Despite having a plethora of cultures and cuisines to pick from, a quintessential breakfast in most Indian homes includes either a crisp hot dosa, or steaming white pillows of idli. While the batter for these is arguably best made at home, the bitter truth is that making it from scratch is a time-consuming affair that is definitely not ideal for lazy or time-constrained cooks. In a quest to make your mornings stress- and mess-free while still keeping them tasty, we list out some of the best sources across the country to buy ready-made or pre-mixed batter with minimal fuss. What makes these unique is that they go beyond the classic rice-based batters, and each of their batters are made with all-natural products, incorporating healthier, and in some cases tastier, grains.
Mumbai-based Dr Sangita Garg, more commonly known as Atta Girl, has taken over most kitchens in the city. Instead of painstakingly fussing over dosa batter, opt for her popular multigrain batter, or perhaps even her unique vegetable-based batters. There's also an appam batter, Kanchipuram idli batter and ragi batter to choose from, if you're looking for a change from the classic-rice based batters. The shelf life for these is about three to five days upon refrigeration, and they can be purchased over Scootsy, Big Basket and her Instagram page.
India's capital city loves their parathas and puris, leaving restaurants as the only option for those looking for homemade South Indian fare. Hema's South Indian—helmed by a mother-daughter duo based in GK2 who specialise in homemade batter and masala powders—has quickly become Delhi's answer to healthy nutritious South Indian food in the comfort of your own home. The batters are made fresh everyday, having been fermented the night before without any yeast or preservatives, and they're all family recipes passed down by generations. Apart from the dosa, idli and uttapam batters, they also make appam batter, a special adai dosa batter that is made from four different types of dals, and ragi batter. While they deliver all across Delhi, they also package the batters in case they need to be taken on flight, since their customers sometimes transport them to Amritsar and Ludhiana. These batters have a shelf life of four to five days, and need to be refrigerated. Tel: 09818093238
Bengaluru is chock-full of the most incredible dosas you can ever find, with almost every household making them fresh each morning. If you're not part of these homes, or have no time or inclination to laboriously ferment your own batter, Paaka can serve as the answer to all your batter woes. Here, every batch of batter is hygienically made by machines at their manufacturing unit using organic crops and RO purified water, without any compromise on the taste or texture. While they do offer traditional rice batters, their millet and multi-millet dosa batters are a unique formulation that's healthier and lighter to digest. While the rice batter is ideal for both idlis and dosas, the multi-millet batter is perfect for both dosas and paniyarams. The brand is only a year old, and has plans of expansion that include more batters like pesarattu and adai batters. They're available on online portals like Big Basket, Doodhwalla and Town Essentials, and at select stores of Godrej Nature's Basket, Big Bazaar and Nilgiri. Their batters need to be refrigerated and have a shelf life of seven days.
When it comes to innovative batter mixes, Slurrp Farm is possibly the best. Not only do they have the coolest cartoon-themed colourful packages, but their millet dosa mix, with healthy grains and a choice of spinach or beetroot, is a great way to sneak all the good stuff into your morning meals. Not only are they perfect for fussy children, the brand also offers a super grains pancake mix with either chocolate, or banana and choco chips for those wanting to cook a more Westernised breakfast at home. Each mix, whether pancake or dosa, has no additional colour, preservatives or stabilisers, and is available online via Amazon, Big Basket and other portals available on their website. Slurrpfarm.com
Despite facing skepticism, ID Fresh Foods has become a go-to for several people who need batter mixes but won't compromise on taste or quality. With conveniently designed ready-made packets, their product line includes whole wheat oats idli, rava dosa and idli, and rice rava idli batters. Their website lists out nutritional facts and ingredients, and provides step-by-step instructions for cooking, and the brand is available in most Southern cities as well as Mumbai, Pune and even Dubai. Idfreshfood.com