Mar 05 2008
Good old idli..
From wikipedia..
The idli (IPA:?dl?i), also romanized “idly” or “iddly”, is a savory cake popular throughout South India. The cakes are usually two to three inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils and rice.
Most often eaten at breakfast or as a snack, idli are usually served in pairs with chutney, sambar, or other accompaniments. Mixtures of crushed dry spices such as milagai podi are the preferred condiment for idlis eaten on the go.
Making idli batter and fermenting it is not at all rocket science!! The batter will ferment perfectly if the temperature is between 65-70F. The chutneys and sambhar varieties are so many that its difficult to keep count. I sometimes eat it with chintapandu tokku..which my mil had sent all the way from Hyderabad. It has the tangy tamarind taste with hot spice of red chillies. One lick and it blows your mind!!!
This is my official entry to Jugalbandi monthly click event 
For making perfect Idli batter the ingredients are -
1 cup minapappu or urad dal or black lentil
2 cups ground rice or cream of rice
A pinch of baking soda
1 tsp salt
- Wash the dal completely and soak it for 4 hrs.
- Again wash it and grind it thick. While grinding ural dal, wash and soak 2 cups of cream of rice in water.
- Once you are done with grinding, transfer it into a big bowl. Now remove the water from the soaked cream of rice by pressing it hard inbetween your palms. This is a tedious process but its worth it.
- Now mix the batter well with (your hands of course) and add salt and baking soda and let it ferment.
- The batter size increases when it ferments nicely and emits a strange odour.
- Now comes the fun part, apply some oil on the idli plates and add 1 tbs of idli batter in each and let it steam cook for exactly 18 min. Serve hot with sambhar or coconut chutney. It tastes heavenly!!
