Idli Batter/Idli maavu
Idli...... when I sit to down type about idli.. my memories fly back to the days when I was 8 years old. During holidays, we used go to our amma-amma's (maternal grandma) house.
My grand parent's were living as a joint family with 15 members. When we grand children go there, the strength becomes 21! Most of the time the break fast would be idli and kadalai paruppu chutney. On special occasions, the side dish is either vadai curry or chicken kozhambu.
In those days grinding the idli batter for such a big family would be a bit laborious. Two of my aunties used to sit on the either side of the huge mortar-pestle or the manual idli-batter grinder. One of the auntie will handle the pestle and the other auntie used to push the rice towards the centre of the grinder.
The next day, the ladies of the house will steam cook idlies in a huge idli pot which makes 36 idlies in one batch. By the time we kids wake up.. the idlies will be ready, and when they open the lid of the idli pot, the steam gushes out like a mini steam engine. The idli-cious aroma of this steam invites us to the back yard where they used to make idlies in the stoves which use wood (viragu aduppu).
It used to be fun when my aunties make idlies in small cups and tumbler especially for us. My mom started making idlies in pressure cooker. I felt something is missing in it... years flew by.
Okay.. back to present.. now, after so many years, I tired to bring back the idli pot concept where we pour the idli batter on the idli plates with wet white cloth on them. this makes easy to remove idlies from the idli plates. Im loving the my new idli pot.
Idli is such a versatile food, that.. old or young, lean or over weight, rich or poor... anyone can eat this simple and healthy dish. Idli, is a perfect balance of carbohydrate and protein. With some coconut/friedgram chutney -- makes a perfect balanced breakfast / dinner. It is fermented with good culture - another reason to say yes to it. And it is steam cooked - BONUS ! as it is easily digestible, no oil.
My grand parent's were living as a joint family with 15 members. When we grand children go there, the strength becomes 21! Most of the time the break fast would be idli and kadalai paruppu chutney. On special occasions, the side dish is either vadai curry or chicken kozhambu.
In those days grinding the idli batter for such a big family would be a bit laborious. Two of my aunties used to sit on the either side of the huge mortar-pestle or the manual idli-batter grinder. One of the auntie will handle the pestle and the other auntie used to push the rice towards the centre of the grinder.
The next day, the ladies of the house will steam cook idlies in a huge idli pot which makes 36 idlies in one batch. By the time we kids wake up.. the idlies will be ready, and when they open the lid of the idli pot, the steam gushes out like a mini steam engine. The idli-cious aroma of this steam invites us to the back yard where they used to make idlies in the stoves which use wood (viragu aduppu).
It used to be fun when my aunties make idlies in small cups and tumbler especially for us. My mom started making idlies in pressure cooker. I felt something is missing in it... years flew by.
Okay.. back to present.. now, after so many years, I tired to bring back the idli pot concept where we pour the idli batter on the idli plates with wet white cloth on them. this makes easy to remove idlies from the idli plates. Im loving the my new idli pot.
Idli is such a versatile food, that.. old or young, lean or over weight, rich or poor... anyone can eat this simple and healthy dish. Idli, is a perfect balance of carbohydrate and protein. With some coconut/friedgram chutney -- makes a perfect balanced breakfast / dinner. It is fermented with good culture - another reason to say yes to it. And it is steam cooked - BONUS ! as it is easily digestible, no oil.
About the batter:
We can use the grinder or blender or mixer to grind the batter. If you started making idli batter in mixer or blender, you will be happy with the idlies it yields. The idlies will be soft and good. But, once u have tried grinder, then you won't go back to mixer. The batter made in grinder yields more batter and the texture of idlies will be better too. I accept that nothing can beat the authentic-hand ground batter, but still, the electronic grinder is better than the mixer.
I know it is a little tedious to maintain a grinder. but, the next morning, when we see the batter has beautifully, lively, happily, energetically fermented and raised till the rim of the container, you will definitely think its all worth the hard work of using, washing and putting back the grinder safely.
Another rule is that the batter should be thoroughly mixed with bare hands to make sure that the batter is homogeneous. The happy bacteria from our hands volunteers for a successful fermentation.
Leave it undisturbed for overnight in a warm place for fermentation. Next morning, the batter will be fermented and will be ready to make idli.
Before we see the list of ingredients, let me say a few words about the ingredients.
Idli rice: Idli rice is a special rice used for making idli. Some people use the combination of boiled rice and raw rice in a specific ratio instead of idli rice to make idli. My mother uses boiled rice, raw rice (from the government ration shop) and idli rice (from shop) to make idli batter. I will give you that ratio later in this post. I use only idli rice. Sometimes the quality of rice will affect the raising of the idli batter after fermentation. I had this experience once when the batter from a rice of one particular shop did not raise.
Urad dhal: Buy a good quality urad dhal. But, how do you conclude that the urad dhal is of good quality? Yes.. when u grind the dhal, it will give a good yield (ubari). So, until you find one such quality dhal, buy small portions and try.
Fenugreek seeds: I generally use 1 spoon of fenugreek seeds. If you add more fenugreek seeds, the idlis will become flat and not "white".
I know it is a little tedious to maintain a grinder. but, the next morning, when we see the batter has beautifully, lively, happily, energetically fermented and raised till the rim of the container, you will definitely think its all worth the hard work of using, washing and putting back the grinder safely.
Another rule is that the batter should be thoroughly mixed with bare hands to make sure that the batter is homogeneous. The happy bacteria from our hands volunteers for a successful fermentation.
Leave it undisturbed for overnight in a warm place for fermentation. Next morning, the batter will be fermented and will be ready to make idli.
Before we see the list of ingredients, let me say a few words about the ingredients.
Idli rice: Idli rice is a special rice used for making idli. Some people use the combination of boiled rice and raw rice in a specific ratio instead of idli rice to make idli. My mother uses boiled rice, raw rice (from the government ration shop) and idli rice (from shop) to make idli batter. I will give you that ratio later in this post. I use only idli rice. Sometimes the quality of rice will affect the raising of the idli batter after fermentation. I had this experience once when the batter from a rice of one particular shop did not raise.
Urad dhal: Buy a good quality urad dhal. But, how do you conclude that the urad dhal is of good quality? Yes.. when u grind the dhal, it will give a good yield (ubari). So, until you find one such quality dhal, buy small portions and try.
Fenugreek seeds: I generally use 1 spoon of fenugreek seeds. If you add more fenugreek seeds, the idlis will become flat and not "white".
Ingredients:
Ratio with idli rice:
- Ildi rice - 5 cups
- Urad dhal (whole) - 1/2 cup
- Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon
- Rock salt - 3 - 4 (full spoons)
Ratio for batter with other rice:
- Boiled rice (ration shop) - 2 cups
- Raw rice (ration shop) - 1 cup
- Idli rice (store bought) - 2 cups
- Urad dhal - 1/2 cup plus 3 spoons
- Fenugreek seeds - 1 teaspoon
- Rock salt - 3-4 (full teaspoons)
The end result of the idli depends on the quality and ratio of the ingredients you use. If the urad dhal you are using is not giving a good yield, then you need to add more urad dhal than I have mentioned. Therefore, the ratio of the ingredient I have used is what I have finalised after many trial and errors. This ratio works for me. But, there might be slight difference in the texture of idlies you make as the ingredients' quality varies.
The timings of grinding, that is, how fine or how coarse you are grinding also matters.
Procedure:
- Wash the rice, urad dhal and fenugreek thrice separately. Soak them separately. I soak it for 6 to 7 hours. I use drinking water to soak fenugreek seeds. And regular tap water to soak rice and urad dhal. I change water for rice and urad dhal before grinding.
- Grinding: rinse the grinder and keep it ready. First add the fenugreek seeds along with the soaked water. Let it run for few seconds. Next add the urad dhal. Add water little by little just enough to make sure the grinder is running comfortably.
- Grind till the urad dhal batter is smooth and fine as butter and fluffy with stiff peaks when taken in spoon. This might take around 20 mins. The urad dhall batter should be well aerated and that is what the grinder does efficiently. To check this take a small dollop of urad dhal batter and drop it in water. If it is well aerated, the dollop will float like a glacier.😃 If you had used a mixer to grind, then the batter will not float well (as good as grinder batter) as the grinding in mixer does not aerate it well. Once the urad dhal batter is ready, transfer this to a broad container.
- Now add the rice to the grinder - a fist full at a time. Add enough water till the grinder can run smoothly. Keep adding water at intervals.
- Add the salt at this stage while the grinder is still running. See to that the grinder does not become too tight while grinding.
- I grind the rice till it is very-slightly coarse - finer than rava. But not as fine as urad dhal batter. This coarseness give idli a fine grainy texture. (When you make dosa in the same batter, this coarseness gives crispy dosas.)
- Once done, transfer this to the container which already has urad dhall batter.
- Put your hand and mix thoroughly. Keep this batter in a warm part of the house over night. Make sure that there is enough room in the container for the batter to raise.
Idlies Abroad..
The batter fermenting and raising in hot countries like India might not be a big wonder.. but, it used to be so when we were in US (MA), where it would be cold for almost 9 months. Following many tricks and making the batter rise an inch was a big task. It gives an immense pleasure to see the batter raised a couple of inches or for that matter.. a curd setting. It is a blissful moment to see the bacteria responding to our hard work. If you are from such cold part of the world, here are some of tips which I followed to ferment the batter.
i) Pre-heat the oven (convection) for 5 min. Turn off the oven. Keep the batter inside. Close the oven. After 2 to 3 hrs, open the oven and close it partially so that the light in the oven is still "on". Let it be for 1 hour so that the oven is slightly warm. Close it after 1 hour. You will witness some fermentation in the morning.
ii) Keep the batter inside the microwave (switched off) for over night. This also should help fermentation.
iii) Wrap up the batter container in a blanket and keep it in a wooden kitchen cabinet for over night.
You should see some fermentation after some 10 to 12 hours. I accept that the art of making idli is little more tricky in cold places. What ever the reason or weather is.. we are not going give up idlies.. are we?
But, in blessed India, the batter raises in ease.
I think this post will be useful for beginners. Experts.. please give me your valuable feed back and any tips you know to make the best idli.. better!
Happy cooking !!
ii) Keep the batter inside the microwave (switched off) for over night. This also should help fermentation.
iii) Wrap up the batter container in a blanket and keep it in a wooden kitchen cabinet for over night.
You should see some fermentation after some 10 to 12 hours. I accept that the art of making idli is little more tricky in cold places. What ever the reason or weather is.. we are not going give up idlies.. are we?
But, in blessed India, the batter raises in ease.
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| Idli batter before fermentation |
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| Idli batter after fermentation |
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| Idli ready in idli pot |
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| Idli ready to be served |
I think this post will be useful for beginners. Experts.. please give me your valuable feed back and any tips you know to make the best idli.. better!
Happy cooking !!
U took so much pain in writting.
ReplyDeleteYes, the costly mistake I usually do is add more fenugreek thinking it is good for health and in the process loose the texture of idli. Do we get readymade idli cloth in shops?? Lalitha.
Thanks for visiting Lalli.. I dont think we get any ready made cloth. We can use any old, clean, cotton and white dothi or in my case I bought gada cloth from shop and tore it to my idli plate size to use.
DeleteOk tku.
DeleteSuper ma 😍
ReplyDeleteThank you sooo much ! :)
DeleteNormally i use for four cups of rice one cup of urdu dhal. Here it seems to be very less. Is that the mistake i am doing. I am not happy with the idlies i make
ReplyDeleteRufina Rajkumar, thanks for dropping by.
Deleteyes, i have heard many of my friends use the ratio as yours (4:1). but this ratio (5:0.5) works for me. this may be because of the type of rice and urad dhal i use. the urad dhal which i use, yields a lot (ubari). i use the other ratio (given in the post) for the ration rices.
Rufina, check your idlies personally. example, if the idlies are flat, then you might have added more urad dhal or fenugreek seeds. if the idlies turn out hard, then there might be more rice. try adjusting your ratio with this in mind.
if you are using very good quality rice and urad dhal (i mean if it yields more), then try with this ratio (5:0.5) too sometimes.
it sometimes happens, that if my shopkeeper (from whom i buy my rice/urad) changes his rice merchant, my idlies too change :))). then i have to adjust my ratios slightly even though not drastically. mostly i stick around with this ratio.
idlies.. since we buy ingredients from different places we end up in different recipe. do many trial-and-error method of making batter. All the best. Happy cooking dear !