Idli is one of the very popular South Indian dishes. People prefer idli for healthy breakfast and tasty too. But still, some people avoid making this food at home as they do not know the recipe for making the batter at home. Sometimes people even purchase batter from a local vendor and then make this at home. But ready-made idli-batter is not available everywhere, so they do not have any option to make idli at home. That is why some people even prefer to have idli sambar at local roadside stalls. So if you want to make idlis at home then check this idli recipe and try at home.
Have you ever bought idli batter from the market?
You may not have seen ready-made batter but in some places (South India, Maharashtra etc ) it is available. When I was in Nashik, I used to buy such readymade idli batter from the market. There were so many places where such batter was available. Not only that even I used to buy coconut chutney for only 10 rupees in 2013. I used to buy one packet of that idli batter for only 30 rupees which was sufficient for 20 pieces of idli for 4-5 people.
Why do people buy readymade idli batter from the market?
Well, busy lifestyle definitely the big reason for most people. But this is not the only reason for avoiding making that batter at home.
Unaware of right information regarding perfect rice and dal (lentils) ratio to be used, proper water quantity to apply in batter, adequate time to ferment batter are the major reason apart from busy lifestyle for avoiding making idli batter at home.
If you have done anything wrong in those three things (rice & dal ratio, water quantity & time for fermentation) then your idlis will not be as soft as you are expecting. It will not be as white as you are thinking. So as a whole, your idlis will not be perfect one what you want to have. So what to do? 😀
There is no standard rice and dal ratio what you need to follow. But I prefer 3:1 (rice : dal) approx. You have to use parboiled rice/idli rice / ukda chawal to make idli. Add 1/4 cup of regular rice to 1.5 cups of parboiled rice too, but it is totally optional for this idli recipe. If you make this without regular rice then also you can make good tasty idli too. If you try it very often with & without regular rice then you may find some difference but for home use, you can avoid that.
How to ferment idli batter at home?
For fermentation, methi or fenugreek seeds are used but instead of methi, I prefer to use a few teaspoons of curd, which helps it to ferment faster. Another disadvantage of methi is it has its own flavor, so if you add extra seeds by mistake then you can smell it while eating.
When in winter, batter takes more time to ferment and you do not have that much time then you can add extra curd as if you add more fenugreek or methi seeds then its unique flavor will be added in idli. So I prefer curd than methi. But as it is said methi has the same type of natural yeast like urad dal has, that is why some people also prefer it instead of curd.
Who uses poha to make in idli?
Are you thinking the same? You may think so because you have never noticed anybody to add poha (flattened rice) to idli batter.
Poha or chivda is also used in idli-batter. Poha helps to make your-idli more soft and white. So you can add some poha in your essential ingredients (follow this idli recipe) and make tasty idli at home. But this is absolutely optional whether you want to make more white idli or not, haha. I normally do not care to add those for making idli regular purpose.
Thick or thin idli batter? What do you want to make perfect idli?
Now the most critical thing in idli-making is water. How much water is needed to add? For soaking purpose you can add as much water as it needs to be immersed even after soaking water. So add water accordingly so that each dal or rice always be immersed in water. Now when you grind dal & rice after draining the water, use that reserved water (what is used for soaking purpose). Use 2:5 ratio (water : rice) for grinding rice and 2:3 ratio (water: dal) for grinding dal. But it is not a standard ratio, you are free to deviate from that ratio as so many other factors working here, like – time is taken for soaking in water, quality of dal & rice, weather etc.
Recipe of idli
- Par boiled rice – 1.5 cups
- Regular rice – ¼ cup (optional)
- Whole / split black gram (urad dal) – ½ cup
- Curd - 2 tsp
- Poha (flattened rice) – ¼ cup, optional
- Salt – as needed
- Water – as needed
- Sunflower oil – for greasing
- Wash rice & dal in water to remove impurity & dirt in water and keep separately
- Check poha or chivda for dirt & impurity carefully before washing in running water
- Soak rice & dal in a separate bowl for 4 hours
- Grind rice with poha and urad dal / black gram separately after draining water
- Mix two items with 2 tsp curd together
- Keep it for 5-6 hours for fermentation at warm places
- After fermentation stir that idli batter and add water as needed
- Add water in idli maker of steamer and generate steam to cook idli
- Grease idli plates with oil and pour batter in idli plates and cook for 15 minutes approximately & check it
- Once it cooked and becomes soft & spongy, remove it and keep at serving plate
- Serve hot or warm
Soft & tasty rice idli recipe
Ingredients
- Par boiled rice / ukda chawal / idli rice – 1.5 cups
- Regular rice – 1/4 cup (optional)
- Whole / split black gram / urad dal – 1/2 cup
- Curd / dahi- 2 tsp
- Poha – 1/4 cup
- Salt – as needed
- Water – as needed
- Sunflower oil – for greasing
Steps to follow
- Wash rice (both) & dal in water to remove impurity & dirt (if any as you will grind those) in water and keep separately. If you are using very less quantity of rice & dal, then you keep those in the same bowl as you can bring those together in such case, otherwise, you should grind separately.
- Check poha or chivda for dirt & impurity carefully and then wash in running water
- Soak rice & dal in a separate bowl for 4 hours
- Grind rice (after draining water) with poha and urad dal separately
- Now mix those in a large bowl and add 2 tsp curd with those and mix all to make the batter, now it is ready to be fermented
- For fermentation it is needed 5-6 hours ( overnight), so keep it in a warm place. If you are living in a hill station or want to make it during winter then the time taken for fermentation may vary.
- When the batter is fermented then stir it well and add some water as needed. Do not add too much water as it too much water makes idli flat and less soft. Now your idli batter is ready to make soft & tasty idli.
- Use your idli-maker/steamer to make idlis. Add water to generate steam when it starts generating steam then grease plates for idlis with sunflower oil. You can use fresh cloth or a small piece of any vegetable (potato or brinjal/eggplant) for greasing plates for idlis with oil. If you do not grease plates for idlis, then it is very difficult to remove or lift cooked idlis from that plate. Pour batter into the moulds
- Idlis will take around 15 minutes to be cooked. Take idlis on a serving plate.
- Serve hot or warm with coconut chutney, sambar etc.
So are you ready to make perfect idli at home?
Sometime idli-batter takes more than normal time, so always check whether it is fermented or not. If you are using batter which not properly fermented then you can not make proper soft & tasty idlis with that batter. The fermented batter will be increased in volume and you can see bubbles within that.
If you are looking for some other healthy breakfast then try malvani poha recipe, tasty & spicy dahi vada recipe, plain dosa recipe, sooji upma recipe, sabudana khidchi recipe too. Those are all tasty and healthy food for breakfast.
Follow this idli recipe & make this at your home and reply with your experience too. Thanks for reading this idli recipe.
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