Millet idli dosa batter with barnyard millet prepared in mixie. Millets like kuthiraivali, samai, varagu can be easily replaced for rice, turns out good.

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It took so long for me to try using millets thinking if folks at home would like or not. I usually grind for regular idli dosa with 4 cups rice and use it for 3-4 days. This time instead I ground with millets with only half the quantity.
Also, I tried grinding in mixie instead of grinder. My idea was first to try dosa alone, so thought of grinding in mixie as quantity also less. But later after making dosa, I thought to try out idli too and it was soft, so I was double happy.
I had to finish off the organic millets I got from Bhairavi naturals too, so this was best way to use it up in bulk.
💭 Top tip
If you feel urad dal is not good quality, you can include ¼ cup of poha/ aval while soaking millet.
Don't have aval? Tip in ¼ cup cooked rice while grinding. However, do not add more than that, as it will make the dosa stick to pan.
You can also add ¼ cup sago (tapioca pearls) along rice while soaking.
GOES WELL WITH
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Recipe card
Millet dosa, idli recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Barnyard millet
- ½ cup Urad dal whole, white
- ¼ teaspoon Methi/ vendhayam/ fenugreek seeds Optional
- Salt
Instructions
- Soak both millet and urad dal (with methi seeds) separately for 3 hrs. I kept urad dal in fridge for an hour after 2 hrs of soaking. This prevents the mixier jar getting heated. Also more volume of batter.
- First grind urad dal, adding water little by little. The consistency should be like a thick cream, it need not be stiff but light and airy. You can see the bubbles in the picture below. I use ice cold water to grind urad dal.
- Grind millet draining water almost completely. It may not need water so add carefully otherwise will become watery. You can add salt along with millet while grinding.
- Mix both the ground batter and keep overnight for fermentation. You can see the consistency below, just like regular idli dosa batter. Spoon to idli moulds to make idli.
- Or mix with little water and make dosa.
Notes
- Since we grind in mixie, the batter will be runny before fermentation than the regular batter, but next day it should be okay.
- Careful while adding water to millets while grinding. It may not need much.
- Add water generously while grinding urad dal, the urad dal batter should not be stiff.
- I didn’t add methi seeds. Still it was okay. But adding methi will help in better fermentation.
- You can grind the same in grinder.
📸 Stepwise photos
1. Soak both millet and urad dal (with methi seeds) separately for 3 hrs. I kept urad dal in fridge for an hour after 2 hrs of soaking. This prevents the mixier jar getting heated. Also more volume of batter.
2. First grind urad dal, adding water little by little. The consistency should be like a thick cream, it need not be stiff but light and airy. You can see the bubbles in the picture below. I use ice cold water to grind urad dal.
3. Grind millet draining water almost completely. It may not need water so add carefully otherwise will become watery. You can add salt along with millet while grinding.
4. Mix both the ground millet idli dosa batter and keep overnight for fermentation. You can see the consistency below, just like regular idli dosa batter. Spoon to idli molds to make idli.
5. Or mix with little water and make dosa.
I loved both idli and dosa and both Vj, Aj could not find any difference.
Sundari Nathan
Healthy idli/dosa!! A must try ..
Veena Theagarajan
healthy idli.. I like it too
Sarada
How long can we store this batter?
Raks Anand
Couple of days in fridge. It gets fermented faster than regular ones I feel.
Divs
healthy and wholesome recipe. looks exactly if not better than the regular idli/dosa
sujatha venkat
Wow, healthy dish, my diet is millet varieties nowadays. Now I can prepare idli too. Thanks
Vimitha Anand
Thats a very healthy platter Raks
nithya rajendran
That's a healthy idli/dosa recipe , will try this week, thanku Raks .
Kathleen
What did you eat it with?
Prabha Hari
This is absolutel a healthy dish!!!!!
I luv this!!!!
Will it be soft even after the idli is cooled like the usual one we make with rice...?????
Raks anand
Yes it was soft
Rapabi
Loved it try and give u feed back.... Thanks a ton
Suganya
Can i try this with varagu instead of kuthiravaali?
Raks anand
Yes sure.
Nivedita Thadani
Raks, wow, its just mouthwatering. I am switching to millet, so was searching for the recipes and I got your recipes. cant wait to make it. thanks you.
Harini
Can I use little millet instead of barnyard millet?
Raks anand
Yes sure.
Sharmi
Tried and loved it...
Unknown
Can i use only varagu instead of barnyard millet
Ahalya Manohar
My dosa turned out to be hard even after fermentation.. dint get this golden Color too.. what could have gone wrong?
Raks Kitchen
Sure.
Raks Kitchen
Mix a little more water and try.
Vanilla Sky
It was amazing!! Thanks for uploading this recipe. Have you tried with other millets? were they the same taste?
Anuja Kapase
Do we need to coarse grind the millet...or we need to full grind the millet,???
Raks Anand
I always grind smoothly. I feel grinding coarsely affects texture...
Rev
Hi take,
How many days we can keep this in fridge maximum pls?
Raks Anand
Two days, it gets sour fast.
Meera Rao
Tried for the first time.
Excellent soft idilsand dosa yummmy and golden brown
Thanks for the receipe
Namitha
Can I mix two millets ..1 cup each of foxtail and little millet?
Raks Anand
Yes sure you can.
Namitha
Thanks will try. I made it with little millet and it came out really well. The dosas were quite filling when compared to the normal rice dosas:)
Raks Anand
Indu
Can black urad dal be used instead of whole white urad?if so what is the ratio to be used?
Raks Anand
For dosa you can use same ratio. for Idli I have not tried so, not sure about the ratio sorry.
Sarita Nair
What is the size of your measuring cup ? How many grams millet it can hold ?
Raks Anand
Hi, My one cup holds 240 ml. Here's more details https://rakskitchen.net/cup-measurements/