Have you tried making Idli , Dosa or uttappam in U.S

http://www.pepperplate.com/recipes/view.aspx?id=6733390

Yes,this is most favourite recipe of me & my hubby.I likes to prepare idli sambar at home especially on weekend.You can visit http://umarani.in/snacks/idli-sambar-chuteny.html to see how to prepare healthy south indian recipe idli sambar chuteny at home.

I can answer to your question "How you ferment dosa idli dough in winter". Correct proportion of rice and urad dal is very important for proper fermenting along with some other factors. what proportions are you using? And up to how much time you are allowing it to ferment? In cold places, fermentation is a big problem. Sometimes it may take more than 15 hrs!!!! I have experienced it personally. Try making the batter as smooth as possible. While grinding its better to use the same water in which you have soaked the rice and urad dal. You can leave the batter in the oven, with just light on because light will provide heat (light energy is converted into heat energy). Proper temperature is also very imp for fermentation. Usually 30-35 degree Celsius. You can go through the link below where i have written a recipe "How to make crispy and puffy dosas". Hope that helps.

http://www.wikinut.com/how-to-make-crispy-and-puffy-dosas/25wtz_4h/176pi_-h/

Thanks, Panfusine! I'm so excited to try the silicone molds now. What a great idea.

Thank you now to find the urad dal and idli rice. I can't wait to try these. I looked on amazon and saw the idli rice and urad dal but here were so many different kinds. I wouldn't know where to begin. I may try to find an Indian store and get some direction.

Idlies are steamed not baked.. Once the batter rises, all you have to do is to drop spoonfuls of the batter into lightly greased idli pans (which have a lenticular depression), or the silicone molds. place them atop a steaming basket in a skillet with boiling water underneath. Close with a lid & steam them for 10 mins. remove & allow to cool to almost room temp before peeling the silicone molds off or scooping them out of the traditional ones.

Wow, never would have thought that the rise could occur naturally. Amazing, so no baking? They are just kept in the stove and then they are done. Wow!

no extra yeast unless you want to make the idli in a couple of hours instead of the next day.. (the batter rises because of the natural yeast spores in the air.. (I'm sure there is some in teh hands even if scrubbed clean, that help get it going as per the time honored method) The one time I mixed the batter with a ladle, the end result was a flop!

Thanks panfusine, I have silicone cupcake tins will seek out the idli rice and the urad dal. You said yeast, is there yeast added? Or do I just let the rice and urad once ground and mixed sit in the stove all night? Have never done this before am a bit green. They don't bake? I let them sit in the silicone cups all night and they are done?

@ syronai & sdebrango... try using silicone cupcake molds for Idli they turn out fabulously!.. you can get the pans at any Patel grocery Indian store in the NYC area, I'm pretty sure Kalustyans wld carry it..

I make Idli & dosa every week, my kids love them.. try getting the 'idli rice' from the indian grocery.. (it looks kinda parboiled in appearance) and whole urad dal.. proportion... 3 cups of rice to 1 urad.
Soak for 3-4 hrs & grind them separately. add salt to taste & mix them together.. (I may not sound dainty, but do try mixing the batters well by hand, it kick starts the yeast inoculation I think!)..switch on the light in the oven and place the batter inside to rise overnight..

I remember seeing a post or pickle somewhere here that mentioned the idli pan, I have never tried these and they sound so wonderful. I am guessing you have to have a special pan to make them. Can you post the recipe? I am sure somewhere in NYC or the surrounding area there is an idli pan that I can buy.

I've tried dosa and idli a couple of times. I don't have an idli pan, so those didn't turn out so well. (Aebleskiver pan won't work, but it was worth a try!) The dosa work better and I'd love to see your recipe for those, PaulJoseph! I always buy my ingredients at the local Indian grocery in the University of Washington district. Their lentils are good quality and come directly from India. I haven't had trouble getting the batter to ferment, but I did keep it near the oven and I do a lot of baking in the winter so it stays warm. If you have trouble with it, susan g's technique of leaving it in a barely warm oven will work. The main trouble I have with the batter is grinding the whole soaked grains fine enough. But my food processor gets mostly there eventually and next time I try it, I intend to give it a whirl in my VitaMix.

I have tried several times, several recipes, soaking rice and dal, blending them together -- has come out heavy and coarse. Better results with mixes (imported from India) -- so any help you can give (better recipe, better technique) would be wonderful. Meanwhile, I'm happy to have found a restaurant with wonderful dosa. I haven't had idli yet, so I will try it there. There are tricks to encourage fermentation involve creating a warm moist place, similar to letting bread dough to rise -- such as putting the bowl in a closed oven with the light on (low heat) or barely warming the oven.