Hi All I need some help with idli batter. I made the batter on Sunday night and left it in the oven to ferment. Until yesterday evening it did not seem like it had fermented much, so I left it in there for a little longer. Today morning, I checked on the batter and I saw that there was a greyish coating on the top, possibly from the yeast. I have seen this before sometimes and I would just mix the batter in and the idlis would be fine. None of us have had any health issues eating those idlis. But I am very early on in my second pregnancy now and I was just wondering if this was safe to eat. Is the greyish coating normal for batter that is fermenting?
I don't know avout greyish coating..... but all I can say is if the batter doeant smell bad or taste bitter, it is good to be used. Hope someone else clear your doubt of "grey coat".
Pinky, thanks for replying. I don't think the batter smelt funny. I don't know how it tastes, I will probably try in the evening.
Hi peartree it's bad to eat the idlies made from that kind of batter....using yeast for longer time is bad for health....actually I read some where that yeast causes cancer....I'll just write here how I make idli batter...If i want to make idli or dosa for the dinner then I'll soak the rice(2 cups), urdhal(half cup), methi 1 spoon and aval 1 cup in the morning with the hot water and around afternoon I'll ground the batter again with the warm water and I add a big spoonful of previous days batter(it helps in fermenting fast) to the grounded batter and leave it for fermentation and I use it after 4 hours......
Hi Peartree & Pinky6, I have made idli from greyish batter several times and I have had no issues so far. I have done this while I was pregnant too! But, that is my personal experience and I cannot urge you to do it based solely on that because I do not know anything more about this greyish coating. But, Pinky6, just FYI - yeast is not associated with cancer and that must be some rumor that you heard / read. Other than that, I know nothing about whether that batter is good for health or not - so I will refrain from saying anything more. Have a nice weekend! Padhma
Padhma and Pinky Thank you both for your inputs. I have also used the greyish idli batter several times before. Usually, I see that the coating appears when I keep it in the oven to ferment and it would go off when I mixed the batter. I was only concerned now because I am very early in pregnancy and was wondering if it was safe!
Yeast is a kind of protein and has been used for several hundred years. I have never heard about Yeast causing cancer...
