Fermented batters suit the hills: they keep, they digest easily and the sourness balances heavy, sweet dishes. Millets have no gluten, so a millet batter depends on the urad dal for body and on fermentation for lift and tang. Read the boxes first: the temperature advice matters more than any quantity.
Mandua
Finger millet. Deep cocoa-brown and nutty, and the richest of the millets in calcium. Gives body and flavour to dosa and uttapam, where the rice supplies crispness.
Jhangora
Barnyard millet. Small, pale and quick to cook. Gives a light, fluffy crumb, so it suits idli and appam.
How a millet batter works
Naturally present lactic acid bacteria, mainly Leuconostoc mesenteroides followed by Lactobacillus species, grow first in the soaked and ground batter. They make lactic acid, which brings the pH down to about 4.5 and gives the tang, and some gas. Wild yeasts add carbon dioxide, which lifts the batter. The ground urad dal is sticky and traps the gas; it is what makes a gluten-free batter rise. The cold water used for grinding keeps these organisms alive, and mixing by hand adds more.
Incubating in a cool hill kitchen
The cultures work best at 28–32 °C, and above about 40 °C they die. In a hill kitchen at 15–20 °C, the switched-off oven with its light on is a good incubator; check it with a thermometer. Do not preheat the oven for this. Many ovens cannot be set below 50 °C, which would kill the batter. A closed box or cool-bag with a jar of warm water also works.
Mandua and rice dosa
Brown, crisp and slightly sour
Finger millet gives a dark, nutty, mineral-rich dosa. The rice makes it crisp and the urad makes it rise.
Ingredients
- 200 g parboiled or idli rice
- 150 g whole mandua, rinsed
- 100 g dehusked urad dal
- 1 tsp (5 g) fenugreek seeds
- 10–12 g salt
- Oil or ghee for the tava
Method
- Soak rice with the fenugreek, the mandua and the urad in three separate bowls for 6 h.
- Grind the urad with about 120 ml ice-cold water in short bursts until light and fluffy, roughly doubling in volume. The batter should stay cool. Grind rice and mandua together to a fine, slightly grainy paste.
- Combine the batters with your hand for 2 min, adding the salt, to a pouring consistency.
- Ferment covered until risen by half and pleasantly sour: 10–14 h at 28–32 °C, or 18–24 h in a cool hill kitchen. See the incubator note below.
- Heat a tava on medium-high until drops of water sizzle and vanish within a second or two. If they skate about in beads the pan is too hot: wipe it with a damp cloth. Rub with oil (a halved onion on a fork works well), pour 80 ml batter and spread thin. Drizzle 1 tsp oil round the edge and cook 2 min until crisp. No need to flip.
Ratio: this batter is about 2 : 1.5 : 1 of rice, mandua and urad by weight. Equal parts of all three give a thicker, softer, stickier batter, which suits uttapam better than a crisp dosa. For a crisper dosa add 2 tbsp thick poha to the rice grind.
Mandua uttapam with hill toppings
The thick, soft cousin of the dosa
Use the dosa batter without thinning it. The topping cooks into the surface, and jambu ghee finishes it.
Ingredients
- 500 ml risen mandua dosa batter (half the dosa recipe), thick enough to mound slightly on a spoon
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 2 green chillies, minced
- Chopped coriander leaf
- Oil for the tava
- 1 tbsp ghee and ½ tsp jambu
Method
- Heat the tava over medium heat, a little lower than for dosa. Wipe with oil.
- Pour 60 ml batter and spread gently to a 12 cm round, 6–8 mm thick. Scatter 2 tbsp of the topping and press it in lightly.
- Drizzle 1 tsp oil round the edge, cover and cook 2 min. Flip and cook 2 min more until the base is golden and the middle set.
- Warm the ghee, take it off the heat, stir in the jambu, and brush a little over each uttapam.
Jhangora idli
A soft, millet-forward steamed cake
Barnyard millet replaces rice completely and gives a lighter, drier idli with a delicate sweetness.
Ingredients
- 300 g jhangora, rinsed
- 100 g dehusked urad dal
- 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 10 g salt
- Oil for the idli moulds
Method
- Soak the jhangora 4–5 h, the urad with fenugreek 4 h.
- Grind the urad with 100 ml ice-cold water until it is a fluffy foam. Grind the jhangora to a fine semolina texture, slightly gritty.
- Mix with the salt, gently, and ferment 8–12 h until risen and sour-smelling.
- Stir once, lightly, and fill oiled moulds three-quarters full. Steam without the weight, 12–14 min at this altitude. Rest 5 min before turning out.
Why without the weight: with the weight on, the cooker builds pressure and cooks the idlis hotter and wetter than they need. Without it, steam moves freely at about 95 °C here, which is why steaming takes a minute or two longer than at sea level. Ratio: 3 : 1 millet to urad by weight gives a light, slightly drier idli; 2 : 1 (200 g urad) gives a softer, richer one. Try 2 : 1 first if you like a soft idli.
Timur and coconut appam
Lacy edge, soft white centre
The small spoonful of jaggery is there to feed the yeast, not to sweeten the batter. The timur goes in after fermentation so its aroma stays bright.
Ingredients
- 250 g raw rice, soaked 5 h
- 50 g mandua flour
- 60 g cooked rice or cooked jhangora, for a soft, starchy centre
- 100 g fresh grated coconut
- 8 g jaggery (about 1 tsp)
- A pinch (about ¼ tsp) instant yeast
- 5 g salt
- 60 ml thick coconut milk
- ¼ tsp timur, freshly ground
- About 300 ml water
Method
- Grind rice, mandua flour, cooked rice, coconut and jaggery with the yeast and water to a smooth batter, thinner than a dosa batter, like thin cream.
- Ferment covered 8–10 h until bubbly.
- Before cooking, stir in the salt, coconut milk and timur.
- Heat a small curved pan (appachatty) or kadai, lightly oiled. Pour 60 ml batter, lift and swirl so the edge thins and the centre stays thick. Cover and cook about 2 min until the edge is crisp and the centre set.
Roasted bhang and galgal chutney
Nutty, sour and green
Hemp seeds roasted dry become deeply nutty, like toasted sesame. Galgal juice supplies a sharp, floral acidity.
Ingredients
- 60 g hemp seeds
- 2 green chillies
- 1 cm ginger
- 1 clove garlic (optional)
- 15 g coriander leaf
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) galgal or lemon juice
- ½ tsp salt
- 60–80 ml cold water
Method
- Dry-roast the seeds in a pan over medium-low heat for 3 min, stirring, until fragrant. Cool.
- Pulse everything with cold water in short bursts to a thick, slightly textured paste. Taste for salt and sourness.
- Eat within 2 days, kept covered in the refrigerator.
Pahadi sambar with a jambu and jakhiya tadka
Dal, hill vegetables, tamarind and a wild-seed finish
A sambar is a vegetable and dal stew, soured with tamarind. The tadka of jambu and jakhiya gives it a Kumaoni finish; add them off the heat so the jambu does not burn.
Ingredients
- Stew
- 100 g toor dal, rinsed
- 400 ml water, plus 400 ml for the vegetables
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 300 g pumpkin, radish and carrot, in 3 cm pieces
- 20 g tamarind soaked in 150 ml warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp jaggery (optional)
- Sambar powder
- 1 tbsp coriander seed
- 2 dried red chillies
- ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp chana dal
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- ½ tsp cumin seed
- Tadka
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp jakhiya
- ½ tsp jambu
- 1 dried red chilli
- A pinch of asafoetida
- 8 curry leaves
Method
- Pressure cook the dal with 400 ml water and turmeric 12–15 min after full pressure, until it mashes easily. Whisk to a smooth purée.
- Dry-roast the sambar spices together on low heat for 2–3 min until fragrant and the dal turns a shade darker. Cool and grind fresh.
- Simmer the vegetables in 400 ml water for 12 min. Squeeze and strain the tamarind into the pot with the salt and jaggery, and boil 8 min.
- Add the dal and the sambar powder and simmer gently 10 min, loosening with water to a pourable stew.
- Warm the ghee until it melts, add jakhiya until it crackles, then the chilli, asafoetida and curry leaves. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the jambu, and pour over the sambar.
Gahat rasam
Horse gram stock, tamarind and pepper
Kollu rasam is a classic of Tamil Nadu and horse gram is the same pulse as gahat. The cooking water carries the flavour, so keep it.
Ingredients
- Stock
- 100 g gahat, soaked 8–10 h
- 800 ml water
- 20 g tamarind soaked in 200 ml warm water
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- Rasam powder
- 1 tbsp coriander seed
- 1 tsp cumin seed
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 dried red chillies
- Tempering
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp jakhiya or mustard seeds
- A pinch of asafoetida
- 8 curry leaves
Method
- Pressure cook the gahat with the water, turmeric and salt 25 min after full pressure, until soft. Strain, keeping the liquid; mash a spoonful of the beans back in.
- Toast the powder spices together in a dry pan for 2 min until fragrant. Cool and grind fresh.
- Squeeze the tamarind, strain, and bring to a simmer with tomatoes and garlic for 8 min. Add the gahat liquid and the powder. Simmer gently, never boil hard, for 10 min.
- Warm the ghee, add jakhiya until it crackles, then asafoetida and curry leaves. Pour over the rasam.
Fermentation guide
Signs of success: volume up by half, many fine bubbles, a clean sour and yeasty smell. Discard any batter that is pink or orange, slimy, fuzzy or smells rotten rather than sour. Salt at about 1.5–2% of batter weight, mixed in at the start or just before cooking. Time: up to twice as long in a cool kitchen.
Why millets here
Millets are rich in minerals, and soaking and fermenting reduces phytic acid, which may improve how well the body takes them up. Fermentation also produces some B vitamins. The effects are modest and vary with the grain and the method, so see the ferment as a flavour and texture tool first.