Rava Idli - Groundnut Pachadi (Peanut Chutney)
Although idlis and dosas are the most popular South Indian breakfast items, there are some culinary gems like ravva idli that are nutritious yet filling. I read in a cooking magazine that the birth of ravva idli took place in the kitchen of the famous MTR Restaurant during Second World War when they faced shortage of rice (an essential ingredient to prepare idli). Either the sheer simplicity or ease with which one can prepare, can be eaten at any time of the day, the nutrition it has to offer or its flavor, makes it special.
Unlike idlis, where the batter needs to be fermented and need some preparation work, ravva idlis hardly need any preparation and can be made at the spur of the moment. Cream of wheat, popularly known as semolina/sooji is lightly roasted with a seasoning of mustards seeds, channa dal, green chillis and ginger and brought together with a mixture of curd, coconut and vegetables like carrots or peas. The resultant unfermented batter is a thick consistency unlike idli batter which is light and rises on fermentation. Let the batter sit covered for just under 30 minutes and its ready to be steamed. Vegetables like peas and carrots can be added along with cashewnuts to give more flavor.
This is one breakfast recipe I enjoy preparing time and again as a delicious anytime brunch/lunch/dinner option and also serves as a great lunch-box tiffin or evening snack for Nehal.
Rava Idli Recipe
Prep: 10 mts, sitting time: 30 mts, cooking: 10 mts
Makes: approx 12-14 idlis
Cuisine: Tamil Nadu
.
1 cup sooji/cream of wheat/semolina/upma ravva
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp channa dal
1″ grated ginger
3 green chilies, finely chopped
5-6 curry leaves (optional)
big pinch soda (optional)
2 carrots, grated
2 tbsps fresh coriander leaves (optional)
2 tbsps grated fresh coconut
salt to taste
1 cup well beaten thick curd
1/4 cup water
2 tbsps roasted cashewnuts (optional)
1 tbsp ghee or oil
1 Heat ghee, add the mustard seeds and once they splutter, add the chana dal and saute till the dal turns golden brown. Add the green chillis, curry leaves and ginger.
2 Immediately add the ravva and on low to medium heat stir fry the rava constantly for 3 mts. Take off heat and cool.
3 Add grated carrot, coriander leaves, grated coconut, curd, water and salt and mix well. Let this sit for atleast half an hour.
4 Grease idli plates. Place a roasted cashewnut on each of the greased idli plates and pour the rava batter over the cashewnut. Don’t let the batter fill till the brim.
5 Steam the ravva idlis on medium flame for around 10 mts. Turn off heat and let it sit for 5 mts. Remove the rava idlis carefully with a spatula and serve hot with chutney of your choice.
Note:
You can add vegetables of your choice like peas, beans and capsicum. Soda bicarb can be replaced with eno salt.
Verusenaga pachadi or peanut chutney happens to be one of my favorites and a regular at home. Today’s version calls for onion, garlic and dry red chillis to be sauteed before ground with roasted peanuts and tamarind. Goes great with idlis and dosas.
Groundnut Chutney Recipe
Prep: 15 mts
Serves: 3-4 persons
Cuisine: South Indian
.
1 cup roasted and peeled peanuts
1 small onion sliced
3 dry red chillis, de-seeded
small lemon sized tamarind (soaked in warm water for 10 mts)
3 garlic flakes, crushed
salt to taste
3/4 cup water
1 tsp oil
For poppu/tadka/seasoning:
1/2 mustard seeds
1/2 split black gram dal
8-10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp oil
1 Heat oil in a vessel, add the garlic and dry red chillis and stir fry for a few seconds. Add the sliced onions and saute further for 2-3 mts on medium heat. Turn of heat and cool.
2 Grind the roasted peanuts, tamarind, sauteed onions and garlic along with salt and half a cup of water.
3 Heat oil in a pan for seasoning. Once hot, add the mustard seeds and once they splutter, add the split gram dal and let it turn golden brown. Add the curry leaves and turn off heat. Pour over chutney and serve with idlis or dosas.
By sailu • Apr 26th, 2007 • Category: All Recipes, Breakfast Recipes, Chutneys & Pachadis, Lunch Box Recipes, South Indian Recipes
Thanks a lot Sailu…been searching for this recipe for a long time.
Finally got it. Now without wasting much time I will go and prepare it. This is one of my fav tiffin at any restaurant I go, this has to be there on the order.
Hi Sailu,
at last i am able to leave comment. donno if its only me who is having prob.
rava idlies are my favourite especially now as i am in charge of kitchen:) never knew its association with shortage of rice during world war. thats a gr8 piece of info.
just went through all ur mexican recipes. looks like u have turned into mexican master chef:) beautifully presented and neatly directed.
Hi Sailu, MTR restaurant is our fav in B’lore and is very popular indeed. I love Rava Idli and always serve with Coconut or dalia chutney.
Looks great here and I will try that peanut chutney next time.Thanks for great info as well. Enjoy the Spring:))
Hey, peanut chutney is my husband’s favourite….he loves peanut butter to the extent of eating from the jar..:)) I have been using a different recipe…but now since I found urs, I will give this a shot once
Shn
Sailu,
Nice variation for peanut chutney, I make it but without onion and garlic. I should give this a try. Rava Idle looks so delicious
i make peanut chutney with green chillies and i don’t use garlic. i’m searching for ravaidli recipe and found here.i’ll try this one
I just loveee rava idli’s and love the cashews in them even more
We used to make idli’s often but since my roommate who had the idli plates moved out I haven’t been able to make these 
Just love the iddlis. Looks really tempting. Photos as usual wonderful.
Dear madam,
http://www.sailusfood.com is most helpful to every present and future house wife, there in no word for such a good site.
Dear, I want to know how to make ragi java. pls kindly help me.
Thank you for your kind words, Lily garu. Here’s how I prepare raagi malt, first add a tbsp of raagi flour to one fourth cup of water and combine well, keep aside. Heat a glass of water till it boils, add the raagi-water slowly to the boiling water and keep stirring with a spoon so that it doesn’t form any lumps and becomes a smooth paste. Reduce heat and let it cook for 7-8 mts and add sugar (1/2 tbsp) or jaggery and big pinch of cardamom pwd (optional). Turn off heat. Once slightly cool, serve. Just ensure that the water is boiling when you slowly pour the raagi pwd into the water. Hope this helps.
its midnight here and its not fair
just kidding
love the color and yummmmmmm
Hi Sailu,
Rawa idli looks nice. I will try your version of chutney. Thanks for sharing. Nice pic…
Rawa idli looks very nice….I love rawa idli…I realy want to try it…
Sailu - I come to devour your pics. They are so beautiful. I’ve been wanting to try peanut chutney for sometime. Will try yours.
I always make rava idly with MTR ready mix Sailu. ur recipe sounds good. thanks
Looks absolutely delicious and mouthwatering!!! Got to try this one soon.
Hi Sailu,
Rava idly looks delicious with combo of peanut.chutney,,,.which is my favourite too.
Dear Sailu
Thanks for this recipe ;my son loves rava idli and its a great lunch for him to take to school.Your directions are so easy to follow so I will stop buying the Rava idli mix! I am hoping you get time to post the corn garelu recipe please.I am very interested in that.Thank you for all your wonderful recipes
Mamta
This looks lovely, and your directions look easy to follow. I’ve never tried anything like this, and there is one ingredient I am unclear on. Curd? As in curd cheese, like cottage cheese? Or something else?
Its yogurt, Nerine.
Hi Sailu, usually am using ready mix idly but ur recipe looks simple, i may try this coming week, thanks.
Hi Sailu,
Do you steam the idlis on “high”, “medium” or “low”.
p.s: I dont make idlis often, and your recipe might inspire me to do so
Medium.
Those idlis and that chutney are simply awesome to look at. and they are so fast to make. I’ll give it a shot. Thank you so much for the recipe
Yet another lovely recipe from you sailu…thanks for sharing..
Hi! Sailu,
This is the first recipee that I tried from your site. And the idlis came out nice. Both my husband and Siri my toddler loved them. I use to buy MTR Rava Idli since my childhood now I need not buy the mix :-). Thanx for the cost cutting. Today, I served with coconut chutney but will try peanut chutney. I too make that without the onion though.
Now with whatever ingredients I have, I will come and search your site and try a recipe a day.
hey lovely pics and yummy looking combi. my mouth is watering. wish I could taste them:(
My favorite breakfast… rawa idlis. Although peanut chutney is not my most favorite it is my husbands. And I make it exactly this way… Over time Ive started liking it.
Looks delicious.
Ah!! Finally, a perfect peanut chutney recipe. Thank you for the recipe!!!
Hello Sailu,
I had the best Rava Idlis at a temple lunch….they literally crumbled in my hands, they were so soft, looks like I will have to try this recipe now.
I love these especially with some of that chutney you made…..such a perfect combination it is…
have a lovely weekend….just realized how long its been since I visited you site, and how much I have missed! That Enchilada casserole looks splendid.
-trupti
Lovely - till now I have made do with the MTR product , which again is not bad - but this should be better . Thanks !
Hi Sailu, Tried your rava idlies and peanut chutney and both of them were a big hit. These are going to become a staple at our home going forward. Thanks so much..
hiee! sailu garu
i really love ur website….i spend hours together going thru it! and ur recipes are simply awesome and very informative too! i just got married n tryin my luck in the kitchen. thanks to u…i always get compliments!! i just had one doubt….are we supposed to use upma rawa and not regular idli rawa? actually do both rawas have any difference and can they be used for the other? thanks a lot!
I’m glad my site is helping you, bujji.:) Yes, to prepare rava idlis you are supposed to use upma ravva (semolina/sooji) and not the regular idli rawa. You cannot subsititute one for the other.
Hi Sailu Garu,
You’re recipes are wonderful! I recently found your website and tried a lot of recipes and all of them are successful except this one. I did exactly as per the recipe, may be I added a little more water, because it was very thick and the taste is good but the texture is kind of hard and soggy. I am not sure what might have gone wrong. Anyway I really appreciate you sharing all your yummy recipes. Thanks a lot!
Puja
Went through most of your recipes
this site rocks ! Better than any other cookery website i have seen, i mean the recipes are genuine and cool ! 
Keep it up 
Mala
[...] me know if any are especially tasty. Although sometimes I make a cashew chutney, this time I made a Recipe for Peanut Chutney that I found online. It was delicious! Most nuts would probably work for this recipe, if you are [...]
Hi Sailu,
any idea as to what could have gone wrong? Anyway thanks for the recipes 
All recipes from you look delicious and inspiring to try them out. I tried this rava idli, peanut chutney recipe. It kinda turned out well but the rava idli was quite hard, though it tasted fine. Peanut chutney was a hit
Sailu, this looks great!! loved the peanut chutney:)
Hi Sailu,
When I tried this recipe the top part of the idli is not even. shd i add water to the idli batter? What shd be the consistency of the batter of rava idli?
It doesnt have to be even, Janaki. Don’t add water to the idli batter and the consistency should be slightly thick.
Hello There ,
Just wanted to let you know that there was this article (pasted below)in todays Deccan Chronicle newspaper. i was surprised to see the photo of your rava idli &peanut pachadi recipe .I just cross checked with your site and true it was yours!! Sorry just to let you know.
Regards.
Rachana.
=================================================================
DC Chef
Every household has its unique recipes that are far superior to what a five-star hotel chef whips up. Deccan Chronicle will publish a series of such delicious recipes given to us by individuals.
We start with Nellore specialities given to us by T Lakshmi — they are simply to die for. Cut and keep.
Peanut Chutney
Ingredients
100 gm peanuts
8 dry red chilies
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
Tamarind, lime-sized ball
1 small onion
2 tsp oil,
Salt to taste
Method
Heat the oil and fry the cumin and coriander seeds. Add peanuts and the red chillies and fry till they turn golden brown. Remove from fire; add tamarind, salt and the raw onion. Sprinkle a little water and pound to a rough paste.
Serve with steaming rice or dosas/idlis/vadas. The secret lies in pounding the chutney and not grinding it in a mixer.
Thanks for informing me, Rachana, appreciate it very much.
it was a great experience by visiting this site, i had got a request of sending me the recipies of authenti cuisines of south india
Hi Sailu,
Your website is awesome! I tried the rava idlis and I have a few questions. Do you use fine rava or coarse? Also since I found the batter very thick, I added water mixed in some yogurt. The end result tasted good but the texture was not fluffy. Can you help me figure out what I did wrong? Looking forward to your help. Thanks.
Anita
I made these Idli’s, this is the best Idli recipe I have had, tastes great. Thanks for this one.
Sailu , i tried your sweet pongal recipe & should tell you, it came soo good(my first time without any disaster)! I wanted to see if you have Rava idli recipe & of course you do!I will post my comment when i try that too. I’m a maharashtrian & my husband a telugu. Now, we know where to look for a authentic andhra recipe.Thanks a lot for maintaining this site.
Please let me know what rawa should i use to make rawa idle..is it the normal one or the upma rawa?
Its upma rava/semolina.
Hi Sailu,
Your recipes are too good..i tried the peanut chutney…it was awesome,
good combination with pesarattu.As a matter of fact when i give a try to your recipes they come out too good..that’s what i like in your recipes.
Thank you.
Sailu, these idlis came out fabulous! What with carrots, adding more nutrion to it! Tks for sharing these lovely ones!
Hai Sailu , It is a rich breakfast, and also a good dinner. It is very very easy to prepare, thanks a lot Sailu….
wow the pics are very tempting. Thanx a lot for the awesome recipe. I can no longer wait to make this.
Hi Sailu
I tried this recipe today. Everything was fine but they were not fluffy and soft. They were little hard. What could be the reason.
How can I improve it.
Thanks
Lalitha
Hi Sailu,
This is my first time here at your website. And I liked it very much. Most of all, the photos of all the dishes look really really appealing. They are very realistic. My mouth is watering non-stop.
Anyway, I will try your recipes and will write again.
Thanks.
Sridevi
Hey Sailu,
I’ve tried the peanut chutney and it was too good. My husband like all other South Indians love dosa and peanut chutney!! I’m from Bangladesh and find it difficult to make south indian food coz mine is similar to the Northies. I am soo glad I came across your website. I’ve been trying to make different Southie dishes from Sanjeev Kapoor’s website and some have not been to hubby’s liking. Thank you for the wonderful yumm recipes.
Will keep checking your website for more south indian food!!
Cheers
Alizeh
Hi could you pls let me know how to prepare ragi java with salt, this is
the one i want to take every day for dinner….
Pls suggest me.
Hi Sailu,
I visit your website regularly, but never posted any comments. Thanks for providing such wonderful dishes and the photos are toooo good. The photos tempt me many times to try out those dishes :).
Yesterday I tried this peanut chutney and it was Yummmmmyyyyyy.
Hai Sailu,
I tried your rawa idlis….they came out verrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyy nice..thanks for sharing such wonderful dishes…Iam new to cooking..Iam thankful to your site..
Sahasra