Name: Idli
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup dehusked black lentils; 3 cups idli rice; 1 cup normal rice; Salt to taste; 1 Tbsp ghee

Idli

28 Apr 2018

by Deepthi (in memoriam)

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Total Time

30 minutes

Background

Idli is a type of savoury rice cake, a popular breakfast dish throughout India and neighboring countries like Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter made from fermented black lentils and raw rice. Idlis are generally served with a variety of chutneys or hot sambar. You will need a special idli mould with a steamer to make this recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup dehusked black lentils
3 cups idli rice
1 cup normal rice
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp ghee

Instructions

Wash the rice and black gram and soak them separately for 4-5 hours.
Drain the water and grind the rice into a coarse paste with little water.
Grind the soaked lentils into fine paste by adding water little by little.
Mix together the rice and lentil paste. The batter should be thick dropping consistency.
Keep the batter in a warm place for 10 hours. After fermentation the batter will rise and become sour.
Add salt before making the idlis. Mix the batter gently.
Coat the surface of idli moulds with little and drop spoonful of batter in each mould.
Add about two cups of water in the idli steamer and place the idli stand in the steamer and close. Steam on high for 5 minutes.
Reduce heat and steam on low for 10 minutes. Remove the steamer from heat and let it stand for 10 minutes. Open and remove the idlis from the mould with a knife.
Serve warm with hot sambar or chutney.