Idli & Chutney

Idli was a traditional breakfast for people in the southern part of India. But now, its no longer just a South Indian favorite, Idlis are loved and can be found just about anywhere in India. Its now become a common dish made at Indian households. Most often eaten at breakfast or as a snack, Idlis are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambhar, or other accompaniments. Mixtures of crushed dry spices such as milagai podi are the preferred condiment for Idlis eaten on the go.

          Idlis are made with uncooked rice and split black lentil which are soaked separately for at least four hours. Optionally, to improve taste, half a teaspoon of fenugreek seeds are added to the lentils at the time of soaking. They are then ground to a fine paste. It’s then left overnight to ferment. Next day morning you could see the batter has expanded to about 2½ times its original volume. Then are then poured into a mold and cooked by steaming.

I have listed below the ingredients required and the preparation method in a detailed form. I have also included a picture of Idli mold, in case you have not see one. I hope you find this helpful… Please share your feedback.

Ingredients for Idli:

Skinned urad dal, whole - 1 ½ cups of whole,

Par boiled rice – 4 cups

Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Water, as required

Method- to make Idli:
1. Wash and soak  the rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds separately for about 3-4 hours.

2. After 4 hours wash and prepare to grind. You could use a wet grinder or a food processor with wet grinding attachment.

3. First grind the urad dal well until it is light and fluffy. Check in between and add water as required. I usually grind urad dal for about 40 minutes. Then remove the grounded dal from the grinder. The urad dal batter should not be sticky but light and fluffy. Then add the soaked rice and fenugreek seeds along with little water. Do not add too much water in the initial stage of grinding. You have to add water little by little, while it grinds. Now grind rice to a smooth paste. Once rice is ready, add the grounded urad dal to the grounded rice and grind for another 5 minutes so that it gets mixed well. Remove the batter from the wet grinder, add salt and mix well.

4. Now transfer the ground batter into a container and allow it to ferment. Ensure that you fill only up to half in a container and leave it in a warm place to ferment. You must give at least 6-7 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. The batter would have doubled the size, if it has fermented well.

5. The Idlis are cooked by steaming. An Idli pot or Idli steamer is used to cook the Idlis. Grease the Idli plates with oil and pour the ground Idli batter on to the plates. Steam for 10 to 12 minutes. After which remove the plates from the steamer and transfer it in to the serving plate / container.

6. Your soft and spongy Idlis are ready. The Idli can be served with Sambhar / Chutney / Idli podi.

Ingredients for Coconut & Garlic Chutney

Grated coconut – 1 cup

Bengal gram – 1/3 cup

Garlic cloves, whole – 4 to 5 nos

Green chilli – 2 to 3 nos

Oil – 1 tablespoon

Mustard seeds – ¼ teaspoon

Salt to taste

Water as required

Method – to make chutney

Grind all the above ingredients in a fine paste. Then it into a bowl, check and adjust the seasoning. Now splutter some mustard seeds in oil and add to the ground paste.

This can be served as an accompaniment for Idlis/ Dosas.