Idli “Steamed Rice Cakes” With Red and Green Chutney

Day1: This week I will be posting about fermented foods. I thought I will start off with the easiest one – something that I ate growing up right from when I was in my nappies.Mom told me it was my first solid dish. She said she fed me soft Idlis dipped in warm cow’s milk.  It is the classic “South Indian Idli”, one of the healthier breakfast option cause it is steam cooked. Babies, adults, old folks all eat Idli cause it is easily digestible. And because it is bland it marries well with just about any side dish – chutney, chutney powder, dhal, sambhar, meat and seafood based dishes. So according to me and million other Indian folks, Idli is a wonder dish. :-).

Before I go ahead with my recipe, I want to share with you what I might like to receive this Mother’s Day. Since my likes are way too lofty, I am thinking most of them will remain in the list. But at-least they make my post attractive. Husband, take note-#1 in the Lust List: Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger Turquoise Necklace ($US 7200.00)
 Tiffany & Co. Tiffany & Co. Schlumberger Turquoise Necklace

Isn’t that a cool necklace or what? Oh, how it would pair well with all the summery whites. Hubby would never agree to invest so much on beads, even if it is from Tiffany’s.

Now onto to the recipe-
Ingredients:

• 4 Cups Parboiled Rice (or) Idli Rice
• 1 Cup Shelled Whole Black Gram “Urad Dhal”
• A pinch of Baking Soda
• 1 Tbsp Salt (Do not use “Iodized Salt” as it inhibits fermentation)

Tools:

Procedure:

• Soak the rice overnight and the Black Gram for at-least 4 hours.

• Grind the black gram to a smooth paste in a wet grinder or a heavy duty blender with little water. Remove it to a storage container. Grind the soaked rice adding little water periodically. The rice should be 90-95% ground.

• Move the batter the same storage container.Add a pinch of soda. Using ladle or clean hands, mix the ground batter. If using salt, use non-iodized salt. Else salt may be added after the batter is fermented. The storage container should have plenty of space for the batter to raise. The batter doubles up in volume. Store the container in a warm spot, like inside an oven.

• Let it ferment overnight. In cold places, it sometimes takes a day and a half to properly ferment. Keep a watchful eye on the batter else the batter might overflow, like in the picture. The batter for this recipe will make enough Idlis for a large crowd. 

• Take small portions of the fermented batter, add salt if it wasn’t added prior to fermenting. The fermented batter is thick and frothy. Mix with little water.

• The batter should be neither thick nor runny. 

• Spray/Smear the Idli pan with little oil and fill up the wells with batter. Using a special Idli steamer, steam the Idlis for 10-15 minutes. If you don’t own an Idli pan, use an Indian pressure cooker, remove the cooker weight and steam the Idli’s for 10-15 minutes.

• Cooked Idlis look like plush pillows. 

• Serve it hot with Red Chutney and Green Chutney, or any side-dish of choice.

Spicy Onion Chutney:
Ingredients:

• 1 Large Red Onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 Dry Red Chili or less/more
• 1/2″ Ginger, peeled and finely chopped 
• 1 Roma Tomato
• 1 Stalk Curry Leaf
• Marble-sized Tamarind, cleaned and seeds removed
• Salt, as needed
• Oil as needed
• 1/4 Tsp Mustard seeds, for tempering

• Cool and grind it to a coarse paste. Temper the mustard seeds in a little oil and pour it over.

Refreshing Mint Chutney:

• A plate of hot steaming Idlis with Red and Green Chutney is served-

Note:

• The Black Gram draws wild yeast from the air and that is how the batter is fermented.
• After fermentation, refrigerate the batter. It keeps well for up-to a week.
• During winter I sometimes turn on my oven @ 200 degrees F for 5 minutes and then turn it off. A few minutes later I stick my batter into the warm oven to help the batter ferment.