Idli recipe| How to make Idli | Idli Batter | Idli Dosa Batter | How to make soft and spongy Idli

Idli is a South Indian dish. It is a steam cake made with fermented batter of rice and lentil. Idli is soft and fluffy in texture and requires very little oil while making/steaming.

Mostly it is served with coconut chutney and sambar.

Idli is commonly served as breakfast but in my family we enjoy it for lunch as well. Since it’s made with rice and lentils – it is not only vegetarian but also vegan recipe.

It is also one of healthiest breakfast because of its bio availability of nutrients due to fermentation process.

This is my tried and tested method to make soft, spongy and fluffy idli. This batter can be used to make crisp dosa / crepe.

How to make

1. Take 3 cups of rice / idli rava and 1/2 tsp of methi seeds and soak in enough water for 6 hours.
2. Take 1 cup urad dal and soak in enough water for 6 hours.
3. Soak ¾ cup poha in enough water for 6 hours. Rice, poha and methi – can be soaked together.
4. Once soaked for above mentioned time, rinse well and drain water from rice, urad dal and poha.
5. Grind it into a smooth paste in mixer grinder.
   • Urad dal separately into a smooth batter
   • Rice, methi seeds and poha in smooth batter.
   • Add enough water while grinding the ingredients. I have used approximately 1 to 1 ½ cup water to grind the batter.
6. Mix well both the batter (rice and urad dal) in big bowl with clean hands / spatula in circular motion for 2 – 3 minutes. Batter should be of medium flowing consistency.
7. Cover and keep it for fermentation for 8 – 10 hours or overnight in a warm place.
8. Once batter is fermented – it is raised in volume, has tiny bubbles on it and little sour smell. It’s a sign off well ferment batter.
9. Add oil and salt in batter and mix well with ladle.
10. Take Idli stand and pour some water in it, keep it in stove for boiling on medium flame. Simultaneously, grease idli moulds with little oil and pour batter in moulds.
11. Once water is hot, place Idli moulds in Idli stand.
12. Cover and cook it for 12 – 15 minutes on medium flame. 12. Remove moulds from idli stand and rest it for 5 minutes. Resting idli’s is important as it will help remove idli’s quickly and will not stick to mould.

Idli recipe | How to make Idli | Idli Batter | Idli Dosa Batter | How to make soft and spongy Idli

Idli is a South Indian dish. It is a steamed cake made with fermented batter of rice and lentil. Idli is soft and fluffy in texture and requires very little oil while making/steaming.

Mostly it is served with coconut chutney and sambar.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Soak time 6 hours hrs

Total Time 6 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine Indian, South Indian

Servings 6

Equipment

• Measuring Cups
• Bowl
• Mixer Grinder
• Lid to cover a bowl
• Ladle
• Spatula
• Idli steamer

Ingredients

  

• 3 cup Rice / Idli rava
• 1 cup Urad dal / Black gram( de-husked )
• ¾ cup Poha / Flattened rice
• 2 tsp Methi seeds / Fenugreek seeds
• Water ( for grinding )
• 1½ tbsp Oil
• Salt ( as per taste )
• A bowlful of Love & Care

Instructions

 

• See reference picture
  
• Take 3 cups of rice, ¾ cup poha and 2 tsp of methi seeds. Rinse well and soak in enough water for 6 hours together.
  
• Take 1 cup of urad dal (de-husked). Rinse well and soak in enough water for 6 hours.
  
• Once soaked, grind it into a smooth batter. Grind – rice, poha and methi seeds together and urad dal separately. I have used approximately 1 to 1 ½ cup of water for grinding.
  
• Mix both the batter well with clean hands / spatula in circular motion for 2-3 minutes.
  
• Cover and keep it for fermentation in a warm place for 8-10 hours. It can also be covered with a cloth, to keep more warm.
  
• Once fermented, batter will – raise in volume, have tiny bubbles on it and smell little sour. It’s a sign of well ferment batter.
  
• Add 1½ tbsp. of oil and salt (as required) and mix well with ladle.
  
• Take Idli stand, pour some water in it and place it on stove on medium flame.
  
• Simultaneously, grease Idli moulds with little oil and pour batter in it. Don’t add batter till tip of mould, fill only 80% -90% of mould. Otherwise, idli’s of other moulds will stick to each other while steaming.
  
• Place idli moulds in steamer and steam for 12-15 minutes on medium flame.
  
• Once cooked, remove moulds and rest it for 5 minutes. This is important, resting helps to remove idli from mould easily.
  

Wisdom

1. Measurement and fermentation – are the key ingredients of making soft, spongy and fluffy idli’s. I have used ratio 3:1 – 3 cups of rice to 1 cup of urad dal. Measurement of rice and urad dal while making idli’s has always been matter of discussion. I have arrived at this measurement over my many trials and experience.
2. Rice – I strongly recommend to use Idli Rice / Sona Masuri rice or any short grain rice to make idli. Idli rava can also be used instead on rice. Even I prefer grinding of idli rava. As using these types of rice makes idli’s softer. Use of basmati rice is not much recommend. Rice should be washed well before grinding.
3. Urad dal – Use de-husked urad dal. It should be washed well before grinding.
4. Poha/ Aval/ Flattened rice – Any Poha – thick or thin can be used. Poha enhances softness and fluffiness of Idli.
5. Fenugreek / Methi seeds – adding these seeds aids in fermentation process. This is my personal experience.
6. Water – Sufficient water should be added while grinding the batter. Consistency of batter should not be too thick; it should be of medium consistency. If batter is thick, then it does not ferment well.
7. Fermentation – There are various tips and tricks by which batter can be fermented. Firstly, while fermenting, always put a lid on the batter bowl and keep in on a base like – plate / wooden block.
   1. As a general practice, keep the batter bowl with lid for fermentation in warm place of your house. It can also be covered with a cloth to give more warmth (during monsoon). Most of the time, I follow this practice and it really works well. This can be done when temperatures are warm / hot.
   2. Preheat oven for 10 to 15 minutes at 80-90 degress celcius.Then switch off the oven and place batter bowl inside. Alternatively, do not pre-heat oven, only keep it’s lights on and then keep batter bowl. Use this method when its cold outside.
   3. Heat microwave for 90 seconds and switch off. Keep batter bowl inside.
   4. Normal time to keep batter for fermentation is : In summer – 7 to 9 hours and in winter / cold / monsoon – 10 to 12 hours. Batter can also be fermented overnight.
   5. Sometimes, it may happen that batter is not doubled. In that case, even if you see tiny bubbles and sense little sour smell – that is also sufficient.
   6. Furthermore, if you don’t see any of the above mentioned changes in batter, don’t worry. Add little baking soda / ENO – fruit salt in batter just before steaming Idli’s.
8. Salt – I prefer adding salt after fermentation. Ideal time is just before making idli’s.
9. How to fill batter in moulds? Don’t add batter till tip of mould, fill only 80% – 90% of mould. Otherwise, idli’s of other moulds will stick to each other while steaming.
10. How to know Idli is cooked well ?? – Once Idli’s are steamed for 12-15 minutes, you can check its doneness by inserting toothpick / knife. If it comes out clean, it is cooked well and if not, steam again for few minutes. Do not overcook Idli as it becomes dry.
11. Preservation – Can preserve the batter in air-tight container / bowl with lid for 2-3 days. Don’t add salt while preserving as it may alter the taste.
12. Idli / Dosa – This batter can also be used to make crisp dosa.
13. Microwaving tip – if re-heating in microwave keep ½ glass of water along with Idli’s, as it retains moisture and keeps it soft.
14. You can also, re-steam the Idli’s again in Idli steamer by keeping it on medium flame for 5-7 minutes.