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Ingredients
- For a soft and fluffy idli use fresh ingredients and eat them as soon as possible.
- FOR IDLI 75 MINI IDLIS
- 3 cups parboiled Idli rice also called Idli Pulangal Arisi
- 1 cup Urad dal (hulled split bengal gram thats entirely white in color)
- 2 teaspoons kitchen salt
- FOR 2 CUPS PODI
- 60 grams dried red kashmiri or bedgi chillies stalks and seeds removed
- 100 grams Whole Urad Dal -120 grams (1/2 cup flat)
- 100 grams Bengal Gram/channa Dal/
- 1/5 teaspoon Asafoetida/Hing
- 90 grams Til or White Sesame seeds
- 8 fresh green curry leaves
- 3 teaspoons Ghee or vegetable oil
Instructions
- FOR MILAGAI PODI
- In a dry skillet over medium flame toast the green curry leaves until they dry and lose water. They will crisp and begin to break. Cool on a plate.
- In the same skillet dry toast the sesame seeds until lightly golden. Combine with the curry leaves on a plate and cool.
- Heat 1.5 teaspoons of ghee or oil in a small skillet on medium flame. Toast urad and channa dals together 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Switch off flame, pour dals into a plate and cool. Then grind to a fine powder.
- Heat remaining ghee or oil in the same skillet on medium heat and roast red chillies. A asafetida and saute 1 minute. Remove from fire, pour into a plate and cool.
- Grind the curry leaves, sesame and red chillies to a fine slightly clumpy powder. Add the powdered lentils, one teaspoon of salt and continue to grind until you have a smooth powder.
- Taste for salt. Cool and bottle in a dry airtight jar. Keep refrigerated in humid weather.
- FOR IDLI
- Wash the rice and the urad dal separately. Soak each in a bowl of water for 6 hours. The water should rise above the rice and urad lentil.
- Wash both separately and drain completely
- Grind rice in a food processor or rice grinder until smooth.
- Add water in very small quantities to facilitate grinding.
- If you add too much water the grains will slip between the blades and you will have a gritty batter. This process would take anything between 10-15 minutes depending on the quality of your grinder. Grind in stops and starts to prevent your motor from overheating.
- Repeat the same process with the urad dal. Grind in batches until smooth. Add water a few tablespoons at a time. When you have a smooth paste combine with the rice batter and grind again so they are both well incorporated.
- Place the smooth batter in an extra large and covered container in a slightly warm corner of the kitchen and allow the batter to double in size for 8-9 hours.
- Stir in the salt and mix gently.
- Preheat your steamer. Idlis cook better when the steamer is already hot. Set the water to boil if you are using a pressure cooker. Lightly oil the mini idli stands. Pour the idli batter a teaspoon at a time into the mini idli stands. Cover with a slightly damp muslin cloth. Steam as per directions. For smaller idlis possibly 10-12 minutes.
- Remove stands from the steamer and gently pry loose the idlis. Brush with ghee or oil if desired. Sprinkle with podi and serve with chutney and or sambhar.
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