Hillary's Platter.... Item No 2 . Idlis

Rawa idlis, Kanjeevaram idlis and Mint idlis

Idlis -- the soft steam spongy......

idlis...have  become  a regular part of the breakfast buffet  across the country. And not just in hotels, but also at weddings celebrated under shamianas in Punjab , Haryana, Uttar Pradesh or Uttarakhand. Many women fond of trying out different items for breakfast—and kitty parties—make idles at home, using whatever recipe has been shared by their trusted South Indian friends !

And needless to add, it was part of Hillary Clinton’s breakfast thali.

Idlis can be made in a jiffy, without the elaborate process of soaking, grinding, fermenting and then steaming. These idlis are not the usual rice idli, but rawa idli, made of sooji—semolina.

When I made  them  yesterday, I gave it a twist—made  the regular rawa idli, tweaked it to make kanjeevaram style rawa idlis and also made mint idli,  with fresh pudina—mint leaves .

Here goes the recipe :

Simple ingredients

     

Ingredients for the basic batter

Rawa or sooji – 2 cups

Yoghurt(the more sour, the better)-2 cups

Eno’s Fruit salt- 2 teaspoons

Salt-to taste

Put the above ingredients in a large bowl, whisk till there are no lumps,and divide into three parts.

Plain Rawa Idlis

Rawa Idlis

Refined oil-- 2 teaspoons

Mustard seeds—half a teaspoon

Dhuli urad—half a teaspoon

Hing(asoefiatida) – a pinch

Chopped green chillies- 2 

Grated ginger-half a teaspoon

Curry leaves—a few

Chopped cashew nuts—one teaspoon, optional

In a frying pan, heat the oil till it smokes. Throw in the mustard seeds, when they splutter, add the urad dal and hing.

If you are tossing in a few  chopped cashew nuts, put them in after the urad dal has turned golden.

Next add the ginger, green chillies and curry leaves. 

Take the pan off the  burner, and  empty the contents  into one portion of the basic batter, and stir gently.

Pour into greased idli moulds, place a cashew on top of each idli (I did not use cashew nuts) and steam for about 7 minutes

Kanjeevaram Idlis

Kanjeevaram Rawa idlis



Ghee or clarified butter—2 teaspoons

Pepper –one teaspoon

Jeera-one teaspoon

Hing—a pinch

Grated ginger—half a teaspoon

Curry leaves—a few

Heat the ghee in a frying pan, and add the coarsely  crushed jeera and pepper. A minute later add the hing, the  grated ginger and curry leaves. Take  the pan off the  burner, and  empty the contents into one third of the basic battler, stirring gently.

Pour into greased idli moulds,  stick two or three pepper corns on top and steam for about 7 minutes.

Mint Idlis

Mint Idlis

Hing -a pinch

Finely chopped mint leaves—two tablespoons full

Add the above to a third of the basic batter, mix well.

Pour into greased idli moulds , place a whole mint leaf on each  idli  and steam for about 7 minutes.

Since all these are variations to the same basic batter, they take the same  time to get done. So in an idli stand where you can make a dozen idlis, four of each kind can be steamed together.

Serve with coconut chutney,  dhaniya-pudina chutney, chilli powder, sambar…

And keep visiting this blog for more varieties of idlis….