Millet Idli

My mother made idlis using idli rava at home. Weekends mostly. I remember waking up to the smell of sambar and the aroma was motivation enough to scramble out of bed, rush through everything to arrive at the table, hungry as a hunter. 

 We used to love them! I still do. In fact, these were the only ones I used to make until I got my wet grinder. And then the game changed. The previously loved idli rava idlis became a thing of the past. They are great, but there is something so perfect about the idli rice, idlis. They are heavenly! And so, I kept churning out soft pillowy idlis, week after week and enjoying every single morsel.

Every couple of weeks I make idli batter. I look forward to making soft melt-in-the-mouth Idlis. The process is simple, though time consuming. Its a great option for a quick meal or to pack in the lunch box ( for the husband, who can heat them in his office). 

The highlight of our summer (2017) was my parents visiting us. They came in time for my son's birthday and stayed for mine. Oh what a wonderful time it was! Their love and good food was the best part of last year. I cooked a lot, clicked pictures on my phone and well, they're still there. I guess I'll work on the posts this year. LOL! 

During this time, I tried a variation on the regular idlis and they did not disappoint.

Instead of rice, I used millet. Hulled millet is available packaged in most grocery stores and in the bulk bin section as well.

Pic courtesy : Google search

You need:

1 cup Gota Urad Daal 

3 cups Millet 

1 tsp Fenugreek seeds

Wash the Urad daal in several changes of water (scrub lightly with your fingers. The water will turn very cloudy. Drain it, add fresh water, repeat till the water runs clear). Soak the urad daal in plenty of water. Add the fenugreek seeds.

Wash the millet and soak it in a separate container in plenty of water.

Soak the daal and millet overnight.

Before grinding, discard the soaking water. I also give both ingredients a quick rinse under running water.

Begin with grinding the urad daal. 

If using a wet grinder or a blender, add the urad daal and start grinding. Gradually add little water. Do not add too much. You don't want a runny daal paste. That will ruin the idlis. 

Grind till the urad daal turns a pale color and looks 'fluffy'.

Remove to a container.

Grind the millet now. Take care not to add too much water. This will take a bit longer to grind. Be patient. 

Once the millet turns to a smooth paste, add it to the ground urad daal. Mix well.

The batter should have a dropping consistency. Too runny- the idli will be flat and gummy, too thick (where you need to give the ladle a shake to make the batter fall into the mold) will make rock like idlis, better used as hockey pucks.

There are two options now: 

1.  stick the pot in a warmish oven and let the batter ferment (between 10-12 hours )
2. Pour the batter in the inner steel pot of your Electric Pressure cooker /  Instant Pot and set it to 'yogurt' mode for 8 hours on seal mode. 

Once the batter is fermented, make idlis as usual.

If you are making idlis for the first time: 

Add some salt to the fermented batter and fold it in gently. 

Before making idlis, add water to the idli cooker and set it on the stove. 

Once the water is bubbling, grease the idli molds with either oil / oil spray or ghee.

Ladle idli batter into the molds ( do not overfill) and place the stand in the steaming water. Close the lid and steam the idlis on high ( on a dial from 0-10, keep the heat at 8-8.5). Continue cooking for 15-18 mins ( when you open the lid- carefullllly- the idli tops must be plump and not sticky.

Switch off the heat and using a thick kitchen towel or baking mitten, remove the idli stand and set it aside for a couple mins. 

Carefully unmold the idlis, these should slip out easily, if not use a spoon or a butter knife to loosen the sides and transfer to a  container.

Serve idlis with chutney or sambar or both. 

I made this zuchhini chutney for my family and they enjoyed the combination very much. I unfortunately couldn't eat it as it has peanuts.

Notes:

These idlis are very tasty. But do not compare them to the regular rice idlis,

The batter can be used to make dosa as well.

These are a very good alternative to rice idlis, specially for people who avoid rice in their diet.

These idlis can be steamed in the Instant Pot as well, but I am not very comfortable doing that. I just haven't learned how, strange as this sounds. If you have, please share the method with me.

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The softest idlis, ever!

This summer, after a lot of back and forth I finally gifted myself a Wet Grinder. 

Finally.

Why did I not do this earlier? What a fool I have been.

I was always happy with the idlis I have made previously. I used Idli Rava. Urad daal and Idli rava (1:3). It was easy, I only had to grind the soaked Daal. The idlis never disappointed. 

So why would I want to change something *that* good. The only reason I changed this was, there is a difference between a good idli and a fantastic idli. 

Immodest as this sounds, I make fantastic idlis now. (yes, yes, I'm all puffed up at my success).

I read the term 'pillowy goodness' on Nupur's OHS and now, now I know what she meant. 

The grinder grinding away is sheer music to my ears. Every week.
What else can get me so excited? The very first time I made idlis using the grinder and the proportion mentioned, I could hardly wait to taste them, I did not. As soon as I could get them off the mold, I nibbled on the piping hot idli. Oh heaven! Before I knew it (well, I did, but let's just pretend I was in a trance) I had polished off 2 more. With nothing to accompany them. Just like that.
Then I ate them with just chutney.
Then with sambar.
Then with chutney and sambar.
And as if that wasn't enough, I also ate them with ghee and sugar.
Yes, I did it.

We ate nothing but idlis that day.
They are *that* good.

The weeks following haven't changed much.
My friends also declare that these idlis are far superior to the ones I had made earlier and those were superb, in their opinion.

Here's how I make the idli:

1 cup Gota Urad Daal  (Whole, skinned Urad daal)
1 tsp Fenugreek Seeds
3 cups Idli Rice (specially labelled and easily available in any Indian grocery store)

Wash the daal in several changes of water, till it runs clear. Refill with fresh water and soak the daal along with fenugreek seeds for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Wash the idli rice in several changes of water and then refill with fresh water and soak alongside the urad daal.

Before grinding, discard the soaking water and rinse the daal and rice briefly.
Now, if you are using the wet grinder, add the daal in one go and some water and start grinding. Slowly add water as required.
Grind till the daal (and fenugreek)  is a smooth paste and is white in color.
As you scoop, it feels light and well, fluffy. That is what best describes it.
Once the daal is done, remove it to the container you want to use to ferment the batter.
Now, to the wet grinder, add the rice and some water and switch it on.
Grind till the rice is smooth.
Add this to the daal and mix gently.
At this stage a lot of women like to add salt and let the batter ferment. I usually do not add any. 
I add salt before I make idli.
Leave the container in a warm place to ferment. This can take from 8-12 hours.
I leave the batter in my oven and switch on the light.
Once the batter has risen, you can either make idlis immediately or transfer the batter as is to the fridge to keep until you are ready to make idlis.

To make idli:
Add about 1-1.5 tsp salt to the batter and mix *very*gently to evenly distribute the salt.
Grease the idli mold.
Fill the idli steamer /cooker with water at the bottom. Know your cooker levels and make sure that water does not enter the mold at the bottom.
Set it on the stove and let the water heat up.
Spoon the batter intot he mold cavities and stack them up.
Carefully place the idli stand n the cooker/ steamer and place the lid.
Steam on medium high ( if your stove has buttons going from 1-9 and HI, use 7.5) and steam the idlis for about 20 mins.
Once done, switch off the heat, remove the lid and let some steam escape.
Remove the stand (use a napkin or wear a baking glove) and set it aside.
Use a blunt knife (butter knife) to remove the idli from the mold and serve hot with chutney of your choice and sambar.

These idlis freeze very well. To reheat, place 3-4 idlis on a microwave safe plate and cover with a damp napkin and microwave on high for 1-1.25 mins.


NOTES:

• Make sure the batter is light and fluffy.Airy.
• Do not add too much water, that will not give you fluffy idlis.
• Do not over mix the batter, this will release the air that is incorporated into the batter while grinding.
• After adding salt to the batter, mix / fold gently.
• If using blender to grind the daal, start at a low speed and then increase gradually. When the daal starts looking pasty, give it the max speed and let it grind for a while till it looks fluffy.
• In winter when fermentation takes longer, I add 1-2 teaspoons of thick poha. Adding poha to the rice (after the soaking water is discarded and rice is rinsed) helps the process. 

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Mini Idli and chutney

This is just a small post, to show you all my new cute idli stand! When I first came to CA,I got my old but serviceable idli stand, which has been with us for as long as I remember! It is an old 3 idli, 4 tier thing my Mom used .. I would stand by her watching her ladling the batter in to the greased idli stand and set it on the stove top... and after the steam started coming out of the lid, I would glance at my watch to wait another 7 minutes before the idlis were all done ( that is what the Hawkins pressure cooker manual advised), sometimes humming the jingle.."Hawkins ki sitti baje.... khusboo hi khushboo ude... mazzedar, lajjatdar khana hai tayyar...." of course not to apt for idlis as we do not use the sitti (weight/ whistle) but at an age when commercials were not as frequent as now, I found these rather catchy and liked to hum them at odd intervals.

Unfortunately, when I came here I got the old stand and a new pressure cooker (oh a Hawkins alright!) which was smaller and my stand would not fit into it. I was very disappointed and after having borrowed a small stand from my friend a couple of times initially, I decided to go ahead and get my own.. the trouble with that was , the stand in the market here was not one that complied with the cooker size! So it was either don't buy the stand or buy a new cooker! Finally Ma-in-law came to the rescue!! My neighbor was coming to L.A. and Ma-in-law sent me this cute li'll stand!!

Cute, ain't it!!!

It sits perfectly into my cooker and makes 15 mini idlis at a time! i love it! the small idlis are so cute to look at!

I sometimes make idlis in the no-grind method (using urad flour & idli rava) but when time permits I go for the usual method of Soaking 1 cup urad Daal in water for a minimum of 5-6 hrs. Grinding it to a paste. Adding 1 1/2 cup Idli Rava and leaving it overnight to ferment. making Idlis after that is of course a snap! Grease the mould, ladle batter and set it in the pressure cooker without the weight and let Hawkins do the job for you in about 8-9 mins!

I served these mini idlis with coconut chutney

1/2 packet of frozen shredded coconut

3-4 sprigs of cilantro

2-3 green chillies (+/- to taste)

1 inch piece of Ginger

Salt to taste

Sugar (optional)

1 tsp. Cumin seeds

Grind together using little water. (I made this a bit thick so that it would be easier and *less messy* to carry in the lunch box, but you can add more water and change the consistency)

You can also add a 'Tadka' to it , heat 1 tbsp oil, add mustard seeds, when the pop, add a good dash of asafetida, add a few curry leaves and 1 red chilly broken in half.

Another variation to the taste of the chutney is adding a bit of chana daalA (not the one we use in daily cooking in the tempering! the other one, used in chiwda, the one that can be eaten as it is.. whaddya call it??!!!)

That's it guys.. hope to see u all soon ...!!! Pin It

Kanchipuram Idli

I found this bit of history about Idli in Wikipedia.

The word idli originates from the two Tamil words - "Ittu" and "Avi" (To lay and steam). Although the precise history of the modern idli is unknown, it is a very old food in southern Indian cuisine. The first mention of it in writings occurs circa 920 A.D., and it seems to have started as a dish made only of fermented black lentil. One description circa 1025 A.D. says the lentils were first soaked in buttermilk, and after grinding, seasoned with pepper, coriander, cumin and asafoetida. The king and scholar Someshwara III, reigning in the area now called Karnataka, included an idli recipe in his encyclopedia, the Manasollasa, written in Sanskrit ca. 1130 A.D. There is no known record of rice being added until some time in the 17th century. It may have been found that the rice helped speed the fermentation process. Although the idli changed in ingredients, the preparation process and the name remained the same.

Well, so much for the history part, but idli is a favorite on the breakfast table or even in a lunch box. Needs a little preparation.. or if you do not have the time, just get a ready mix (depends on how desperate you get!)

1 cup urad daal
1 1/2 cup Idli Rava
7-8 Methi seeds
2 tbsp. Poha
For Tempering - 'TADKA':
1 tbsp. soaked Channa daal
1 inch ginger
5-6 chilies (vary according to taste)ground
1 tbsp. each:
Fresh cilantro -chopped
Fresh Grated coconut
1 tbsp. cury leaves
1-2 dry red chilies


Soak the Urad daal, methi, poha for 6 hours. Grind and add the idli rava, leave it overnight to ferment. In the morning add salt, and season the batter with the TADKA.Make idlis as per normal procedure of steaming.
Serve hot with a pat of butter, Sambar and chutney.
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