Soft Idli - Authentic South Indian Breakfast

Idli, a popular south indian breakfast dish...Its a savoury cake, prepared by steaming a fermented batter consisting of black lentils and rice...The fermentation process breaks down the starches so that they are more readily metabolized by the body...South indians will definitely know how to prepare idlis and idlis are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambhar and with spicy powder known as milagai podi which is the most preferred condiment for idlis...U know wat Idlis are considered to be one of the top ten most healthiest foods in the world due to the ingredients it is made from...

To make idli, two parts uncooked rice to one part split black lentils are soaked. The lentils and rice are then ground to a paste in a heavy stone grinding vessel . This paste is allowed to ferment overnight, until it expands to about 2½ times its original volume. In the morning, the idli batter is put into the oil-greased moulds of an idli tray for steaming. These moulds are perforated to allow the idlis to be cooked evenly. The tree holds the trays above the level of boiling water in a pot, and the pot is covered until the idlis are done (about 10–25 minutes, depending on size). The idli is somewhat similar to the dosa, a fried preparation of the same batter.In the olden days, when the idli mould cooking plates were not popular or widely available, the thick idli batter was poured on a cloth tightly tied on the mouth of a concave deep cooking pan or tava half filled with water. A heavy lid was placed on the pan and the pot kept on the boil until the batter was cooked into idli. This was often a large idli depending on the circumference of the pan. It was then cut into bite-size pieces and eaten.Southern Indians have brought the popular idli wherever they have settled throughout the world..

2cup Idli rice

1cup Black gram (urad dal)

1tsp Fenugreek seeds

2tbsp Cooked rice

Salt

Soak rice and urad dal with fenugreek seeds separately with enough water for atleast 5 to 6 hours or else for overnite..Drain the water in rice and grind its coarsely with cooked rice..grind the urad dal to a sliky soft paste and mix with grounded rice batter along with enough salt.

Now u can keep the batter in a warm place for fermentation atleast overnite until the batter get rise or if u r living in a cold place u can prepare by preheating the oven to 400F for 5 minutes and switch off, then keep the batter in the oven for atleast 6hours and allow it to ferment...once the fermentation is over, u may see the batter rise and doubled their quantity..now its ready for making idlis...

Grease the idly plates with oil and pour enough idli batter and steam cook for about 10 minutes till they rise and become firm, once done remove carefully with a spoon and serve them with sambhar or chutney..