Idly

Idlies are one of the most popular breakfast items of South India. Making a perfect idly is a bit tricky.
For me the key to perfect soft idly lies in the selection of rice. Only the best quality will give you the perfect result.

The quality of urad dal also matters. The best choice of rice is the idly rice, you can also use any superior quality raw rice. But idly rice is my choice. Coming to urad dal, whole ones are better than split ones. Another tip is to add some cooked rice while making the batter.

You can soak rice and urad dal separate or together, well the authentic way is soaking them separately. I do both ways, for small batch I soak them together and larger batches I soak them separately. Here I have soaked them together. I grind it in a mixie, and have the problem of heating up the batter. So I use a few ice cubes while grinding.

Ingredients

• Idly rice  -  1 cup
• Urad dal  -  1/2 cup
• Fenugreek   -  1/2 tsp
• Cooked rice  -  2 tbsp
• Ice cubes  -  1 or 2 
• Salt  -  to taste

Method

• Thoroughly wash rice, urad dal and fenugreek. Now soak them in drinking water. If you are soaking them separately, soak rice and fenugreek together and urad dal separately ( that's what I do 🙂, both ways works). Soak for 4 to 5 hrs. 
• Now drain the rice and, urad dal. Reserve the water. Add it into the jar of a mixture grinder along with cooked rice and ice cubes and grind to a smooth paste.
• Cover and let it rest for 8 hours or overnight in a big bowl.
• Once the batter has fermented, add salt and give it a mix. 
• Now pour the batter into greased idly plates and steam for about 10 minutes.
• Once done remove from the steamer immediately. Let it cool well before unmoulding. 
• Enjoy with coconut chutney and sambar. 

Notes

• If you are grinding separately, first grind urad dal. It will increase in volume and become fluffy. Transfer this to a bowl and then grind the rice, fenugreek and cooked rice together to a fine paste. Now mix both batters thoroughly and keep for fermenting. 
• Use the water from urad dal first. Use minimum water while grinding. The batter must be thick. If adding ice cubes makes the batter watery, you can keep the rice and urad dal in refrigerator for some time before grinding and skip ice. 
• If you are using a wet grinder you need not worry about batter becoming hot.
• If you wish you can keep the batter a bit grainy for a coarse textured idly.
• I use the same batter for making dosa. Just add a little more water to make the batter thin as needed for making it.