Its always amazing to wake up to a cup of aromatic steaming coffee, and a plate of hot idlis, sambar and chutney... But to know you've to make it for yourself if you need to eat it.. and that requires you to wake up to an empty kitchen in the morning... aaahh the terrors of adult life.
Getting back to the topic, the best idlis I've had, are the ones my mother in law
makes. In my husbands place, breakfast means idly. And a long queue of side dishes/ chutneys. Everyone at home has their idlis steaming hot, except for me and my then 2 yr old (duh... i know)
So here I'm, on a cold morning, munching on my cold granola, and dreaming of hot idlis. Let me share the magic batter recipe.
I have used both a mixer grinder and a wet grinder for grinding the batter, and I personally prefer the wet grinder, as I make it in large batches to last an entire week. When we use the mixie to grind the batter, there are some small tweaks and tips to follow, to get the same fluffy batter. Please make sure to read the tips section at the end of the recipe.
Ingredients required:
Idly rice - 3 cups
Urad dal - 1 cup
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - 1.5 tsp
Cooked rice - 2 tbsp (optional depending on idly rice quality)
Poha / flat rice - 2 tbsp (optional)
Lets get grinding:
Wash and soak the rice and dal separately. Add fenugreek seeds with dal for soaking. Use drinking water for soaking them, as we will be using the same water for grinding the batter. After 3 to 4 hours of soaking, drain.
Wash the grinder drum, and switch on the grinder empty. Add the urad dal-fenugreek mixture to the grinder little by little. Add half a cup of the soaking water initially. Then after every ten min, add 1/2 to 3/4th cups of water and grind. When you add water in increments, the urad dal fluffs up well. you can add a total of 2 cups of water. But make sure you add in small increments throughout the dal grinding process (which may last up to half an hour). After the urad dal is fully ground, and becomes a soft, homogenous mass of froth and batter, remove the fluffed up beauty into a big vessel (big enough to accommodate the risen up idly batter).
Now add 2 cups of water to the emptied grinder drum, and run it. Add the soaked idly rice gradually to the water, with the grinder on. Make sure to add it slowly, so the grinder doesn't get stuck. Add half to 1 cup of water more. Do remember that we can always add water, we cant remove it. So add as less water as you can to grind the rice batter without jamming the grinder. Grind it to a gritty batter. It should feel like fine semolina to touch. Now add 1.5 tsp of salt. grind for a min more, and switch off the grinder. Remove batter and add it to the dal batter. Now comes the main part. Mix it with hand. Yes, get them dirty with batter. Trust me, its worth it. The explanation for this part involves bacteria. I'll leave the rest to your imagination and of course... to google.
When you mix the batter, you'll notice that the rice part sinks in and the fluffy dal stays up. so you'll mix it from bottom to top and not in random circles. Add half cup more water if the batter is thicker. Make sure you don't add too much water. Mix well. Now try to scrape off all the batter from the sides of the vessel. Cover with a lid and let it rest for 6 to 8 hours.
6 hours in summer and up to 9 hours in Indian winters. Now if you stay in a colder place, away from home, like me, you might want to leave the batter in your oven with the oven light on.
Works like a charm.
Use an idly steamer, and coat the moulds with a bit of oil (personally i prefer, rough looking, oil less idlis) steam the idlis for not more than ten min. When the batter is in the right consistency, not thin, not thick,,, it'll be done in ten min. Stick a toothpick in an idly to ensure its cooked in the middle. Remove the idly moulds from the steamer carefully. And then demould the lovely, pearly white, soft, cloudy idlis after a min. And devour with hot chutney, or sambar of your choice.
Now the tips:
1. Use good quality, whole ural dal for the batter. The split urad dal that is commonly used for tadka(or thaalippu) doesnt work as great.
2. If you soak idly rice longer, it forms a slimy, starchy layer. we don't want that. so wash your idly rice very well, until the water runs clear. and soak it for 3 to 4 hours only.
3. If you're using a mixie instead of grinder, you can add ice cold water while pulsing the urad dal. It'll ensure the batter doesn't fall flat due to the heat from the mixie blades. You can add ice cubes when grinding in grinder too, for fluffier batter.
4. As i mentioned in the previous point, pulsing, not grinding. Pulse the dal in 20 second intervals.
5. Depending on the quality of the rice and urad dal,
(a) the idlis may turn out hard inside and out. If and when that happens, dont worry. Grind a couple tablespoons of cooked rice and add to the batter and mix. let it sit. And ta daa, soft idlis.
(b) the idlis are hard inside with a sticky wet surface. In this case, soak a couple tablespoons of poha, and grind along with the rice next time. And keep an eye on the water you add while grinding the batter too.
If you have any doubts/queries, being the idly ambassador that I've become now, i can clear them up for you :) Now you want me to just come there and deliver the batter, don't you guys?
Get off your lazy bums and make some hot breakfast for yourself... (insert pep talk here ;D)
pic courtesy: babisrecipes
Getting back to the topic, the best idlis I've had, are the ones my mother in law
makes. In my husbands place, breakfast means idly. And a long queue of side dishes/ chutneys. Everyone at home has their idlis steaming hot, except for me and my then 2 yr old (duh... i know)
So here I'm, on a cold morning, munching on my cold granola, and dreaming of hot idlis. Let me share the magic batter recipe.
I have used both a mixer grinder and a wet grinder for grinding the batter, and I personally prefer the wet grinder, as I make it in large batches to last an entire week. When we use the mixie to grind the batter, there are some small tweaks and tips to follow, to get the same fluffy batter. Please make sure to read the tips section at the end of the recipe.
Ingredients required:
Idly rice - 3 cups
Urad dal - 1 cup
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - 1.5 tsp
Cooked rice - 2 tbsp (optional depending on idly rice quality)
Poha / flat rice - 2 tbsp (optional)
Lets get grinding:
Wash and soak the rice and dal separately. Add fenugreek seeds with dal for soaking. Use drinking water for soaking them, as we will be using the same water for grinding the batter. After 3 to 4 hours of soaking, drain.
Wash the grinder drum, and switch on the grinder empty. Add the urad dal-fenugreek mixture to the grinder little by little. Add half a cup of the soaking water initially. Then after every ten min, add 1/2 to 3/4th cups of water and grind. When you add water in increments, the urad dal fluffs up well. you can add a total of 2 cups of water. But make sure you add in small increments throughout the dal grinding process (which may last up to half an hour). After the urad dal is fully ground, and becomes a soft, homogenous mass of froth and batter, remove the fluffed up beauty into a big vessel (big enough to accommodate the risen up idly batter).
Now add 2 cups of water to the emptied grinder drum, and run it. Add the soaked idly rice gradually to the water, with the grinder on. Make sure to add it slowly, so the grinder doesn't get stuck. Add half to 1 cup of water more. Do remember that we can always add water, we cant remove it. So add as less water as you can to grind the rice batter without jamming the grinder. Grind it to a gritty batter. It should feel like fine semolina to touch. Now add 1.5 tsp of salt. grind for a min more, and switch off the grinder. Remove batter and add it to the dal batter. Now comes the main part. Mix it with hand. Yes, get them dirty with batter. Trust me, its worth it. The explanation for this part involves bacteria. I'll leave the rest to your imagination and of course... to google.
When you mix the batter, you'll notice that the rice part sinks in and the fluffy dal stays up. so you'll mix it from bottom to top and not in random circles. Add half cup more water if the batter is thicker. Make sure you don't add too much water. Mix well. Now try to scrape off all the batter from the sides of the vessel. Cover with a lid and let it rest for 6 to 8 hours.
6 hours in summer and up to 9 hours in Indian winters. Now if you stay in a colder place, away from home, like me, you might want to leave the batter in your oven with the oven light on.
Works like a charm.
Use an idly steamer, and coat the moulds with a bit of oil (personally i prefer, rough looking, oil less idlis) steam the idlis for not more than ten min. When the batter is in the right consistency, not thin, not thick,,, it'll be done in ten min. Stick a toothpick in an idly to ensure its cooked in the middle. Remove the idly moulds from the steamer carefully. And then demould the lovely, pearly white, soft, cloudy idlis after a min. And devour with hot chutney, or sambar of your choice.
Now the tips:
1. Use good quality, whole ural dal for the batter. The split urad dal that is commonly used for tadka(or thaalippu) doesnt work as great.
2. If you soak idly rice longer, it forms a slimy, starchy layer. we don't want that. so wash your idly rice very well, until the water runs clear. and soak it for 3 to 4 hours only.
3. If you're using a mixie instead of grinder, you can add ice cold water while pulsing the urad dal. It'll ensure the batter doesn't fall flat due to the heat from the mixie blades. You can add ice cubes when grinding in grinder too, for fluffier batter.
4. As i mentioned in the previous point, pulsing, not grinding. Pulse the dal in 20 second intervals.
5. Depending on the quality of the rice and urad dal,
(a) the idlis may turn out hard inside and out. If and when that happens, dont worry. Grind a couple tablespoons of cooked rice and add to the batter and mix. let it sit. And ta daa, soft idlis.
(b) the idlis are hard inside with a sticky wet surface. In this case, soak a couple tablespoons of poha, and grind along with the rice next time. And keep an eye on the water you add while grinding the batter too.
If you have any doubts/queries, being the idly ambassador that I've become now, i can clear them up for you :) Now you want me to just come there and deliver the batter, don't you guys?
Get off your lazy bums and make some hot breakfast for yourself... (insert pep talk here ;D)
pic courtesy: babisrecipes
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