Idli Recipe | Idli Batter for Soft Idli
What is Idli made of ?
Idli
is a soft, pillowy steamed savory cake made from rice and lentil batter. The
lentils used in making idli are urad dal (black gram). Idli is a traditional
breakfast made in every South Indian household including mine. Idli is popular
not only in the whole of India but outside India too.
Ways to make Soft Idli
1.
With Idli Rice: Traditionally idli rice and urad dal are used to make
the idli batter. Idli rice is parboiled rice and used specifically for making
idli and dosa. This recipe post shares the method of making idli with idli rice
and regular white rice.
You can even make idli with short-grained rice. My mom makes
one of the best idli with parmal rice. At times I also make idli with the
traditional method of using only idli rice.
Urad dal is also known as black gram, urad bean and black
matpe bean. With husks these lentils look black due to their black husks. With
the husks removed they have creamish ivory color and are also called as white
lentils.
The urad dal that is used
is the husked whole urad dal preferably unpolished. You can even use husked
split urad dal.
2.
With Idli Rava: A second easier way is to use idli rava with urad dal. Idli
rava is coarsely ground idli rice and is easily available in shops and online.
3. Soaking rice and
lentils: For making simple traditional idli, both the rice and the urad dal are
rinsed a couple of times with fresh water and soaked separately for 4 to 5
hours.
4. Quality of rice and
urad dal: Make sure to use both rice and urad dal within their shelf-period.
Always use urad dal which is fresh and within its shelf-life. Aged urad dal
does not ferment well and makes the idli dense.
5. Grinding: Then the lentils
(urad dal) are ground to a soft, fluffy batter and the rice to a semi-fine
consistency. Both the batters are mixed and allowed to ferment.
6. Grinding Equipments: The grinding of
the batters, can be done in a table-top stone wet-grinder or in a
mixer-grinder. Most South Indian families have a table top stone grinder that
they trust to make a fluffy idli batter.
7. Table top
stone grinder: Grinding in a stone grinder is helpful if making a large
quantity of idli batter. The advantage of grinding in a stone grinder is that
the urad dal batter gets ground really well and thus the idli batter ferments
also well. The amount of water to be added in a stone-grinder is more than what is
added in a mixer-grinder.
For ½ cup soaked urad dal, you can add about 1 cup water. Add water in parts
while grinding urad dal. For 2 cups of soaked rice, add about 1.5 to 2 cups of
water.
8. Mixer-grinder: The lentils also
grind well in a mixer-grinder or heavy duty blender like Vitamix. For smaller
quantities, a mixer-grinder or blender works like a charm.
Everyone does not have a stone grinder. So I have shared the detailed method on
how to grind the batter in a mixer-grinder with plenty of tips and suggestions
in the step-by-step guide below. I have both a stone grinder and a mixer
grinder. For smaller quantities, I use the mixer for grinding and for larger
quantities I use the stone grinder.
9. Fermentation: Both the ground
lentil batter and rice batter are mixed thoroughly. Then the batter is kept to
ferment overnight or for 8 to 9 hours or more till the batter doubles or
triples in volume having a pleasant sour aroma. The fermentation largely
depends upon the temperature and climate. A warm temperature is conducive for a
good fermentation in the batter.
10. Steaming: Special pans
are used to steam the idli. You can buy these pans online. This idli pan is
brushed or greased with some oil. The batter is poured in the pan and then
steamed.
11. Steaming
time: The steaming time varies from 12 to 15 minutes. Idli
should never be oversteamed as then they become dry and dense.
Make Idli Batter
Soak Rice and Lentils
1.
In a bowl or pan take 1 cup parboiled rice and 1 cup regular rice.
Here I have used the Indian variety of sona masuri rice along with parboiled
rice.
2.
Pick and then rinse both the rice varieties a couple of times in
fresh water. Drain all the water and keep it aside.
3.
Take ¼ cup thick poha (flattened rice or parched rice) in a bowl.
Poha helps in making the idli soft and fluffy. If you don’t have poha then you
can skip it.
4.
Then add the poha to the rice. Add 2 cups of water. Mix very
well and keep aside covered to soak for 4 to 5 hours. Rinse the poha
once or twice with fresh water.
5.
In a separate bowl take ½ cup urad dal (husked black gram)
along with ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds.
6.
Add 1 cup water. Cover and soak for 4 to 5 hours.
7.
Before grinding, drain the water from urad dal, but don’t throw
away the water. Reserve the soaked water as we will be using this water for
grinding or you can use fresh water for grinding.
Grind or Blend Rice and Lentils
8.
In a wet grinder jar, add the urad dal. Initially add ¼ cup
of the reserved water or fresh water.
9.
And grind the urad dal for some seconds. Then add ¼ cup of the
reserved soaked water or fresh water and continue to grind. The batter should
be light and fluffy when completely ground. Pour the urad dal batter in
a deep pan or bowl.
10. Drain the
water from the rice and poha. Add them in the wet grinder jar or in a powerful
blender. I usually grind in two batches.
11.
Depending on the capacity of your mixer-grinder or blender you can
grind in two to three batches. If the mixie gets heated up while grinding, then
stop and let it cool. Then continue with the grinding.
12. Use the
reserved urad dal strained water or regular fresh water to grind the rice and
poha too. Add water in parts and grind.
13.
The rice can have a fine rava like consistency in the batter. A
smooth batter is also fine. I usually add a total of ¾ cup of water while
grinding rice. The rice batter should not be too thick or thin.
14.
You can add about ¾ to 1 cup of water depending upon the quality
of rice. Now pour the rice batter in the bowl containing the urad dal batter.
15. Add
1 teaspoon of rock salt. Mix very well with a spoon or spatula. If you live in
a cool or cold region, then do not add salt. Add salt later once the
fermentation is done.If you live in a hot or warm climate, then add salt as it
does not allow the batter to get over fermented in the time duration of 6 to 8
hours.Note that salt retards the fermentation process.
16. Cover the
bowl or container with a lid and keep the batter in a warm place. It should be
left undisturbed for 8 to 9 hours. Don’t use an air-tight lid. In colder
climate, keep the batter for a longer time – from 12 to 24 hours.
17. The
batter the next morning. It will ferment and increase in volume. A well
fermented idli batter will have a nice sour aroma with many tiny air pockets in
the batter. As soon as the batter is fermented you can begin with
steaming the idli or keep the batter in the fridge if making later. If
you allow the fermented batter to remain at room temperature, it will ferment
more and will become very sour with time.
18. Grease
the idli mould with oil. Gently and lightly swirl the batter. Don’t overdo. Now
with a spoon pour portions of the batter in the greased idli moulds.
19. T ake
your idli steamer or pressure cooker or electric cooker or Instant pot. Add
some 2 to 2.5 cups water and heat the water until it comes to a light
boil. Keep the idli mould in the steamer or pressure cooker. Steam for 12
to 15 minutes. Timing will vary depending on the kind of equipment you
have used. If using a pressure cooker, then cover the pressure cooker with its
lid. Remove the vent weight/whistle from the lid. Steam the idlis for approx 12
to 15 minutes.
20. Check for
doneness by carefully inserting a bamboo skewer or knife. If it does not come
out clean, then keep again for a few more minutes When done remove the
idli mould from the cooker. Don’t overcook as then they become dry. Dip a spoon
or butter knife in water and slid them through the idlis. Remove and place the
idlis in a warm container like a casserole.
21. Serve Idli hot
or warm with sambar and coconut chutney.
22. Idli is
served with coconut chutney and sambar. Idli is dunked in sambar and
eaten. There are quite a number of both sambar and coconut chutney varieties
that one can make to go with idli. You can also idli with onion chutney, tomato
chutney, peanut chutney and ginger chutney.
23. Idli is also served
with idli podi or gun powder. Idli podi is a condiment powder made with lentils
and spices. If you do not have time to make sambar, then you can just serve
idli with coconut chutney and idli podi. Idli can also be served with curd
which has been spiced and tempered.