The dosa batter has failed for the second time in this apartment. I even tried a second full-proof recipe, using baking soda as a “helper” to allow the batter to ferment. It’s been said that rice and dried lentils naturally have enzymes in them that allow for fermentation, so I cannot understand what exactly is going wrong. I tossed my old fenugreek seeds and thought that it might help to buy new ones, yet still, nothing. Twelve hours in the Instant Pot under “yogurt” mode, and still nothing. I tested some dry active yeast to see if it was still alive, tossed it into the dosa batter, and the batter started to bubble and rise… but the idlis once put into their little molds and steamed did not even rise the slightest. I was so deflated today. However, the taste seems pretty accurate, though.

I’m convinced that the real issue is that there is not enough natural bacteria in the air in this apartment to get the fermentation going. Maybe the old (actually, old in age) apartment was just better suited for that.