The truth about Idlies.

First, Sorry to all of you, for the sudden disapperance. It was my mother’s 60th birthday celebrations and I was quite busy. Now, all that is done, I am here to bug you all.

To begin the bugging, here is the Truth about Soft Idlies. 🙂  So many of you had asked for this during my two posts on Idly – here and here.  Here it is guys, so go ahead and do the idlies – totally soft.

To soak :

1.5 cups of raw rice (not basmati – the regular cooking rice)

3.5 cups of boiled rice (the specially available idly rice)

Mix both the rice and Wash the rice 2 to 3 times. Soak it.

Exactly after 1 hour of soaking the rice :

1.25 cups of whole urid dhal (if you get it with the skin, its all the more good for health – of course, the idlies might not be in white color… 😉 😉 )

Wash the urid dhal 3 to 4 times well and soak if for 45 minutes.

Soaking Urid Dhal

Now, after that 45 minutes of soaking Urid Dhal, its time for the Grinder’s job to begin.

Start with the Urid dhal.

Urid dhal in the grinder

Remember :

– Dont add too much water in the beginning.

– Add little by little when required.

– Use a spatula or your hand to push the whole dhals, which stay on the edges, so that you get a smooth batter.

– Dont grind the dhal for more than 20 minutes, its fluffiness will reduce.

– The batter should be fluffy like this

The Fluffy urid dhal batter

Now, its the turn to grind the rice. Add enough water, while putting the rice into the grinder. Otherwise, the rice will get stuck beneath the grinding stones and they’ll stop moving.  The rice will take about 30 minutes to grind.

The rice needs to be done till its soft, but you shld be able to feel some coarseness, when u rub the batter against your fingers. You get the point ???

The perfect rice batter

Now, add salt and the urid dhal batter, to the rice batter. Mix them well using your hand. Its best to use your hand, if you believe in the thought that the hand that cooks food, adds to some flavor in the food. And also, the heat from our body, will help the batter to ferment well.

Mix both the batter

And leave it to ferment for 6 to 8 hours.

The fermented batter will rise and look like this.

The fermented batter

Mix well, but not too much – the air should stay inside the batter. Ladle the batter into the Idly plates, after greasing the Idly plates with oil.

The Idlies waiting to be steamed

Now, keep the Cooker on the stove and let the water inside come to a boil, before you put in the Idly plates.  And have a timer and steam exactly for 5 minutes only.  Dont cover the Cooker lid tightly – actually you can avoid using the gasket. Or if its a Hawkins kind, just keep the lid on top. Remember not to use to Cooker weight – this is only steaming.

Idlies in the cooker

The end result is fluffy, white Idlies. The best combo is with Sambar and Milagai Podi….hhhmmmmm…..yummm…… 😛 😛 😛

The Fluffy Idlies with the perfect accompaniment

To the many souls who wanted the truth about idlies, in my previous posts :  I hope this post made you happy, either to drool or to make some on your own. 🙂 🙂

So, are you trying it out today ???? Come on, what are you waiting for  ??? Tell me, how soft were the idlies which you prepared. 🙂