Idli

A very common Tamilian breakfast dish that is served with chutney/sambar/milagai podi. 

If you are living in cold country, the batter will not ferment properly. You can keep the batter inside the oven and switch on the oven light. Or, you can keep the batter near heater vent.

One of our Readers Mr. Ramaswamy sent the following tips for Fermentation of Idli batter:

The fermentation is caused by air-born wild yeast. Urad and Fenugreek seeds draw the wild yeast from air. So keep the washing to the minimum.

The tap water in developed nations are mostly has Chlorine and/or Fluorine. The common table salt is iodized. These halogens (Chlorine, Fluorine and Iodine) kill the wild yeast. Use non-iodized salt such as ‘Kosher salt’ and Use spring water, boiled or filtered tap water to avoid Chlorine/Fluorine.

I use an electric hand blender to infuse air and make it frothy to accelerate the fermentation process, before keeping it in the oven.

The ideal temperature for fermentation is 30 to 32.2⁰C. If the temperature is below 30⁰C, it will take longer to achieve acceptable level of fermentation. If the temperature is higher than 32⁰C, the batter may become sour. Acceptable level of fermentation is when the batter has doubled in volume

Keeping the batter inside the oven and switch on the oven light (40 w bulb is ideal) and keep it over night.

• 

  Idli Sambar

  Difficulty: Easy

  This sambar recipe is specifically made for idli and dosai with dhal, onion and tomato.

  Cuisine: Indian, Tamil
• 

  Dosai

  Difficulty: Medium

  The classic breakfast dish made with parboiled rice and dhal. It is served with Chutney and Sambar

  Cuisine: Indian, Tamil
• 

  Idli Milagai Podi

  Difficulty: Easy

  This spicy powder goes well with idli and dosa. It is usually mixed with gingelly (sesame seed) oil when serving with idli or dosa.

  Cuisine: Indian, Tamil

Idli

Recipe by S Kamala

Recipe rating: N/A

Course: BreakfastCuisine: Indian, TamilDifficulty: Medium

Servings

7

servings

Soaking time

8

hours 

Cooking time

10

minutes

Fermentation

8

hours

A very common Tamilian breakfast dish that is served with chutney/sambar/milagai podi

Ingredients

• Parboiled Rice – 3 cups

• Raw Rice – 1 cup

• Urad Dhal – 1 cup

• Salt – 2 teaspoon

Directions

• To make Idli batter:
• Soak both the rice and dhal separately in water for about 6 to 8 hours.
• Wash and grind rice and dhal separately to a fine paste.
• Mix together with salt and make a thick batter.
• Leave it for at least 8 hours to ferment.
• To make idli:
• Boil water in the idli cooker.
• Grease the idli plates.
• Mix the batter thoroughly. Pour the batter in the idli plate and put it inside the cooker.
• Steam it for 7 to 10 minutes.
• Take out the plates from the cooker and leave it outside for one to two minutes.
• Remove the idli using a sharp spoon.