Idli recipe / How to make soft idli / Idli batter recipe

Idli or idly is one of the most loved and frequently made breakfast food of Southern India. Not only in south but idli is also very popular in other parts of India. Soaked, ground and fermented rice and urad dal batter, poured into idli mold and steamed into soft and plump savory cake.

I added a small amount of cooked rice or soaked poha and fenugreek seeds while grinding the idli batter to get a soft and spongy texture of idli and also fenugreek seeds aid in the fermentation process. According to Wikipedia fermentation of the idli batter breaks down the starches and thus making it easy to be metabolized by our body.
Idli was pretty common and my favorite breakfast while I was growing up. The aroma of cooking idli and sambarby my mother used to wake me up from my sleep. I just love having these soft and white colored idlis, soaked in flavorful and aromatic sambar and chutney. Having idli once or twice a week, makes anyone thinks that it might be pretty boring to eat idli every week but not for me. Idli is still my favorite breakfast .
Now when it comes to cooking, idli is not an instant food, you need to plan ahead. Preparing the idli batter takes time. You have to soak it first, grind it, then ferment it and lastly steam it. And also idli is not a stand alone dish. Sambar and Coconut chana dal chutney are the best accompaniment that goes really well with idli. Once you get the hang of making perfect and soft idli, all those long process will seem nothing and you will make these delicious idli frequently.
Idli is quite healthy too, as it is steamed and does not require any oil and especially when it is combined with sambar.

Ingredients for idli / idli batter :-
Prep time :- 12-16 hours
Cook time :- 30 minutes
yield :- 48 medium idlis

• 2 cups of idli rice or parboiled rice or any medium grain white rice
• 1 cup of skinless urad dal
• 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds (optional)
• 1/2 cup of cooked rice or poha
• Salt to taste
• Oil for greasing idli mold

Method for idli / idli batter :-

1. Rinse rice and urad dal two or three times and soak them separately in different bowl with enough water for 6-8 hours. Add fenugreek or methi with urad dal while soaking.
2. After soaking , strain the water of rice and dal and reserve its soaking water for grinding process.
3. Grind urad dal with little water into a smooth batter in a grinder or food processor and pour it into a big bowl.
4. Then grind the rice with the help of little water into a smooth batter and pour it over the urad dal batter and mix it thoroughly and whip it for 1-2 minutes.
5. The bowl in which you are keeping idli batter should be big enough to hold the double amount of batter. Put any loose lid to cover the bowl.
6. Now keep idli batter in a warm place undisturbed for about 8 to 10 hours or until the batter has doubled in its volume and has little bubbles on it .
7. When the idli batter is nicely fermented, add salt and mix it gently.
8. Now put a steamer with water on a medium heat and grease the idli mold with little oil.
9. Pour idli batter into the mold, keep it inside the steamer and steam it for 8-10 minutes. Check the doneness by pricking idli with toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean , then idli is done.

Though making idli is pretty easy but when the climate is cold, then idli batter takes longer time to ferment. In India, climate is mostly hot and humid, so fermenting is not an issue but in colder regions you have to do few more steps to attain a perfect fermentation. If you have oven, then preheat it to the lowest temperature and then switch off the oven. Put the bowl inside the oven on the lower rack, with the oven lights on. Be careful about the temperature of the oven, it should not be hot, just warm enough to do the fermentation process. It will take 12-14 hours to get fermented properly.

Serve idli with tomato coconut chutney and sambar .

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