1. If you do not have have Poha (flattened rice) you can use 1 cup cooked rice. I have used cooked basmati rice as well as cooked boiled rice with good results. [br]2. The batter should not be runny and it should not be very thick either - slightly thinner than the pancake batter. [br]3. Grind the batter to very smooth consistency.[br]4. You can soak rice and udad separately as some people do, but I do not. [br]5. The pot that you use to store the batter to ferment should be big enough to hold the fermented batter. A good rule of thumb would be to have the pot twice as large as the amount of your batter. This would ensure that there is enough space for the batter to rise up. [br]6. In India, during winter, I used to keep the batter on top of my voltage stabilizer to provide warmth for the batter to rise. In the US, I keep it in the oven with lights turned on.