varieties of Idli recipes
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Idle
These soft, spongy and savory rice cakes are made by making a batter of rice and black lentils, fermenting the batter and steaming it in special idli moulds. This is a very common breakfast in South India. It is also served in weddings or other special occasions with sambhar, chutney or idli milagai podi. It also goes very well with non veg gravies like chicken curry, egg curry etc and veg kurmas. Due to its soft texture it is given to kids as early as 6 months. It is also commonly given to ailing patients and old people as it gets easily digested.
Ingredients
- Idli rice - 1 3/4 cup
- Black gram - 1/2 cup
- Fennugreek seeds - 1 tsp
- Salt - 1 tbsp
Method
- Soak rice and black gram separately in water for atleast 1 hour. Soaking overnight can be done too. Add fenugreek seeds to black gram.
- Drain the water and grind the black gram to a silky soft texture.
- Next grind the rice coarsely. Mix it with black gram batter along with salt.
- Now leave the batter to rest and ferment for at least 6 hours till the batter rises to almost double the size.
- Grease the idli plates with few drops of oil and fill with idli batter.
- Steam them for about 10 minutes till they rise and become firm. (If you do not have idli stand, grease stainless steel tumblers, fill it with batter and steam it as shown in the picture.)
- Switch off the stove and let it rest for a minute or 2. After that use a wet spoon to remove the idlis from the idli plate.
Serving Suggestion
- Idlis with piping hot sambhar, coconut chutney and vada is an excellent combination.
- Idlis are also served with different types of chutneys, chicken curry, vada curry,tomato curry or some other curries.
- Idli is one versatile dish that goes well with any curry. My favorite is with carrot chutney.
Tips
- During winters, if the batter does not puff up, pre-heat the oven to 250 F , switch it off and put the batter inside.
- 1 Tblsp of cooked rice can be added to the rice while grinding to get fluffy idlis.
- You can use the leftover idlis to make sambhar idli, curd idli, fried idli, masala idli,chilly idli or idli upma.
Ragi Idli/Dosa
Ingredients for the Batter
- Ragi grains - 2 cup (You can also use 1.5 cups of Ragi Flour or Raikon instead)
- Urad dal - 1/2 cup
- salt - 1 tsp
Ingredients for Dosa & Idli
- Oil - to grease the idli tray/ to make dosas
Preparing Ragi Batter
- Soak urad dal and ragi grains separately for minimum 3 hours or overnight.
- Grind the urad dal separately till it become fluffy. 3. Next grind the ragi seperately (if using ragi grains).
- Mix the urad dal batter and ragi batter together with required salt. (Note: If you are using ragi flour, grind the urad dal to a smooth batter and mix in the ragi flour to this. Add little water and mix to get a idli batter consistency.)
- Whichever method you follow, let the batter ferment overnight or until it doubles in volume. (Note: If you are in a cold country, leave the batter in the oven with the light on to aid the fermentation process.)
- After it ferments, you can make idlis or dosa immediately. You can also store the batter in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Making Ragi Dosa
- Heat the dosa pan. Make it hot enough to sizzle away drops of water.
- pour 3 or 4 drops of oil and spread it on the pan.
- Pore some ragi batter and spread it using the spoon in a circular motion.
- add few drops of oil around the edge of the dosa.
- Wait for the batter to edges become slightly brown and lifts,
- Now flip the dosa and brown the other sode. Yummy ragi dosa is ready for serving
Making Ragi Idli
- Pour few drops of oil on the idli plate.
- Fill the concave portion of the idli plate with the ragi batter.
- Steam them for anout 10 minutes in the idli vessel or any other closed vessel (it should not be air tight). Once the idlies become fluffy switch off teh stove and allow it to rest for 2 minutes.
Serving Suggestion
- Serve this with any type of chutney or sambhar or any other gravy.
Ragi Idlis made with Ragi Flour
Ragi Idli with Ragi grains
Tips
- Instead of grinding a seperate batter, you can use normal idli batter and mix some ragi flour with it.
Rava Idli
Rava Idli is a very interesting variation to the traditional idlis. It is a traditional dish from the state of Karnataka. The best part about making these idli is that it needs no planning ahead, no grinding the batter, no fermentaion etc. It can be made instantly with vey few ingredients which most of us already have on hand. This makes it perfect for busy week days and for unexpected guests.
You can mix in colorful vegetables and make the idlis kid friendly. I have elaborated below. In our house, my daughter loves rava idlis with beetroot and green pea topping. My son on the other hand like to have carrot idlis. You can make according to each ones liking and enjoy. So here comes the recipe.
Ingredients
- Rava – 2 cups
- Green chilies – 2 (minced)
- Sour curd – 2 cups
- Onion -1/2 (finely chopped)
- Baking (or Cooking) Soda - 1/4 tsp
- Cilantro - 3 stalks (finely chopped)
- Salt - to taste
For Tempering
- Oil - 1 tbsp
- Ghee - 1 tbsp
- Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
- Channa dal - 1 tsp
- Urad dal - 2 tsp
- Asafoetida - a pinch
Other Optional Ingredients
- Cashew nuts - 1 tbsp
- Carrot - 2 tbsp (grated)
- Coconut (grated) - 2 tbsp
- Beetroot - 2 tbsp (grated)
- Green Peas - fresh or frozen (2 tbsp)
Method
- Heat oil and ghee in a pan. Temper the mustard seeds, urad dal and bengal gram dal.
- Add the asafoetida, chopped onion, green chili and curry leaves. Fry for a minute.
- Add the rava and roast it till a nice aroma comes.
- Mix it with sour curd and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.
- Add required water to make a thick batter. Also add cooking soda, salt and chopped cilantro (optional) to the above mixture and mix well. You can also add the finely chopped (or grated) vegetables or grated coconut or chopped nuts to the batter at this stage. But, I like to layer it in the idli moulds while preparing the idlis as shown in the picture.
- Grease the idli plates with few drops of oil and pour the batter if you have mixed the vegetables with the batter. If you are like me, I like to first place a cashew on the idli moulds.
- Next, add about 1 tsp of grated vegetables in each mould.
- Finally pour the batter and steam it for about 15 - 20 minutes. When you demould the idli, you will have pretty vegetable topping on each idli which makes it visually appealing.
Tips
- You can also make grits idli, cornmeal idlis or semiya idli using the same procedure.
Serving Suggestion
- Enjoy the hot rava idlis with idli podi, coconut chutney, spicy pudhina chutney and/or sambar.
Oats Idli/Dosa
Oats Dosa/Idli is the most easiest way of getting oats into your daily diet. When served with some curry, oats dosa is so tasty that even those who do not like oats will enjoy it. You can make the dosa batter is the traditional way or just make instant oats dosa.
Method 1
Ingredients
Oats (Quick/ Rolled) - 1 cup
Rice - 1 cup
Cooked rice(optional) - handful
urad dhal - 1/2 cup
fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
salt - 2 tsp
oil - to grease the idli tray/ to make dosas
1. Soak urad dal and rice separately for minimum 3 hours or overnight. Add the fenugreek seeds to the rice while soaking.
2. Soak the oats for just 5 minutes before grinding.
3. Grind the urad dal separately till it become fluffy.
4. Grind the rice, oats, fenugreek seeds together with a handful of cooked rice. Adding cooked rice makes the idlis very fluffy.
5. Finally mix everything together with required salt to make a nice batter.
6. Let it ferment overnight or until it doubles in volume.
7. Make idlis or dasas and serve with chutney, sambhar, some kurma or non veg curry.
Method 2
- Most people do not want to go through the lengthy process of making traditional dosa and idlis. So here's a simpler methos to make Instant Oats Dosa.
- Soak the oats for 5 min in enough water. Grind it to a smooth batter with some sour yogurt. Flavour the batter with some cumin seeds, crushed pepper, chopped onions, grated ginger, curry leaves and chopped cilantro. Make dosas immediately and serve with any chutney of your choice.
- If you want to make the dosas crispy, add some rava to the batter.
Method 3
- Most south indians have the normal dosa batter at home everyday. Another variation is to mix 1 cups oats with 1 cups dosa batter and make Oats Uthappam. You can also top the uthappams with chopped onions, green chillies and cilantro.
Method 1
Ingredients
Oats (Quick/ Rolled) - 1 cup
Rice - 1 cup
Cooked rice(optional) - handful
urad dhal - 1/2 cup
fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
salt - 2 tsp
oil - to grease the idli tray/ to make dosas
1. Soak urad dal and rice separately for minimum 3 hours or overnight. Add the fenugreek seeds to the rice while soaking.
2. Soak the oats for just 5 minutes before grinding.
3. Grind the urad dal separately till it become fluffy.
4. Grind the rice, oats, fenugreek seeds together with a handful of cooked rice. Adding cooked rice makes the idlis very fluffy.
5. Finally mix everything together with required salt to make a nice batter.
6. Let it ferment overnight or until it doubles in volume.
7. Make idlis or dasas and serve with chutney, sambhar, some kurma or non veg curry.
Method 2
- Most people do not want to go through the lengthy process of making traditional dosa and idlis. So here's a simpler methos to make Instant Oats Dosa.
- Soak the oats for 5 min in enough water. Grind it to a smooth batter with some sour yogurt. Flavour the batter with some cumin seeds, crushed pepper, chopped onions, grated ginger, curry leaves and chopped cilantro. Make dosas immediately and serve with any chutney of your choice.
- If you want to make the dosas crispy, add some rava to the batter.
Method 3
- Most south indians have the normal dosa batter at home everyday. Another variation is to mix 1 cups oats with 1 cups dosa batter and make Oats Uthappam. You can also top the uthappams with chopped onions, green chillies and cilantro.
Masala Idle
Ingredients
Leftover Idlis - 4
Onion - 1 big/ 2 small (finely chopped)
Tomatoes - 2 (chopped)
Ginger - 1"piece (finely chopped)
Green chillies - 2
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Garam masala - a pinch
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Water - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 strand
Cilantro (coriander leaves) - handful (finely chopped)
Salt - to taste
Method
1. Cut the leftover idlis into small cubes.
2. Heat oil in a kadai and splutter the mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.
3. Add the onions, green chillies and chopped ginger and fry for few minutes till it turns light brown in colour.
4. Add the tomatoes, chilly powder, turmeric powder and cook till it is done.
5. Then add water and bring to a boil.
6. To this add the idli pieces, cover with a lid and simmer for few minutes.
7. After the idlis have absorbed all the water, sprinkle garam masala powder and chopped coriander leaves and serve.
Onion - 1 big/ 2 small (finely chopped)
Tomatoes - 2 (chopped)
Ginger - 1"piece (finely chopped)
Green chillies - 2
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Garam masala - a pinch
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Water - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 strand
Cilantro (coriander leaves) - handful (finely chopped)
Salt - to taste
1. Cut the leftover idlis into small cubes.
2. Heat oil in a kadai and splutter the mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves.
3. Add the onions, green chillies and chopped ginger and fry for few minutes till it turns light brown in colour.
4. Add the tomatoes, chilly powder, turmeric powder and cook till it is done.
5. Then add water and bring to a boil.
6. To this add the idli pieces, cover with a lid and simmer for few minutes.
7. After the idlis have absorbed all the water, sprinkle garam masala powder and chopped coriander leaves and serve.
