Idli
Idli recipe in the curry category
Recipe ingredients:
- 1 cup black gram, urad, dal
- 1 teaspoon methi seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups cream of rice
- Spray oil or ghee for greasing cups
Recipe method:
- Lightly wash urad, and cover with chlorine-free water.
- Grind methi and mix with urad, along with salt, and allow to soak uncovered for 3 hours.
- Soften the cream of rice by soaking for the final 15 minutes.
- Without washing, grind urad in food processor to a fine paste.
- Add cream of rice to paste, and grind again until mixed well.
- Place in ceramic bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place until double in bulk.
- The amount of time this will take depends on the temperature.
- The batter will double in 8 hours if the temperature is over 85 degrees and at lower temperatures it can take as long as 30 hours.
- If the batter does not rise, do not despair, just find a warmer place.
- A small microwave oven, with the door open just enough to turn on the light, works well, as does a cold oven with the light on.
- The fermentation process depends on the presence of wild yeast, which appears to stick well to the urad and to the methi.
- Soaking the dal uncovered allows you to catch additional yeast from the air.
- Do not use baking soda, baking powder, yeast or yogurt to help fermentation.
- After your batter has gone nuts, you are ready to make idlis.
- Stir, do not beat, the batter slightly, just enough to evenly distribute the bubbles and not enough to make it subside.
- Grease idli cups, you can use egg poachers if you want, with spray-on oil or butter and fill them, almost full, with the idli batter and steam in an idli vessel, basically a big steamer, for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- The same idli batter can be use to make sannan.
- Pour the batter in the container of a pressure cooker, previously greased with oil, about 3/4 full and steam for 15 to 20 minutes as above.
- Take out and cut into pieces with a spatula.