'm learning to successfully ferment dosa batter. Early this week, I shared my recipe for dosa batter here. It's a two-step process where you soak the rice & legumes, grind them down until smooth, and then let them sit on the countertop to slowly ferment. You know that smell from sourdough? That's what you are trying to achieve. Last night, I made two batches and they almost doubled in size this morning and turned out beautifully. If you want to make dosa, but don't want to run around to buy all the ingredients, consider our newest product offering - the dosa spice kit. Click here for one-touch ordering.

Here are a couple of tips to ferment dosa batter in the Instant Pot:

Always use a larger sized Instant Pot than you think you'll need and only fill that inner insert half-way or less. The batter will ideally grow - sometimes doubling in size and you do not want it to overflow onto the counter. Trust me, err on the side of caution. If you have a lot of batter like I did, just use two different Instant Pots if you have different sizes. I used my 8-quart and 6-quart.
Don't use the standard Instant Pot lid. Just place the lid from another pot over the Instant Pot. I like to see into my pot, so I use a glass lid. You don't need to affix the standard lid to get this to work and if the batter expands and hits a standard lid it could damage it.
Use the YOGURT setting on LESS. I've seen some say to use the NORMAL setting. I just let the default give me 24:00 on the timer and know that it will take 6-8 hours. You can also adjust the timer to 8 hours using the + key.
Leave the batter alone all day to overnight and watch the magic happen.
Store the fermented batter in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months. In our house, it will never last that long! My kids literally eat 10 dosas at a time. Is that odd? They don't think so!

I have seen others add boiled water to the inner Instant Pot vessel, and then set a large bowl with the batter in it over the water, put a lid on it, and then adjust the YOGURT setting. I have not tried this approach, and my batter fermented just fine without doing all that. Feel free to give it a try if you would like.