Idli is a very popular breakfast recipe made in almost every South Indian household, for breakfast or dinner. These are very healthy, fermented and steamed rice cakes, served with chutney or sambar. Idli is now recognized worldwide as a healthy and nutritious breakfast option. I have been wanting to post the recipe – how to make Soft idlis for a long time now. Traditionally Idli batter is ground by soaking rice and urad dal separately. Urad dal is ground separately and mixed with ground rice batter. I have been following this same method for 8 years when I was living in Chennai. However, after coming to Singapore I stopped following the traditional method of grinding idli batter. I was not very satisfied with the quality of urad dalavailable here. Back home in India, I would grind a large batch of idli batter every week and we would all used to enjoy spongy idlis. We used to bring back packets of Urad dal from India but they would last me only a few months. I tried adding a handful of poha (puffed rice) along with rice and that gave me soft idlis. Personally, since we are a family of 4 and I grind batter weekly twice I small quantities, the traditional method is time-consuming. My cousin who makes super soft, fluffy idlis shared her recipe with me sometime back. I found that super easy and tried it at home. It was a super hit and resulted in super soft idlis. I am extremely satisfied with my method of making idli batter as this never fails to result in super soft idlis. All my guests and friends enjoy my idlis. After repeated requests from many of my friends, I am posting the recipe for Idli batter. This method is very convenient for people who like to grind the batter in smaller quantities. Do scroll down to the end of the post for the tips to get soft idlis. For bachelors and people who do not have a grinder, I have also posted the recipe of idli/dosa batter in mixie, and in case you do not have idli rice, you can check for the recipe of idli using idli rava. This method is so convenient for working women. This method will consume comparatively less time to grind the batter. Why are my Idlis hard This is due to various reasons. Either the urad dal will be less or the quality of urad dal is poor. If the batter is not well fermented, idlis will be hard. If the idlis are cooked for more time, it will become hard. Sometimes when we switch off the idlis after it is cooked but didn’t take out for some time from the pan, it will get overcooked in that heat. Also if the batter is too watery idlis will not get fermented and will end up in hard idlis. Which is the best rice for Idli We south Indians always use Idli rice available in grocery shops. The ponni parboiled rice which we use for cooking turns out well for idli but idli rice is the perfect one. Some people use Idli rava also for making idlis. How do you soften Idlis Adding poha or javarisi , sago while soaking results in soft idlis. Proper fermented batter results in super soft idlis. I don’t add methi seeds | venthayam for making idli batter, but if you want you can add 1 tsp for this quantity. Also check out
Sago idliIdli batter in mixieRava idliIdli batter using idli ravaVaragu idli recipe
How to make Soft idli
In a wide bowl add the idli rice, urad dal, and poha.We are soaking everything together only.Wash it 3-4 times and soak it in water for 4 hours.We can soak it overnight as well but 4 hours is fine too.You can keep it in the fridge after 3 hours too.
Drain the water and keep the water aside.Do not discard the water. You can use it for grinding.
Add the soaked rice, dal, and poha into the grinder.Grind this into a smooth batter.Add water in between.It took approximately 2 cups of water to grind this batter. Ensure to measure everything using the same cup.Do not grind the batter too thick, else idlis will not turn out soft.If you grind it too watery, it will not get fermented well.
Once it is ground well take out and pour it into a vessel.Add salt and mix well using your hands.
Keep it in a container and allow it to ferment for 8 to 10 hours.
The fermentation time depends on the outside temperature as if it is very hot you get it fermented soon, whereas in rainy season this will take extra 2 hours.So always mix the batter using clean hands and do not use any spatula. This will help in good fermentation.If you are not going to make idlis after fermentation just keep it refrigerated to avoid over fermentation, resulting in sour idlis.
For making idlis, grease the Idli plate with oil(preferably sesame oil) . Heat the Idli pan with 1 cup of water and allow the water to boil.
Pour 3/4 the ladle of idli batter to the idli plates and steam it for 8-9 minutes.If you want to check out whether it is done, just wet your finger and insert it in idli and it is not sticky just switch off the flame and take the idli plate out.
After a few seconds dip a spoon in water and carefully take out the idlis and transfer them to the serving plate. Do not take out when the idlis are hot as it will not come out properly.
These idlis will stay soft for many hours and never get dried. Just cover it properly if you going to eat it later.
Roasted Hard Boiled Egg / Egg roastInviting You To Join In The South Vs North Challenge – Learn Regional Indian Recipes VardhiniEvent: Peaches + Giveaway Sharing an award with you. Congrats Home Made Recipes I am new to singapore and even new trying idli batter in grinder. I tried making soft idli s with traditional proportional but i am satisfied with them.May be the quality of rice or urad dhal. I thought export qualities would be the best :). I have a question regarding when to stop grinding and the texture. Should the final texture be as that of rava? Because i have heard my mom and others telling different texture when we grind them seperately. Urad dhal should be smooth n fluffy and rice should be little coarse. Can u please help me on this? The ratio of the rice, urad dal and poha really worked very well and resulted in spongy soft idlis..I have a query regarding the fermentation and batter turning sour . All I did is soaked it for 5 hrs and then grinded around evening 7PM. Then stored the whole batter in large Tupperware and left it for fermentation without adding salt. Stored little batter for next day morning breakfast with salt in small Tupperware container. Then morning i kept the large container of batter in refrigerator for using it later in weekdays. small container one idlis were not sour. But after 2 days when i used the large container batter , again i removed the batter added little salt and kept for 5-10 mints before steaming the idlis. For just 2 days the idlis were too sour .. In Bangalore the temp is not that bad as Chennai but still why after 2 days the idlis turned sour .How to avoid the batter turning sour and store the batter for a week . Pls suggest Continuation to post on Mar – 16 – 2013. I could achieve soft idlis and crispy dosa too .Thank u so much for ur recipe. I was almost frustrated after trying different proportions in grinder but only ur recipe came handy to me. Thanks a bunch jeyarshri 🙂 This is continuation to the post on Mar-16-2013.I would achieve soft idli and cripy dosa…. I was almost frustrated and thought i would never be able to make good idli or dosa. At the right time ur recipe came handy. Really superb. Thanks a bunch Jeyarshri. Now we really enjoy r idlis and dosas.. 🙂 Ur post is illustrative enough…! But I am facing a problem that even after keeping the batter at outside room temp of around 30 deg for 8 hours, it has not risen at all :-(((. Any possible reason for that. I have followed ur instructions perfectly. thank youLovePriya Just wanted to check if it’s ok to gring the dal and rice together at the same time. I thought both had to be ground to different textures. Your idly looks awesome. If it is so, that would be so convenient to grind both at the same time. I simply love all you recipes Thanks, Jayanthi Very nice soft idlies!! I am also using ultra grinder. But after 25 mts the grinder is getting heated up. So am not getting gud idlies. Is your grinder getting heated up like me? When I made idlis with ur recipe for first time I got awesome idlis. But the next time I added fenugreek while soaking and salt, sugar while fermenting. With this I got horrible idlis. Please tell me if its all bcoz of fenugreek, salt and sugar??? Also tell me if there is any way to repair the batter?? I m going to try idli for the first time and i dont have a grinder.Can you tel me any specific procedure to prepare this with mixi ?? 2.5 cup rice1/2 cup urad dal1/4 cup aval | poha (any variety) Thank you, Saima Waseem Today I made idlies with boiled rice (puzhungal arisi). It turned out to be very soft. And can u tell me, did u use raw rice or boiled rice or combination of both. For dosa batter., what should be the proportion.Thanks thanks for the tip re. poha. Will try it out.I cook a little rice, then grind and add to soften idlis…I only mention this for your Mom and Mil’s sake…it is not leftover…it is fresh rice. We eat basmathi but for cooking and grinding for idli batter I make ordinary rice.I’m going to try out your godhuma dosa tonight. How many idlis will this proportion make? Could this be because of addind urad dal inbetween? I have store bought batter for idlis and dosas, can you please tell me do I have to add water before pouring into idli pans? Or dosas Thanks Ujwala
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