Idli is a traditional breakfast in South India. Idli is popular throughout India and the neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka. It is a steamed food and it is also easy to digest.
Soaking time – 5 to 6 hours
Time required for fermentation – 8 hours or overnight
Cooking time – 10 to 12 minutes
Serves – 6
Ingredients:
Idli rice – 4 cups
Urad dal ( Black lentil without skin) -1 cup
Fenugreek(Methi) seeds – 1 tsp
Salt as per your taste.
Method:
1. Wash the rice and the urad dal separately until the water runs clear. Soak it in enough water to cover and leave aside for 5 to 6 hours.
2. First grind the urad dal well until it is light and fluffy. Add water little by little while grinding and grind it for at least 40 minutes.Take out the dal batter from the grinder. The urad dal batter has to be light and fluffy.
3. Now add the soaked rice along with 1 tsp of methi (fenugreek) seeds by adding some water. Add water little by little, while it grinds. Grind the rice to a smooth paste. It takes around 25 minutes.
4.Then add the urad dal batter into the ground rice and grind it for another 5 minutes so that the batter would mix evenly.
5. Transfer the batter from the grinder, add salt and mix well. The consistency should be fluffy, when you take the batter using spoon it should fall easily from the spoon. If the batter is thick you can add little water to bring the right consistency.
6. You must give at least 7 to 8 hours for the batter to ferment.This duration may vary depending on the climatic conditions. In winter it may need longer time and in peak summer it may require less time. If it has fermented well, the batter would have raised well.
7. Once the batter is fermented and risen, mix very gently to combine. The urad dal would have risen to the top leaving the rice batter at the bottom so you need to mix it well before making idlis.
8. Pour the batter into the greased idli moulds and steam for 10-12 mins for soft Idlis.
It goes very well with Sambar,Coconut Chutney & Onion chutney , Tomato kurma and even with Idli podi. It’s a common breakfast in South India. Dosa, Onion Uttapam, poori/puri, ven Pongal and Rava Upma are the other breakfasts in South India
Enjoy the soft and delicious Idlis along with your favorite chutney or curries!!!
Tips:
1. In cold countries like Canada,US and Europe, the Idli batter will not get fermented well in the winter season. To get a better fermentation we will keep the Idli batter bowl in the conventional oven by switching on the oven light. Make sure that the oven should not be on,only the light has to be on. Because of the light,the inside of the oven would be warm enough to make the batter well ferment.
2. In some places where you don’t get Idli rice we have a good method to make the idli rice using raw Long grain white rice. Long grain white rice is available everywhere.
3. Take 4 cups of raw long grain white rice and place it in a cooker as shown in the picture.Don’t forget to add enough water ( around 3 to 4 cups) into the cooker before placing the rice bowl. After one whistle reduce the heat to medium. After 30 minutes switch off the stove. Once the steam has reduced completely remove the cooker lid and take out the rice bowl. Pour enough water into the hot rice for soaking. Then you follow the same method which is written in the Idli recipe.
