South Indian Recipes

Idli

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Idli is one of the most popular South Indian breakfast foods! Somehow, it’s both a staple food and a delicacy.

I have enjoyed many plates of hot Idli dunked in steaming sambar and savory coconut chutney prepared by my Mother. It’s just heavenly! But, it was about time that I learned how to make this myself.

The process to make Idli is an involved one. But, it is not too complex once you get the hang of it. It requires a number of steps that must be performed in a precise order. However, each step is simple.

It was such a delight to learn how to make Idli from scratch! It took me two tries to get it right, but when I did, I literally felt so accomplished. The most important step for Idli is fermentation. Make sure you ferment your idli batter in a warm place for at least 10 hours for fluffy idli!

I learned the process for Idli from my Mother. I also learned her classic Idli Sambar recipe. My Mom makes a variety of different Sambar/Saaru to be eaten with rice, but the recipe for the one specifically for Idli can be found here.

One of the most popular breakfast combinations of all time is Idli, Sambar, Vada, & Coconut Chutney. Click each item to check out each recipe. 🙂

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Idli

Recipe by Chaitra KCuisine: Indian, South Indian
Servings

32

idlis
Soaking Time

8

hours 
Grinding Time

20

minutes
Calories per Serving

30

kcal
Fermenting Time

10

hours 
Cooking Time

15

min

Fluffy rice cakes typically eaten for breakfast

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Prep the Idli Batter
  • Place 1 cup of Urad Dal in a bowl. Rinse with water and drain. Repeat twice to wash the Urad Dal. Then, soak the Urad Dal with fresh water, just enough to cover it. Let it soak for 8 hours.
  • Place 3 cups of Idli Rava in a bowl. Rinse with water and drain. Repeat twice to wash the Idli Rava. Then, soak the Idli Rava with fresh water, just enough to cover it. Let it soak for 3 hours.
  • After 8 hours of soaking the Urad Dal and 3 hours of soaking the Idli Rava, it is time to grind. Drain the water from the Urad Dal.
  • Transfer the soaked and drained Urad Dal to a grinder/blender.
  • Add small quantities of water to the grinder/ blender and slowly grind/blend smooth for approximately 10 -12 minutes. (Follow this process: add water, grind for a bit, stop, and then repeat. I used about 1 cup of water total. Once you have a smooth paste, stop adding water. Then, continue to grind till the 10 minutes are up to ensure that the batter is very smooth. Also, you may get a few bubbles as you grind the batter. But when you are done, there should be no bubbles left.)
  • Next, drain the water from the soaked Idli Rava.
  • Pour the ground Urad Dal on top of the Idli Rava. Mix well.
  • Place the batter in a warm place such as the oven and let it ferment for 8-10 hours.
  • Alternatively, you can let your Idli Batter ferment in an Instant Pot. Transfer Idli Batter to your Instant Pot. Set it to “Yogurt” mode. Set the time to 10 hours. (Note: I would suggest to use a glass lid instead of the Instant Pot lid just in case the batter overflows.)
  • After fermentation, the batter should have risen. If it still looks flat, let it ferment longer. Then, add a pinch of salt and mix well.
  • Make the Idli
  • Now, it is time to cook the Idli! You need an Idli Steamer with an Idli stand. (Note: My Idli stand comes with 5 plates that each have 4 Idli molds. I don’t use the last plate on the bottom, as it becomes covered with water while steaming.)
  • Boil 2 cups of water in the Idli Steamer. (Note: This is what works in my Idli Steamer. It may be a little different in yours. But, I have linked the one I have here. When you stack all of the Idli plates in the Idli Steamer, the water should just graze the last plate.)
  • While the water is boiling, use a brush to lightly grease the Idli plates you are going to use with a bit of oil. (Note: No need to grease the last plate.)
  • Then, fill all greased Idli Plates with Idli Batter. Fill up each Idli mold all the way, but don’t let the batter overflow.
  • Once you have filled all the Idli plates, stack them in an alternative pattern. (Note: The last Idli plate should be empty.)
  • Once the water in the Idli Steamer has come to a low boil, place the Idli stand in the water. (Note: Just a reminder that the last Idli plate should be empty and should be just grazing the water. The water should not come higher than that otherwise your Idlis will get wet.)
  • Let cook for 10-12 minutes. (Note: Poke one Idli with a fork to make sure that it has cooked. The fork should come out clean.)
  • Once the Idli has cooked, take the steamer off the flame.
  • Let the Idli cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle a bit of cold water on each Idli. Then, use a spoon dipped in cold water to remove the Idli from the pan. Enjoy your Idli hot with Sambar and Coconut Chutney. 🙂

Notes

  • This quantity of batter makes about 32-36 Idlis. I can make 16 Idlis in one round in my Idli stand. With this quantity of batter, I can make about 2 rounds of Idli.
  • The tip my Mom taught me is to start this process the morning before I want to eat Idli. I start soaking my Urad Dal the morning before. Around afternoon time, I soak the Idli Rava. In the evening, I do the grinding and mixing. Then, I let it ferment overnight. But, it doesn’t hurt to let the Idli ferment for even longer.
  • Make sure you use Idli Rava and not regular Rava/ Sooji, which is typically used for Uppittu/ Upma or Rava Idli.
  • For grinding the batter, Mom has a proper stone grinder from India that works great. It’s especially good for making larger quantities. However, my standard blender/grinder works fine to grind 1 cup of Urad Dal. I use my basic Black & Decker blender that has a bottom blade instead of my fancier Ninja blender that has an extraction blade. I feel that it works better in this case.
  • Fermentation is key! If your batter doesn’t ferment properly, your Idlis will become hard.
  • As mentioned in the instructions, my Idli stand comes with 5 plates that each have 4 Idli molds. I don’t use the last plate on the bottom, as it becomes covered with water while steaming. My Idli Steamer requires 2 cups of water. This is what works in my Idli Steamer. It may be different in yours. But, I have linked the one I have here.When you stack all of the Idli plates in the Idli Steamer, the water should just graze the last plate. Make sure you stack the Idli plates in an alternate fashion.
  • In my Idli Steamer, regular Idli usually takes 10-12 minutes to cook while Rava Idli usually takes 8-10 min.
  • There are many versions of this recipe. This is my tried and true version that I learned from my Mother. I hope you love it!
  • Vegan Option: Idli is vegan!

Did you make this recipe?

I hope you all try this recipe out! I would love to see your own adventures in cooking! Please take a pic and share them with me on Instagram/Facebook @chaitrascreations.

 

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