Soft spongy Idli recipe

What comes to mind when you hear "Idli"? For me and my family having idli and dosa is like a ritual. There is a special place in my heart for the love of humble, healthy, wholesome, tasty south indian food, Idlis and dosas are always on top. I can stay without eating Parathas but if i don't get to eat idli or dosa i feel incomplete. It's not like i have had only Idli or dosa, i have had almost all the vegetarian dishes from all of the southern states but for me idli and dosa always are favourite. Close second are Vada sambaar and Appam and egg ghee roast. 😋😋😋
Since lock-down this is the first time we have made Idlis at home, and it is happiness at first sight😍

In pic : Idlis served with Peanut, garlic and red chillies Chutney also we made Saambar which i couldn't include in the pic.

Ingredients for soft spongy Idli recipe

• ½ cup Urad dal
• 1 cup parboiled Rice
• ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds or methi seeds (optional)
• 2 tablespoon poha (beaten rice) 
• rock salt or non iodized salt or crystal salt as needed
• fresh water as needed (do not use the water used for soaking)

Process

Preparation for dosa batter recipe

• Add urad dal & fenugreek(methi) seeds to a large bowl
• Rinse them very well several times and discard the water.
• Soak them together in enough fresh water for 4-5 hours.
• Add rice to another bowl and wash a few times.
• Pour fresh water and soak separately in ample water for 4-5 hours.
• Once the Rice and dals are soaked for 4+ hours, rinse and soak poha just 30 mins before grinding the dosa batter.

How to make the Idli batter

• Drain the water from the dal, methi and poha.
• Add them to a blender jar
• Pour water just as needed. Grind to a smooth paste until smooth & bubbly or frothy. 
• Transfer this to a large pot if using a mixer.
• Drain the water from rice & add it to the jar and then pour very little water.
• Blend to a thick paste. Add this to the urad dal batter and mix well.
• Check the consistency of the idli batter.
• It must not be very thick or very thin otherwise the dosa batter will not ferment well.

Fermenting Idli batter and Idli preparation 

• Cover the Idli batter and keep this in a warm place until fermented.
• It may take anywhere from 8 to 16 hours depending on the temperature.
• Next morning gently stir the Idli batter once.
• Add very little water only enough to thin it down to pouring consistency yet thick.
• Now to prepare the Idlis, pour water in the idli steamer or pressure cooker and let it boil
• Brush the oil on the Idli moulds and pour batter in each mould and carefully keep it in the steamer. 
• Steam the idlis for 15  minutes 
• Take out the idlis from the steamer and give it a rest time of 5 minutes 
• Now demould the idlis using knife
• Hot, soft spongy idlis are ready to serve with Chutney or Sambar. 

Vegetable instant rava idli

Filled with colorful, healthy mixed veggies, this soft and scrumptious Rava idli is a perfect dish to start your day with.

The mild tanginess of curds and subtle notes of chili paste make the Vegetable Rava Idli very flavourful, while veggies like sweet corn and carrot offer soft, juicy breaks in every mouthful. The Vegetable Rava Idli combines perfectly with this traditional Coconut Chutney, which gets an amazing flavor and wonderful aroma from the tempering.

Chikamanglur A Heaven in the hearts of Western ghats, Karnataka India

DAY 1

 We left early (6am) from Bangalore to reach Chikamanglur on time. We did reach on time (11am). On the way we only took a breakfast break for 30-45 minutes. After reaching chikamanglur it took us 6 hours to reach to our accommodation which was showing 20 km

Thanks to Google maps 😜 and that's the part which made this trip unforgettable.

Mix vegetable Uttappam

Uttapam is a very popular South Indian breakfast dish.  

It is similar to dosa but slightly thicker than the regular dosas. It can be made with leftover idli dosa batter. 

Vegetable Uttapam can be served for breakfast or as a snack. Uttapam can be made with a variety of toppings like onion, tomato, coconut, and many others. Vegetable Uttapams are topped with finely chopped vegetables. You can make use of vegetables like carrots, capsicum, onion, and cabbage. They can be easily prepared at home and served with coconut chutney and sambar. All you need is some dosa batter and mixture of vegetables for making Vegetable Uttapam.

Ingredients:

• 4 cup Idli Dosa batter
• 1 Onion , finely chopped
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper (Capsicum) , finely chopped
• 1 Tomato , 1 tomato finely chopped and de-seeded 
• 2 Green chillies , finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons Coriander leaves (dhania) , finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon Red chilli powder
• MTR Podi Masala (Optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon chat masala
• 1/4 teaspoon Garam masala
• Salt to taste
• Cooking oil , for greasing the pan

Process:

1. To begin the preparation of Vegetable Uttapam, take the dosa batter in a bowl, add water if required to get the desired consistency. 
2. Finely chop all the vegetables and keep aside. 
3. Heat a non-stick tawa. Grease it with oil. 
4. When the tawa becomes hot, pour one ladleful of batter and spread it in circular motion, don't make it too thin
5. You will find small holes appearing on the surface, add the chopped vegetables.  Drizzle oil around the edges and at the center
6. Reduce the flame to medium.  Cover and cook on medium flame for a few seconds
7. By this time the veggies would have cooked. Sprinkle some podi masala and Gently press it with the back of a spatula
8. Flip the uttappam to the other side and cook on medium flame for 1 - 2 minutes
9.   Transfer the uttappam to a serving plate and Garnish with grated cheese(Optional) and serve with chutney of your choice or saambar

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