Idly

Idli

 What is idli and how is it made?

Idli is soft and round, steamed savoury fluff ball made from rice and lentil batter.  Black gram/urad dal is used for the batter.  The batter is fermented overnight, basically for a period of six to eight hours.  Idli is the traditional breakfast in South India.  This dish is not only famous in India but worldwide. This dish is very safe as it is steamed and makes for a very healthy breakfast. This dish is accompanied with sambar a dish made with lentis, tamarind, coconut, and vegetable and coconut chutney.

How to make the batter of idli

There are two ways we can prepare the batter for idly:

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   In the first method we use idli rice/pre-boiled rice and raw rice in equal quantities and urad dal/black gram (dehusked).  This batter can be used to make dosas also.  Pre-boiled rice is used so that the batter can be used to make both idli and dosa.

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    In the second method we will use idli rava. Idli rava is coarsely ground idli rice. Since idly rice is not available in some places that easily the rava is used to make idli.  When using idli rava we can only make idli in that batter and not dosas as was the case when we used the first method for making the batter.

We are now going to make the batter using the first method.

Ingredients for the batter

• -       2 cups of  idli rice
• -       2 cups of raw rice
• -       1 ¼ heaped cup of urad dal (dehusked black gram)
• -       ½ teaspoon  of fenugreek seed (methi seed )
• -       Salt to taste

Method

• -Soak the four cups of rice in fairly large vessel for around four hours after washing them thoroughly.
• -Wash the dal separately till the water clears up. Soak the dal for not more than an hour. Add the fenugreek seed with the dal.
• -Once they have been soaked for the said time, grind the dal first till it is fluffy. When grinding the dal use cold water.  The dal batter will be fluffier. Then grind the rice to a coarse consistency.
• -Mix the ground dal and rice batter.  Add salt to taste.
• -If you have a wet grinder use it or we can also use the mixer grinder.
• -Set aside in a warm place for six to eight hours for fermentation.

Why is fermentation so important?

Fermentation is the key factor for soft and fluffy idly. Fermentation is best done overnight six to eight hours at the best.  For fermentation to happen the batter must be kept in a warm place. If you live in a country that very cold then I suggest the use of oven.  We can preheat the oven at a low temperature or ten to fifteen minutes at a temperature of 80 to 90 degrees Celsius.  If you don’t want the batter to get sour do not put salt when making the batter.  Let the batter ferment without the salt.  Add the salt when you are just about to prepare the dish.

How to make idly

• -Take the fermented batter and check the consistency.  The batter should not be too thick otherwise the idly will become very dense.  If the batter is too runny the idly will fall flat.
• -Grease the idly pan preferably with sesame seed oil as it imparts good taste to the idly and also avoids the batter from sticking to the idly pan.
• -Take water in the pressure cooker and keep the idly stand in the cooker and steam the idly for approximately 12 minutes.
• -Shut down the gas and let the idly sit in the cooker for a further three minutes before opening the lid.
• -Your soft and fluffy idly will be ready.
• -Enjoy the idly with sambar, chutney and spicy idly podi.

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