Idli, steamed cakes made of fermented rice and lentils, are a South Indian staple.
These fluffy, soft dumplings are one of my daughter’s favorite breakfast foods.
She eats them with sambar, a lentil-based vegetable stew.
Photo: Pooja Makhijani
This idli recipe is adapted from my former mother-in-law’s many emails and texts over the years.
As with any fermented foods, making idli is a process.
The coconut chutney recipe is adapted from my mother’s.
The marriage ended, but the recipes remained.
My daughter and I moved in with my parents and South Indian breakfasts became de rigueur.
Food writing about grandmother cooking is sometimes considered cliched!
Transfer to a large bowl and generously cover with filtered water.
Place urad gota in the colander and rinse with cold water.
Transfer to a medium bowl and add fenugreek seeds; generously cover with filtered water.
Drain the rice and lentils, reserving 1 cup of the soaking liquid from the lentils.
The batter should be fairly thick.
Transfer to a large bowl.
Repeat this process with the soaked rice, cooked rice and 1/4 cup soaking water.
Add more water, if needed, to create a smooth, fairly thick batter with a slight grittiness.
Transfer to the bowl with the lentil batter.
Use your hands to combine the lentil and rice batters.
Stir 2 teaspoons salt into the batter.
The batter should be thick and fluffy but pourable, like a thick smoothie.
Add water in tablespoon increments, if needed.
Add 2 inches of water to a large pot; bring to a boil.
Coat the plates of an idli stand with cooking spray.
Fill each depression with a scant 3 tablespoons batter.
Stack the idli plates on the stand and transfer to the pot.
Cover and steam over medium heat until firm, about 12 minutes.
Remove the stand from the pot and let cool for 4 minutes.
Unmold the idli using a wet spoon.
Repeat with the remaining batter.
Cut the resulting large idli into wedges to serve.)
Transfer to a medium bowl.
Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Remove from heat and stir in whole red chiles and curry leaves to taste.
Pour the hot mixture over the chutney.
Serve the idli warm or at room temperature with the chutney on the side.
It’s important to use filtered water for soaking the rice and lentils, as chlorine will inhibit fermentation.
- Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient.
