Idli
Idli is a favorite South Indian breakfast. All ages enjoy this soft, white 'rice cakes' alike. I still remember my 'ammamas'(grandmom) idlis, they were so soft that it would melt in your mouth and she used to grind using the 'attukal'. I am yet to taste something like that or maybe it is just that I cherish those memories!
Even though it is simple to prepare sometimes it simply does not come out well. The trick is right proportion of rice and urad dal plus perfect fermentation. Indian climate is perfect for fermentation but, when you live in places where the weather is cold you need to activate the fermentation process manually. I live in California and sometimes I keep the batter in a warm oven or just in a warm place. Most people bring Indian grinders specially to grind batter for idly. I have been using American blenders and unless you grind too much and transfer the heat of the appliance to the batter you get great idlis. I allow the blender to cool in between and take my time to grind this, after all it is worth the time.
I use one of the two proportions listed below. Sometimes it is perfect and you simply cannot stop eating and yet sometimes it is a mess.
Using a combo fo raw rice and boiled rice:
4 cups idli rice, 1 cup raw rice, 1 1/2 cup urad dal, 1 tsp fenugreek/methi seeds, add a handful poha /aval or cooked rice while grinding rice.
Soak rice and urad separately for 3-5hrs. Add fenugreek and poha to the rice. The white powder like substance in urad dal is actually natural yeast like it is found on apples and other fruits. When you add them to the urad dal you are hindering the process of fermentation by not allowing the yeast to work its magic with air.
Grind rice a little coarsely and dal well.
Pour them out into a big vessel so that it has enough room to ferment. Dont blend them together. Allow it to ferment for the night and in the morning blend them and add salt. Steam them in idli cookers or microwave cookers for 10 min. Enjoy them with coconut chutney or vada curry or sambar or a little ghee and sugar for kids.
Using just the idli rice:
4 cups idli rice, 1 cup urad dal, fenugreek seeds, poha. Follow the same process as before.
Even though it is simple to prepare sometimes it simply does not come out well. The trick is right proportion of rice and urad dal plus perfect fermentation. Indian climate is perfect for fermentation but, when you live in places where the weather is cold you need to activate the fermentation process manually. I live in California and sometimes I keep the batter in a warm oven or just in a warm place. Most people bring Indian grinders specially to grind batter for idly. I have been using American blenders and unless you grind too much and transfer the heat of the appliance to the batter you get great idlis. I allow the blender to cool in between and take my time to grind this, after all it is worth the time.
I use one of the two proportions listed below. Sometimes it is perfect and you simply cannot stop eating and yet sometimes it is a mess.
Using a combo fo raw rice and boiled rice:
4 cups idli rice, 1 cup raw rice, 1 1/2 cup urad dal, 1 tsp fenugreek/methi seeds, add a handful poha /aval or cooked rice while grinding rice.
Soak rice and urad separately for 3-5hrs. Add fenugreek and poha to the rice. The white powder like substance in urad dal is actually natural yeast like it is found on apples and other fruits. When you add them to the urad dal you are hindering the process of fermentation by not allowing the yeast to work its magic with air.
Grind rice a little coarsely and dal well.
Pour them out into a big vessel so that it has enough room to ferment. Dont blend them together. Allow it to ferment for the night and in the morning blend them and add salt. Steam them in idli cookers or microwave cookers for 10 min. Enjoy them with coconut chutney or vada curry or sambar or a little ghee and sugar for kids.
Using just the idli rice:
4 cups idli rice, 1 cup urad dal, fenugreek seeds, poha. Follow the same process as before.
posted by Bhargavi @ 3:56 PM
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