Idli Sambar (Steamed Rice Cakes with Red Lentil Curry)
This is a delicious low fat dish of South India and can be enjoyed both as a snack and meal. Basically idli is a breakfast dish and is served with curried lentil or chutney or spiced powder (podi). It can also be eaten as a whole meal during lunch and dinner.
Idli Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 20 mts Soaking:2 hrs, Fermentation: 8 hrs
Makes approx 24 idlis
Cuisine: South Indian
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2 cups idli rava (cream of rice)
1 cup urad dhal (Black gram,minappa gullu)
salt
pinch of cooking soda (soda bi carbonate)
1 Soak urad dal for about 2 hrs. Soak the idli rava in water separately just for an hour before mixing with urad dal batter. After 2 hours drain the water from the urad dal and gring till soft and fluffy and mix with the idli rava. Mix well.
2 Place the mixture in a warm place for 8-10 hours or overnight to let the idli mixture ferment. The fermentation is slow in winter and quick during summer. The key to soft and fluffy idlis is in the fermentation process.
3 After 10 hours you will find that the mixture will rise to at least double the volume. After fermentation, add salt and pinch of soda bi carbonate and mix well. The batter is now ready to make idlis.
4 Grease idli maker plates with some oil and fill with idli batter.
5 Steam covered for about 10-12 minutes and remove each idli carefully with a spatula.
Your soft and fluffy idlis are ready to eat with some hot sambhar and chutney. Left over idlis can be stored in the refrigerator and when required microwave them for a few seconds. I make upma with left over idlis which tastes good and is quick to make.
Note
For those who don’t have a idli maker…you can still make idlis with a flat bottomed wide vessel. Add 2 cups of water to the vessel. Invert a round shaped cake tin on the base of vessel. Take another round shaped cake tin, lightly grease it and fill it with the idli batter leaving about one inch height for the batter to raise. Place this on top of the inverted cake tin. Steam for 8-10 minutes. Remove the tin and cut into square pieces and serve hot.
Sambar Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 45 mts
Cuisine: South Indian
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1 cup tur dal (red gram,kandi pappu)
½ cup of peeled and cubed bottle gourd
¼ cup of chopped carrots into 1” pieces
3 slit green chillis
¼ cup of radish sliced into rounds(optional)
5-6 baby onions whole
1 tomato cut into 4 pieces
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
10 curry leaves
1 tbsp thick tamarind paste
2 tsps sambar powder(MTR is a good brand)
4-5 cups water
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp asafoetida(hing,inguva)
1 Soak the dal for 15 minutes and drain. Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook it along with vegetables except baby onions and tomatoes for about 7- 8 minutes after the pressure is reached.
2 Once its cooked add 2 cups water, sambar powder, tamarind paste, baby onions, tomatoes, turmeric pwd, sugar, green chillis, curry leaves, coriander leaves and salt and let it cook for 12-15 minutes on medium heat.
3 Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add 2 whole red chillis and 1/4 tsp asafoetida and remove from fire and add to the boiling sambar. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Remove from fire and serve hot with idlis.
Coconut Chutney Recipe
Prep & Cooking: 15 mts
Cuisine: South Indian
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1 cup grated fresh coconut(or cut into 2” pieces)
¼ cup of dalia (split chick pea, putanaala pappu)
3 green chillis
salt
For Tempering/Tadka/Talimpu:
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ urad dal(minapapappu,black gram)
10 curry leaves (optional)
1 whole dry red chilli
1 Grind coconut, putnaala pappu and green chillis adding about 1/2 cup of water to a fine paste.
2 Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the urad dal and slightly brown it. Finally add curry leaves, remove from fire and add to the ground coconut paste.
3 Serve with hot idlis.
By sailu • Nov 21st, 2005 • Category: All Recipes, Breakfast Recipes, Chutneys & Pachadis, Dals & Legumes, Flour Recipes, Savories, Snacks & Tiffins, Soup Recipes, South Indian Recipes, Vegetables, Vegetarian Recipes
hi shailu
how r u doing???thanks for ur idly recipe.but can we use fenugreek seed instead of soda.will this make any difference.
Hi Anon,
Yes,you can add some fenugreek seeds but I dont think you should avoid soda.Add both by reducing the quantity of both a bit.Honestly,I havent used fenugreek seeds instead of soda.
But sure give it a try and see what happens..that’s how we learn..:):)
Hi shailu
When we use idli rice or par boiled rice can u tell the exact ratio to prepare good idlis.
Thanks
vidya
even i cooked the idlies in tha same process but the idlis are hard.is it required that the idly rava should be grinded so that even it becomes soft paste.
pls tell me how to prepare soft idlys
can u give the making procedure/functions used to prepare idlis in a microwave?i’ve a microwave+convection cooking.how much time does it take?
[…] 3 Serve with dosas, idlis or vadas. dosa served with pandumirapakaaya pachadi and kothimira kobbari pachadi […]
Hi,
How to make idlii paste to ferment during the winter,esp during minus degree.
hi,
very easy to follow the steps
thank you very much
nilu
Dear Sailu a beautiful sambar which i had never come across.Try to give us sambar recipes with various dhals please.
My idlis turn hard: ratio used ; 2 cups idli rice , 1 cup urud dal + a tsp of mehi(fenugreekseeds) in a grinder.do i have to make it into a watery paste as in dosas???
[…] a few seconds. 3 Store in an air tight container and serve with South Indian tiffins like dosas and idlis with a generous helping of ghee or […]
Hi Sailu,
Thought of adding a tip for getting really soft idlies; just add a spoon/ two spoons of poha or murmuraalu to the dal before grinding and use 1 and half cups of rava to 1 cup of minapappu (urad dal), instead of using two cups of ravva. Thanks for providing the saambaar and chutney recipes along with the idly recipe.
Mmmmmmmm……Mouthwatering sambar