Kanchipuram Idli

Directions

• Soak rice and urad dhal separately for 5 to 6 hours.
• Grind Urad dhal to a soft paste and rice to a coarse paste. Mix both along with salt and keep it overnight for fermentation.
• Next day, in a small kadai add the ghee and add cashew nuts and dry ginger powder (if you do not have ginger powder, then add a small piece of fresh ginger chopped finely) and fry till the cashew nut turns light brown. Add this to the batter.
• Then add gingelly oil in the kadai along with one teaspoon whole pepper and cumin seeds. Then add one teaspoon pepper and cumin crushed coarsely along with asafoetida and fry for a while and add this also to the batter.
• Add coconut pieces to the idli batter and stir well.
• We have to steam this batter like ordinary idli batter. But with different shape. For this, first pour water in the idli cooker. Let it boil. Grease small tumblers and pour the idli batter 3/4th and keep it inside the idli cooker and steam it for 15 to 20 minutes.
• You can also pour the batter in a big flat vessel and steam cook as above and cut it into squares.
• Traditional method
• Traditionally, it is steamed in banana leaf. Take a big cylindrical type vessel. Grease banana leaf with little gingelly oil and insert into the vessel.
• Pour the batter into the banana leaf covered vessel and steam cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and once it is slightly cooled, take it out from the banana leaf and cut it into circles. This method is demonstrated by a cook in the Kanchipuram Temple Kitchen.
• Serve with chutney or Idli Milagai Podi.