Monday, June 8, 2009

Soft Idli - Authentic South Indian Breakfast

Idli, a popular south indian breakfast dish...Its a savoury cake, prepared by steaming a fermented batter consisting of black lentils and rice...The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolized by the body...South indians will definitely know how to prepare idlis and idlis are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambhar and with spicy powder known as milagai podi which is the most preferred condiment for idlis...U know wat Idlis are considered to be one of the top ten most healthiest foods in the world due to the ingredients it is made from...
To make idli, two parts uncooked rice to one part split black lentils are soaked. The lentils and rice are then ground to a paste in a heavy stone grinding vessel . This paste is allowed to ferment overnight, until it expands to about 2½ times its original volume. In the morning, the idli batter is put into the oil-greased moulds of an idli tray for steaming. These moulds are perforated to allow the idlis to be cooked evenly. The tree holds the trays above the level of boiling water in a pot, and the pot is covered until the idlis are done (about 10–25 minutes, depending on size). The idli is somewhat similar to the dosa, a fried preparation of the same batter.In the olden days, when the idli mould cooking plates were not popular or widely available, the thick idli batter was poured on a cloth tightly tied on the mouth of a concave deep cooking pan or tava half filled with water. A heavy lid was placed on the pan and the pot kept on the boil until the batter was cooked into idli. This was often a large idli depending on the circumference of the pan. It was then cut into bite-size pieces and eaten.Southern Indians have brought the popular idli wherever they have settled throughout the world..


2cup Idli rice
1cup Black gram (urad dal)
1tsp Fenugreek seeds
2tbsp Cooked rice
Salt
Soak rice and urad dal with fenugreek seeds separately with enough water for atleast 5 to 6 hours or else for overnite..Drain the water in rice and grind its coarsely with cooked rice..grind the urad dal to a sliky soft paste and mix with grounded rice batter along with enough salt.

Now u can keep the batter in a warm place for fermentation atleast overnite until the batter get rise or if u r living in a cold place u can prepare by preheating the oven to 400F for 5 minutes and switch off, then keep the batter in the oven for atleast 6hours and allow it to ferment...once the fermentation is over, u may see the batter rise and doubled their quantity..now its ready for making idlis...

Grease the idly plates with oil and pour enough idli batter and steam cook for about 10 minutes till they rise and become firm, once done remove carefully with a spoon and serve them with sambhar or chutney..

31 comments:

Parita said... Reply To This Comment

Idlis are really looking so soft and spongy..perfect

Indian Khana said... Reply To This Comment

Idlis looking so soft and moist....looking perfect

Deepthi Shankar said... Reply To This Comment

Idlis look perfect Priya

Anisheetu said... Reply To This Comment

I love idlis a lot... they are looking really soft and mouthwatering... hey do collect your award from the award section of my blog.. :)

Gita Jaishankar said... Reply To This Comment

The idlis look so soft and perfect Priya :) Looks yummy with the chutney!

lubnakarim06 said... Reply To This Comment

Oh wow bell pepper chutney and idli new combo...looks yum...i too made a post on idli(s) today...

Unknown said... Reply To This Comment

ummmmm yummy really a comfort breakfast looks so soft.yum

suvi said... Reply To This Comment

perfect idlis priya!

Vaidehi Bhave said... Reply To This Comment

soft idlis perfect for breakfast :)

chakali

chef and her kitchen said... Reply To This Comment

They look really yummy...I am surprised to see Idli recipe in your blog after some 600 recipes...U rock dear!!!
Its been one of my initial recipes in my blog..Even i prepare similarly..

Padma said... Reply To This Comment

Idlis looks so soft .... nice entry for the event Priya :)

Suparna said... Reply To This Comment

hey priya,
Idlis are an all time fav. at my home :) I too add cooked rice or sometime aval to get the idlis soft and moist.Nice snap

Vrinda said... Reply To This Comment

Idlies r my weakness, lov idlies than dosa..looks so soft and yumm

Vani said... Reply To This Comment

Idlies look soft and yum, priya. Totally digigng that chutney too

Vikis Kitchen said... Reply To This Comment

Idlies looks authentic and soft. Nice como. Great for the event:)

Unknown said... Reply To This Comment

So soft and spongy...yummy one Priya.Idli to die for:)

Pooja said... Reply To This Comment

Looks like they melt in mouth so soft and spongy...

Lavanya Raj said... Reply To This Comment

Red Bell pepper, peanut chutney is my fav priya..Idli's look's so soft. malligai poo madhiri irukku! enakku intha madhiri varavae varathu..

Chitra said... Reply To This Comment

soft idlies...i love it:) will try the chutney soon.Have bookmarked ur oats idli:)

Dhanya Ganesh said... Reply To This Comment

idlis looks soft and nice texture.

Pooja said... Reply To This Comment

Lovely idlis Priya! Looks soft n spongy!

Cilantro said... Reply To This Comment

Nice and soft Idlis. Great entry for the events.

Unknown said... Reply To This Comment

Soft idlis and the chutney looks like made for each other. Nice click.

Srilakshmi said... Reply To This Comment

Spongy and perfect looking idlies..

Pavithra Elangovan said... Reply To This Comment

spongy and looking so good and nothing is comforting other than this..

Poornima Nair said... Reply To This Comment

Priya...those Idlis look perfect, so fluffy n soft. Really tempting.

Kalai said... Reply To This Comment

Have never tried using cooked rice for the batter before. Idlis look so soft and fluffy! :)

Sunshinemom said... Reply To This Comment

I too noticed that cooked rice does make a difference:). Yours look nice soft and fluffy! Thanks for participating in FIC, Priya!

sridevi said... Reply To This Comment

hi, thankyou so much for this recipe..i got super soft idlis without even adding cooked rice as i did not have it. thanks once again!

Anshu said... Reply To This Comment

Wonderful recipe. Thanks for sharing it!!

Have you ever tried making idlis in chinese style? If not and interested in the recipe, visit my website/blog.

Anshu said... Reply To This Comment

Wonderful recipe. Thanks for sharing it!!

Have you ever tried making idlis in chinese style? If not and interested in the recipe, visit my website/blog.