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What is idli and what is it made of?
Idli is delicious food from the southern part of India and is made by grinding rice, urad dal (dark skin with a skin), and water. The mixture is then left to boil overnight before being transferred to a dish.
Although traditionally served as a breakfast and chutney and sambar, over the past few decades it has become popular as a staple food throughout India.
Soft Idlis and Spongy
How to make soft idli?
Those who have experienced the humorous nature of idli dosa batter probably know that making soft idlis can be compared to weather forecasting. The uncertainty involved in the fermentation process can push anyone up against a wall especially after taking some time to soak the rice with urad dal and grind it to the perfect texture and consistency required by these idlis.
And the cleaning required after that if you use a wet stone grinding machine – don’t even start with that.
But as I have tried for 10 years with different ingredients and temperatures here is the final recipe.
Idli recipe
The softness of the idlis depends on five factors – the amount of idli batter, the material used for grinding, the consistency of the batter, fermentation, and the process of healing.
The better part of Idli – The 2 most important ingredients of idli is – Rice and Urad dal. The rate at which we use it varies according to the weather. For example, in winter, use a ratio of 1: 3 and summer 1: 4 which means 1 cup of urad dal use 3 cups of rice (winter) or 4 cups of rice (summer).
Rice – Idli rice or boiled rice or ponni boiled rice.
Urad dal all – Always use urad dal all to get the best results. An even better option would be a black split urad dal that has not been processed but it hurts to separate the skin on the outside – it needs to be cleansed at least 10-12 times.
Methi or fenugreek seeds – Methi seeds help with fermentation but are preferred if you live in a warm area.
Thickly poha (flat rice) – Dip the thick poha (flat rice) (about ½ cup) into the water for 5 minutes before grinding the rice. Grind next to the rice. Be careful – I do not use this because while it makes the dish softer, the remaining batter tends to sour faster.
Materials – Initially a large mud/pestle was used for grinding but not many people use it anymore. The options currently available are
Electric wet stone grinder – The next best thing to use is mud/pestle. There are 2 popular models. I have this one from Premier wonder (1.5L volume) and my friend has this one from Ultra-Dura (1.25L). They both do excellent work of grinding the dough even though it takes about 20-30 minutes.
Indian Mixer and Grinder – Many Indian homes have a mixer like this and this was my idli/dosa batter machine. The only problem is that it has a tendency to heat up quickly and shut down. Also, when it is too hot it burns the batter destroys the good bacteria in the process. To solve this problem – grind in small batches and use cold water while grinding.
Very effective blends like Blendtec – Ever since we brought Blendtec home, I started using them to grind my idlis. It only takes 2 minutes. I run a smoothie cycle to grind urad dal and rice. Use cold water to prevent overheating and kill good germs.
Batter Consistency – The batter should not run too hard or too tight. Think of it as the dough of a flowing pancake.
Fermentation – Leave the dough to ferment in a warm place. Fermentation can take anywhere between 8 – 12 hours (and sometimes up to 15 hours in the cold winter). For many people in India, that would mean leaving it in your kitchen. But for those who live abroad in the coldest part of the world, you have the following options
Oven – Leave it in your oven to light or heat your oven to 170 degrees F or the lowest possible temperature. Turn off the oven. Wait 10 minutes and place the dough in the oven.
Next to your temperature – Always place your bowl on the cookie sheet – do not want the overflowing dough to flow into space.
Proof setting in your oven – If your oven has proof settings, go ahead and use it. Set aside 12 hours and your batter is good and ready.
Use the Quick Pot (my favorite option) – This is my favorite method because it always produces consistent results. For a detailed post about fermented dough in a pot, check out this Instant Pot recipe post.
Pour the dough into a metal place.
Insert the metal inside the Quick Pot.
Press the yogurt function – the display should read “YOGT”.
Set the time to 12 hours and the selection should be “minimal”. Do not use Instant Pot Lid because sometimes due to the overflow of the batter, the lid is locked. Instead, use a glass lid.
Note – If I use Blendtec to grind, I add a few ice cubes to the idli batter and mix well AFTER grinding. Melting ice cubes ensures that the dough is not too hot].
Respiratory process – There are 3 ways to boil idlis – using a South African Idli chef, a pressure cooker, or a Quick Pot. Excessive cooking of idlis makes them harder. No matter what device you use, 10 minutes should be enough time to shoot idlis.
