Inside our morning batter run

Our fresh kodo millet dosa batter is sold only in Mysuru, because it is made every day and has to reach kitchens before breakfast. Here is how a batch of about 300 kilos comes together.

At noon, Revanna and Lakshmi measure the day’s grain: four parts kodo millet to one part urad dal, with a handful of fenugreek seeds and a little beaten rice for softness. Millet and dal soak separately in steel drums of filtered water for about six hours. We change the water once in the afternoon.

Grinding starts at 7 pm in two large wet grinders with stone rollers. The urad dal goes first, ground with cold water until it is light and airy, which takes about 25 minutes. The millet is ground a little coarser. Both are mixed by hand with rock salt and left to ferment overnight in covered steel vessels. Mysuru nights are mild most of the year, so eight to ten hours is enough; in December and January it takes a little longer.

By 5 am the batter has risen and smells pleasantly sour. We taste a test dosa from every vessel, then pack it into 1 kg food-grade tubs, label them with the date and load the vans by 6.30 am. Batter keeps for three to four days in the fridge. Orders placed before 9 pm reach Saraswathipuram, Kuvempunagar, Vijayanagar and most of the city before 8 am the next morning.