South Indian Idli Recipe

Idli is a South Indian staple food. It's cooked and loved in every part of the country. This is a high-protein and fiber breakfast. It's also vegan and gluten-free, perfect for a weight-loss diet.

South Indian Idli Recipe

Idli is a steamed savory cake made in special molds. This is usually served with chutney (coconut chutney, kara chutney, peanut chutney, sambar, etc).

The batter is generally a mixture of rice (par-boiled) and black gram lentils. However, the important step in making idli is the fermentation of the batter, which takes a little more time, like 10 - 12 hours or even more.

Once the fermented batter is ready, you can make idli in just 15 minutes. You may prepare the batter for the whole week and refrigerate it. Remove it and pour it into the molds, and your healthy breakfast will be ready in 12 - 15 minutes.

This is light and low-calorie food. Idli is one of the most popular and healthy breakfast options nationwide. Even if you are on a weight loss diet, you can rely on this idli for a filling breakfast.

How to make idli from scratch?

This is an easy recipe that requires little planning and preparation. The major task is to make the batter and ferment it properly. If the batter is not well fermented, it may spoil all your efforts and preparation.

So, I will divide the task into four steps: soaking, grinding, fermenting, and steaming. Also, for better results, you need to choose the right ingredients.

Ingredients for perfect idli or dosa batter:

Rice:- Parboiled rice is used when choosing rice for your idli. Parboiled rice is easier to digest and packed with nutrients than raw rice. However, the main reason for taking this rice is that it ferments better than any other rice. However, you can also use other rice varieties.

Black gram lentils: Urad dal or black gram lentils come in three to four varieties, including whole ones (with or without skin) and halved ones (with or without skin). Traditionally, they take whole urad with skin (black) as it's the least processed. Once it's soaked, they remove the skin. Then, they crush the soaked lentils a few times and drain out the skins. You may need to repeat the process several times, which is time-consuming, too.

So, to avoid one step, I always take skinned whole ones (whole urad white). The halved white urad is the most processed. Hence, I try to avoid this variety of lentils for this recipe.

Fenugreek Seeds—1 tsp of fenugreek seeds or methi seeds is not essential, but they help in the fermentation process. And trust me, they don't give that bitter taste at all.

Salt—Consider using only rock salt, which is non-iodized and a form of pure salt. Table salt is processed and contains chemicals that inhibit the fermentation process. So, it's essential to use rock salt only for this batter.

Water - Avoid chlorinated water. The best one is filtered water. If water has chlorine or fluorine, it inhibits the process of fermentation. So, use filtered water to blend the rice and lentils.

There are no other magic ingredients. But choosing the right ingredient helps in making softer and fluffier idli.

The perfect well-fermented batter for idli

Soak the ingredients (rice, lentils, fenugreek seeds)

Rinse the ingredients like rice and lentils thoroughly. Soak for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight. And use separate bowls to soak rice and lentils. Add 1 tsp fenugreek seeds to the bowl of lentils. This is an essential part of the process and soaking them in different bowls. This is because you need to grind both ingredients separately as they require different power, time, and water for blending.

The ratio of rice to lentils should be 3:1. For every 1 part of urad dal, add three parts of rice.

Grind the soaked rice & lentils to make the batter

Then drain out the water. And blend them separately to a fine paste and transfer to a large bowl for mixing.

Take a high-power blender like Vitamix for blending, as in a low-power mixer grinder, the batter gets easily heated. If the batter gets excessively heated, it prevents it from fermenting. Also, add 4 - 5 ice cubes to stop heating during the process. Also, the high-power blender will take less time, so there will be no heating up of the batter.

Mixing the batter & consistency of the batter

Transfer the batter to a large container. Preferably, but not compulsory, use your hands to mix the batter. The theory comes from Granny's kitchen. If we use our hands for mixing, the natural warmth of our hands helps in the fermentation process.

The consistency of the idli batter should be medium thick, that is, thick but flowing. If it turns out more runny or watery, it will not ferment well, and the idli will be hard and not spongy. So after grinding, if you feel it's thicker, add a little water slowly and gradually until you get the desired consistency.

Fermentation of the batter

The main part of making soft and spongy idli is the fermentation process. The fermentation process helps raise the batter and makes it airy and fluffy.

A well-fermented batter rises to double or more the size of the batter. Once you make the batter, keep it warm to ferment for 8 - 12 hrs. In cold places or winters, it even takes up to 16 hours to ferment.

To start the fermentation process, add salt to the batter first. Salt (non-iodized) activates and accelerates the fermentation process. At the same time, it prevents over-fermentation of the batter. The measurement is 1 tsp salt for every 1 cup of dry ingredients.

Next, keep the batter covered with a lid on the kitchen countertop or in a warm place. In cold weather, just wrap the vessel with a blanket and choose the best possible warm place to allow the fermentation. Normally, when the batter doubles in volume, that is considered a well-fermented batter.

*You can also ferment the batter in an oven, microwave, or an instant pot*

Fermentation in oven, microwave, instant pot

For the oven, Preheat the oven to 180F for 10 minutes. Then wait for 5 minutes to reduce the temperature within it. Now, place the batter container in it with the lights on for 8 hours. This light will also give the required warmth, especially in cold weather or places.

For the microwave, Place the container inside the microwave and turn on yogurt mode for 8 hours or until the batter doubles.

For the instant pot, place the batter in the steel vessel. Place it on yogurt mode and cover it with a regular glass lid (not the instant pot lid, as the risen batter may lock the lid)

Steaming the fermented batter

Heat water in a steamer or pressure cooker. Grease the molds with oil. Take out the fermented batter and pour one tbsp (approximately) batter into each mold. Once the water starts boiling, place the idli stand and close with a lid. If you use a pressure cooker, remove the whistle from the lid. Steam for 12 - 15 minutes.

Other variations

There are a few variations to the traditional idli. We can stuff potatoes, paneer, or veggies in this, and you would love the fried version of the same. A few other varieties with changing the ingredients are as follows.

• Moong dal idli
• Ragi idli
• Rava idli
• Oats idli

How to fix watery idli batter?

Take some rava or semolina. Add it to the batter. Let it sit for 30 minutes or until it looks thicker and has your desired consistency. You can also consider adding some other alternatives, such as rice powder or powdered poha.

Can I store the idli batter for longer?

Absolutely. The best thing is to make the batter (fermented) and refrigerate it for a week or more. But it makes the best idli in the first 2 - 4 days.

If you want more breakfast options, read similar posts like bread rolls, cheesy potato sandwiches, masala dosa, aata dosa, tomato omelette, dalia khichdi, Poha, Rava uttapam.

Or read my healthy breakfast collections on the blog.

Recipe Card for Idli

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