Idli South Indian favorite breakfast dish. Idli delicious healthy south indian favorite breakfast dish made with rice and urad dal. Feremented and steamed to make cake.
Idli the steamed “rice and spilt black gram” cake is one of traditional breakfast dishes of South India. It is made with rice and urad dal ( spilt black gram). Idli is one of the oldest Indian breakfast dish.
According my grandma it is really healthy as it has no fat in it. When you are young who cares about fat, calories etc. I wanted only dosa at that time.
History about Idli
According to K.T.Achaya, a food historian, 'iddalige', was first mentioned in a Kannada work of 920 AD, but this was made from an urad dhal batter only.
The Sanskrit Manasollasa of 1130 AD has 'iddarika', but again made with urad dhal flour only. There is a mention of 'itali' in the Tamil literature in the 17th century.
The reference of modern day ldli (only after 1250 AD) is made with rice grits along with urad dhal; the long fermentation of the mix; and the steaming of the batter to fluffiness.
Achaya's explanation is that this absence from the historical records could mean that idli is an imported concept — perhaps from Indonesia which has a long tradition of fermented products, like tempeh (fermented soy cakes), kecap (from where we get ketchup) or something called kedli, which Achaya says, is like an idli.
This is plausible enough given the many links between Southeast Asia and South India, through Hindu rulers and traders.
Fun facts
March 30th of every year has been celebrated as World Idli Day
Why Idli is considered are healthiest breakfast?
It is made with rice, urad dal( black gram) and salt.First batter is made by ground rice, urad dal then fermentend and cooked using steaming techinique.
No oil, spice is used.
It is not only filling but also delicious with sides like Chutney, sambar, Milagai podi.
Variation
However nowadays, there is lot of variation of idli such as rava idli which is made with semonlina, rice, all purpose flour. The saana ( Goan –Mangalore recipe) made with same ingredients as idli but along with little yeast and sugar.
How to make Idli?
You need following ingredients to make
Rice : I use two rice one is parboiled rice and long grain rice or raw rice.
Urad dal : Use skined spilt urad dal. You can use whole urad dal too. You can use unskined urad dal too. Only thing is idli may have some black specs if you are not able to remove the skin after soaking.
Salt : Use common salt.
Add ons strticly optional, idli raw rice instead of parboiled rice, fenugreek seeds, phoa/ flattend rice flakes. I never use this in my idli recipe.
Points to remember while making
Since I use only one batter for my Dosa and Idli grind rice and urad dal with less water to make thick batter . First two days you can make Idly.Rest of the days you can Dosa.
If you want to follow strict traditional version, then you need to grind rice little coarser than for dosa. But since I use same batter for Idli and dosa I grind the rice smooth. You need to ferment the batter overnight.
I use parboiled rice, raw rice , urad dal soak them for about 5-6 hours and grind rice and dal separately and later mixed together and leave it for overnight for fermentation.
Then next morning add salt and steam the idly in idly pan which has molds in it. It takes about 12 minutes to cook. Once done carefully remove from the mold and enjoy with chutney or sambar.
It makes for a yummy breakfast.
Here comes the recipe.
Idli/Steamed Rice and split black gram cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw rice/ pachari/chawal( You can use basmati rice if you can't find long grain rice)
- ½ cup par boiled rice/ukda chawal
- ¾ cup skinless split urad dal skinless black gram
- 2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- Indian gingerly oil/ Nallaennai You can use Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil if you can’t get hold of gingerly oil
- Water for grinding
Instructions
- Soak both rice together and dal separately in bowl to cover them about 2" deep. Soak 8 hours or overnight.
- The next morning, drain all the water from the rice and urad dal. Wash two three times and drain and put some in a food processor/ grinder and grind - adding very little water if necessary - to a smooth yet slightly grainy paste. You need to grind both rice and dal separately.
- When all the rice-daal mix is ground like this, put it into a large mixing bowl and add enough water to make a batter.
- Keep the batter aside in a warm, dark spot, covered, for 6-8 hours.
- After this fermentation, stir the batter well and add salt.
- when your are ready to make idli grease idli mold with little gingerly oil.
- Add little less ¼ cup batter in each mold
- Cover and steam it for about 12 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean.
- Carefully remove each using small spoon.
- continue to make idli until required numbers.
Nutrition
7
This is Swathi ( Dr. Ambujom Saraswathy Ph.D) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen who loves to explore cuisines from all over the world. Whenever possible I try to to give an Indian touch to several of the world cuisine, and has weakness for freshly baked bread. All the recipes you see here are created by me and approved after taste-test by my family.
Sadhna Grover says
Hi Swathi, nice and soft Idli,
I am celebrating my First Blog Anniversary-http://herbsspicesandtradition.blogspot.ca/2015/05/my-first-blog-anniversary-event.html
There is a event and a give away. Please join, it is open for everybody.
Mullai Madavan says
Perfect idlis using raw rice, i normally use fully boiled or par boiled for our idlis and once in while when I run of par boiled just dig in raw rice. Recipe looks simple will try your method!
gayathri says
Idli looks soft and fluffy.
tigerfish says
I am so envious that you have all the traditional tools/equipment to make these steamed rice cakes. Keep the tradition going!
Hadia says
I have never tried idlis, Swathi! I am so much in love with dosas! It sounds like aninteresting recipe! Pinning!
Sona says
soft fluffy idlis, love to have anytime..
Gloria says
Soft and Spongy idlis..looks perfect dear
julie says
spongy n soft,yummy!
traditionallymodernfood says
Ultimate comfort food.. Your perfect idlies are tempting me
Marina says
I never tried anything like this - it looks yummi!
Rafeeda says
Getting perfect idlis is really a challenge... urs looks so good...
sudha says
Soft & inviting idlis............looks awesome.
Maha says
Perfect fr breakfast ..Delicious really.
Meena Kumar says
Wow Swathi that is such an awesome write up on idli. Loved it.
indu srinivasan says
lovely fluffy idlis.
beena says
My favorite. Love it
babitha costa says
nothing can beat idli