Well, it would feel like dangling a carrot. I love the vitamix, and justify the $300 cost for a refurbished one, but the lentil thing does not work with smashing the back of a cup.
Basically I use the video recipes on vahrevah.com and I use white (skin removed/split) lentils, plus white medium grain rice (best/cheapest is idli rice). The proportions vary but I do 1:2 lentils to rice. Soak for 3-4 hours, grind separately. The lentil soak water has good bacteria, so use that for any water needs. At this point, the lentil batter plus spices, onion/jalapeņo is ready to fry up into vada, recipe 1 (new to me, watch the video) but you have to soak extra for that. The 1:2 ratio batter is mixed and left on the counter fro 24-36 hours, use a big pot because it acts like sourdough and doubles in size. This batter can be used for idli (microwave idli mold suggested), dosa (thin crepe) and uttapam (thicker vegetable pancake). We used to buy this batter at $2/quart from the Indian store if you have one of these around. South indians eat this all the time, but for our family its always something we got in restaurants so it feels special.
Edit: another great thing is that I can put the batter in the frig for a few weeks. Like sourdough, it gets more sour but I think I've kept it a full month when I went a bit overboard in making extra. Other people even freeze the batter.