Idlis

Perfect idli dosa with sona masuri! These were absolutely the best so far. Will stick to this proportion. They are heavier though than just with idli rice. Recipe here...

1 cup sona masoori rice

1 cup idli rice

1/2 cup urad dal

1/2 cup poha

1 tsp methi seeds

Salt as needed

Soak rice , poha and methi together and dal separate. Grind after few hrs. Keep overnight to ferment and steam them as idlis or dilute the batter a bit for dosas. Enjoy! Hit with sambhar and onion tomato chutney.

Soft yummy idlis

Sunday lunch .... South Indian with firangi touch.

Idlis with zucchini chutney and kohlrabi sambhar. 

Idlis..

3.5 cups of idli rice

1/2 cup poha

1 cup urad dal

1 tbsp methi seeds

Salt.

Soak rice poha and methi n urad dal in separate bowls for 3/4 hrs.

Grind them to a thick batter n mix together. Add salt n keep overnight in warm place to double up.

Grease idli mold and steam. 

Serve hot with sambhar n chutney.

Rawa idli

       I had my first rawa idli at MTR in Bangalore. They served it with potato curry, for me that was very surprising.But I loved the taste of these fluffy idlis and the best part is you do not have to do the grinding and fermenting part which is a very major part of idli making.Over the years I have made many versions with vegetables grated, peanuts and also plain .All the times it has been a hit with everyone who ate them.They make for a good snack,lunch or lunch box recipe. One just needs an hours notice to prepare them. I serve them with sambhar, chutney or even potato gravy,and it always satisfies the mood for good food.I have used baking powder as baking soda was not available, but the recipe was as good. Enjoy this recipe.This makes about 30 idlis.

Ingredients
Roasted semolina/suji                                  300 gms
Sour curd                                                    200 ml
roughly crushed roasted peanuts                 3 tbsp
Oil                                                              2 tbsp
chopped chillies                                          1-2 nos
chopped ginger                                           1 tbsp
curry leaves                                                 handful
Chana dal                                                    1 tbsp
urad dal                                                       1 tbsp
mustard seeds                                              1 tsp
hing                                                             1/4 tsp
Flax seeds crushed(optional)                       1 tbsp
baking powder                                            15gms
Chopped coriander                                      1/4 cup
salt to taste                            
Method
Take the roasted semolina/sooji in a bowl and add the curd in it.
Mix the flax seeds (like to add as its healthy).Add more water to make it into a thick batter.
Add salt and keep for 30 mins.
The mixture would have thickened and so adjust the consistency with water and make it like the idli batter or cake batter.
Heat oil, add hing.Add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
Now put in the dals and let them color.
Add ginger and green chillies and curry leaves.
Pour into the batter and mix well.Add the peanuts and coriander and keep this mixture for 10 mins.
Put the baking powder and mix well.
Grease the idli stand .Pour spoonfuls in each plate and put the stand in the steamer or a pressure cooker in which some water is being heated.
Close and steam without the whistle for 6 -7 mins and keep aside.
Ope the cooker/steamer and take out the stand and with a wet spoon,spoon out the hot idlis.
Serve with chutney,sambhar or rasam.

Tips
You can add grated carrots, shredded cabbage,sauteed chopped onions,coconut pieces, grated coconut,green peas, chopped capsicum, raisins,sauteed cashewnut etc to give it variety.It would always be a hit.

Dosa/cheela with left over idli batter

        After I am done with my fill of idlis and dosas,its almost couple of days and there are times I have just a bit left which has soured so much that we cannot make any more idli or dosa with it.So I often recycle it as I hate to throw away anything.This is a good way of using it and making some tasty and different kind of pancakes or dosas.Try them out!
Ingredients
Left over idli batter               1 cup
Suji/semolina                        1/4 cup
besan                                   1/4 cup
salt to taste
cumin seeds                         1/2 tsp
hing                                     1/4 tsp
chopped green chillies          1/2 tsp
chopped coriander               1 tbsp
curry leaves                         10 leaves
chopped onions                   1/2 no
chilli powder                       1/2 tsp
Method
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.Add water to adjust quantity and consistency.Keep for 15 minutes.Add water if required to get pouring consistency.Heat tava and grease.Pour batter full and spread into a nice thin dosa.Pour oil and cook on both sides.Serve with chutney of choice.

Idlis

     If something that just peps my mood , its a plate of steaming idlis ducked into hot sambhar and/or with spicy chutney.The day I decide to make idlis, the whole family makes sure they have a full quota for the week.I have always made them but since the last few years,we got very good batter ready made near my home in Pune, I stopped grinding it.It made life very easy as I would just decide when to eat them and the man would give you a batter as needed,one that was already fermented for instant cooking and the other unfermented if you decide to make it later.The guy from south India could not speak much except his language but did brisk business all day,doling out packets of idli/dosa batter with chutney.Once we moved here to Germany, the carving increased manifold.Then started looking for a great mixer, which could grind the perfect batter.Braun food processor entered our home and started trial and error of that perfect ,soft,white cottony idlis.Thanks to my friend Sumathi,God bless her,we have idli batter each week in our fridge.She has given me the exact proportions along with a lovely chutney which I play around with and get different tastes.So here is the recipe dedicated to her.Thanks Sumathi!!
Ingredients
Par boiled (idli) rice                       2 1/2 cup
white urad dal (whole)                   1 cup
Fenugreek seeds                            1 tsp
salt to taste.
Method
Soak parboiled rice after washing in enough water for 5-6 hours.Wash dal not too rigorously and add fenugreek seeds and keep aside too.
Grind dal  with  little water at a time and grind to a fine paste till it is very fluffy.Keep aside.Grind rice till it is very fine with little water.Do not let the batter get heated.Mix it to the dal mixture and mix well to a thick pouring consistency.Add salt.
Keep in a warm place overnight.Next morning , it would have doubled.Mix slowly and pour into greased idli molds.Steam for about 7-10 mins till the knife comes clean.Cool for about 5 mins and with a sharp knife scoop out hot soft fluffy idlis.Serve with chutney,sambhar and ghee if you like.

Tomato and onion chutney
Chopped onions                         2 nos
Chopped tomatoes                     2 nos
Garlic peeled                              5-6 cloves
red chilli                                     2 nos
oil                                              2 tbsp
salt to taste
FOR TEMPERING
oil                                              1 tsp
mustard seeds                            1 tsp
urad dal                                     1 tsp
curry leaves                               6-8 nos
Method
Heat 2 tbsp oil and add the onions and garlic and saute on slow heat.Add tomatoes and red chiili keep cooking on slow flame till the water evaporates.Add salt and cool.Grind well.
Heat oil and add mustard seeds.Put in dal when the seeds crackle.Add the curry leaves and pour over the chtney.Serve with steaming hot idlis.

Tip
Add 1 tbsp roasted bengal gram while cooking onions to get the chutney a bit thicker and differ the taste.

Wild rice idlis with brinjal sambhar

   We are ardent fans of South Indian food.My husband loves the thought of steaming hot idlis with spicy chutney and dunk them into steaming sambhar.Over the years I have learnt and perfected the sambhar recipe which has been loved by all who have eaten at our place.Today the recipe for sambhar is only with vegetables.I have used brinjal and I often substitute various vegetables as this sambhar is light and very quick to make and it also uses up left over chutney in case you have some in the fridge.I am putting the recipes down for each one.
    The wild rice idlis were made as I had this packet of wild rice lying with me last 8 months and I never used it as the thought of black rice was difficult to imagine on my plate.Well the experiment turned out good only less fluffy but the taste is very nice.The colour was a bit grey but the taste is great.I made dosas too out of the batter, they were crisp and very tasty.Wild rice is very good for diabetes.
Idlis
Ingredients
Wild rice                      200 gms
Parboiled/normal rice    250 gms
Urad dal (white)            200 gms
methi leaves                  1 tsp( helps in fermenting)
salt                                2 tsp
Method
Soak rice and dal separately overnight.Add methi to rice too.Next morning grind the urad dal with little water to a fine paste.Keep aside and whip well.Grind the rice to a fine paste too.Mix into the dal and add salt. Adjust batter to pouring consistency.Keep  aside for 8 hours till the batter is double.Grease the idli stand with ghee and pour spoonfulls in each slot.Steam for about 10 mins and allow to cool.With a sharp spoon, de- mould idlis and serve with sabhar and chutney.Tastes great with Chilli tamarind chutney too.

BrinjalSabhar
Ingredients
Brinjal                         1 cup chopped
Chopped onions           1 cup
chopped tomatoes        3 nos
crushed garlic               2 tbsp
coconut grated              2 tbsp
roasted bengal gram      1 tbsp
ginger                            1 tsp
curry leaves                    2 tbsp
hing                                1/4 tsp
mustard seeds                 1/2 tsp
cumin                              1/2 tsp
methi                               1/2 tsp
tamrind pulp                     2 tbsp
sambhar powder                2 tsp
chilli powder                    1/2 tsp
coriander powder             2 tsp
haldi                                 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
oil                                     1 tbsp
chopped coriander to garnish
        
Method
Grind coconut, garlic,gram and few curry leaves to a paste.Heat oil and add hing, all the seeds and let them crackleAdd curry leaves.Add the vegetables and saute.Add the paste and saute till a nice aroma comes. Add all the dry powders and saute well.Add water and pressure cook  for 5-6 mins.Let it cool.Open the cooker and pour in the tamarind paste.cook for 2 mins to absorb the tastes well.Top with chopped coriander and serve hot with idlis.