Idli

By Chanchal    |    Sep 13, 2011 | Posted in: Lentils     |    6 Comments

My apologies for not posting for long. Last week was very hectic at work and on the weekend had been to Stockholm. Had a really nice time there and the weather was also kind.

While on a Taxi, I chatted with the taxi driver about Indian food in Stockholm and asked him about his favorite Indian Restaurants. To my surprise he said he doesn’t go to Indian Restaurants much as he thinks they cheat and don’t serve the real Indian food. Well I always thought the same but was surprised to know that non-Indians also think the same. Here in Malmö I have tried almost all Indian restaurants and will say that very few come close to preparing actual authentic Indian dish. To me Indian food is not about how hot it is but how well the spices are well blended. So one can compromise while adding chili powder to a curry but shouldn’t compromise with the spices.

Now coming to idli – no introduction required for this dish. A popular dish from south India and is just perfect for breakfast.

Fermentation time: 12 hours
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• Urad dal: 1 cup
• Idli rava: 2 cups
• Cooked rice: 1/2 cup
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• salt to taste

Preparation

1. Wash and soak urad dal and fenugreek seeds in one bowl and idli rava in another bowls with water for at least 6 hours.
2. Drain and grind the ural dal, fenugreek seeds in a blender or wet grinder to a very fine paste by adding very little water.
3. Squeeze out water from the idli rava. Grind the cooked rice and 2-3 tablespoon of idli rava to a fine paste.
4. Mix all together, add salt and beat well. The consistency of batter must not be too watery or too thick.
5. Pour the batter into a big vessel, cover it with a lid and keep it in a warm place for overnight fermentation. Usually by morning the batter will be doubled.
6. If staying in cold places, then switch on the oven for 10 minutes. Then switch it off and keep the vessel inside the oven overnight. The warmness inside the oven helps the batter to fermentation faster. Keep it like this for at-least 12 hours. If still the batter has not fermented enough then repeat the process of switching on and off of oven. Within one hour the batter will be ready.
7. Take the idli maker. Fill it with some water and heat it up.
8. While the water is heating grease the idli maker plates with some oil and fill with idli batter.
9. Place the idli stand with filled plates in the vessel with boiling water. Cover tightly and steam cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.
10. Note: The plates of the idli stand should be in such a way that the three holes of the top plate are positioned on top of the idli batter of below plate.
11. After 15 minutes touch one idli, if it doesn’t stick to your fingers then its done. Otherwise steam it for another 2-3 minutes.
12. Serve idlis with Sambar and coconut chutney.

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