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.
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
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.
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.
Urad dal – Use de-husked urad dal. It should be washed well before grinding.
Poha/ Aval/ Flattened rice – Any Poha – thick or thin can be used. Poha enhances softness and fluffiness of Idli.
Fenugreek / Methi seeds – adding these seeds aids in fermentation process. This is my personal experience.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Heat microwave for 90 seconds and switch off. Keep batter bowl inside.
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.
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.
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.
Salt – I prefer adding salt after fermentation. Ideal time is just before making idli’s.
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.
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.
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.
Idli / Dosa – This batter can also be used to make crisp dosa.
Microwaving tip – if re-heating in microwave keep ½ glass of water along with Idli’s, as it retains moisture and keeps it soft.
You can also, re-steam the Idli’s again in Idli steamer by keeping it on medium flame for 5-7 minutes.