Sago/ Sabudana Idlis ( steamed dumplings made from Tapioca pearls)

Sago/sabudana or tapioca is very commonly used during fasting in India. There is Sabudana khichidi, Sabudana vadas, Sabudana thalipeeth. Sago pudding or kheer is a popular dessert made for special days. I am very fond of Sabudana on a regular basis, be it religious days or not. I could eat these items anytime.

Recently, my mom introduced me to Sabudana idlis. I have made many kinds of idlis: regular idli, varai idli, mallige idli, sannas, kulith idli, cucumber idli, cornmeal idlis, quinoa idlis. But Sabudana idlis , I have not made. I decided to try mom's recipe as she was raving about these idlis. She also told me to make sure that I serve them with saagu, kurma, matar paneer  or any such curry or not the regular sambar. You know what they say!! Mom is always correct!!! Well it was definitely correct in this case! The idlis were soft, fluffy and delicious! I served it with saagu and it made for a truly delicious breakfast!

It is a great solution for next day breakfast if you have forgotten to make an idli or dosa batter. It is very simple and easy to make recipe with no grinding involved! You just mix the ingredients, make the batter the previous night and keep ready. In the morning just steam it and you have hot idli ready!!

Servings: 4-6

Prep time: 10 minutes + fermentation time ( 3-4hours)

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins + fermentation time.

Ingredients :

Sabudana/sago/tapioca pearls: 1 cup
Rice rawa/ Cream of rice: 1 cup
Yogurt/Curd: 2 cups
Water: 1 cup ( may not need all)
Salt: 1/2 tsp ( adjust according to taste)
Baking soda: 1/4 tsp
Sugar: 1 tsp
Water: for steaming the idlis , as per individual steamer requirement.

Method:

Take Sabudana and washed rice rava in a bowl.
 Add 2 cups of yogurt and  mix . 
Add water little bit at a time to get a batter consistency that is not too thick or too runny.
Cover and keep aside for atleast 3-4 hours for fermentation. I leave mine overnight.
When ready to steam, add salt, sugar and baking soda to the batter. Mix well.

When you are ready to cook the idlis, grease the idli mold with ghee/ butter fill it with batter until 2/3 full. 
Boil water in the steamer. 
Once the water is boiling place the idli stand in the steamer. 
Steam in the idli steamer / pressure cooker ( without using the weight) for 10 minutes on medium- high flame.
Turn off the heat and let it cool down in the steamer for another 10 minutes before taking them out of the mold.

Serve hot with chutney/ curry/ sambar of your choice!

Enjoy!!


I am bringing this to Angie's Fiesta Friday#173. Angie's cohosts this week are Lindy @ Love In The Kitchen and Paula @ Her Life Is Love

Cooking made easy: 

Idlis can be steamed in the traditional steamer, or in a regular pressure cooker ( without putting the whistle on). You can also steam it in an electric steamer or even in a rice cooker! 
If you do not have the idli stand, use small ramekins or metal bowls to steam the idlis.

Tip for healthy living: 

Urad dal or matpe bean dal can create considerable amount of gas and bloating in people with issues digesting beans. For such people, it is best to avoid gassy foods like beans and vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, onion etc. 

Food for thought:

We aim above the mark to hit the mark. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Cornmeal Idlis

Have you ever thought of making idlis using cornmeal? Yes, it is possible and is absolutely delicious! It is especially useful if you have not soaked your lentils for regular idlis and want to make idlis next day for breakfast. These idlis can also be made instantaneously without any fermentation! How cool is that??

You can make it with or without adding any vegetables into it. I like to add some peas and carrots into the batter . Some people also use chopped green chillies and grated ginger. I don't like that in my idlis. I would rather pair it with a spicy chutney. Also, I want my kids to eat this and they don't like it if there are chillies in it.

This is a easy recipe wherein there is no grinding involved. Yogurt/curd is used to make the batter. A pinch of baking soda is added. The batter is allowed to ferment for 2-3 hours. I like to make mine at night and leave it on the countertop, ready to be steamed in the morning. If you want to make it instantaneously, use eno fruit salt instead of baking soda.

Servings: makes 16 medium sized idlis

Prep time: 15 mins + 2 hours fermentation

Cook time: 10-15 mins

Total time: 2 and 1/2 hours including fermentation time.

Ingredients:

Cornmeal: 1 cup
Yogurt: 1 cup
Water: 1/2 cup ( may not need all)
Baking soda: a pinch ( optional)
Salt to taste
Coconut oil: 1 tsp + for greasing the pan.
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Urad dal (split matpe beans): 1/2tsp
Chana dal ( split chick peas): 1 tsp
Cashew halves: 1 tbsp

Method:

Dry roast the cornmeal in a sauté pan  it in a plate/ bowl and keep aside.

In a saute pan, heat oil . Add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the urad dal,chana dal curry leaves and cashew halves.Sauté for few seconds. Add the cornmeal.
Roast on low heat until fragrant( around 5-6 minutes). Turn off the flame. Let it cool down.

Take this mixture in a bowl. When cooled down, add the cooked peas and carrots, salt, baking soda and yogurt. Mix thoroughly.

 Add the water little by little, mixing well in between until you reach the consistency of idli batter.

Let if ferment for atleast 2 hours.

When you are ready to cook the idlis, grease the idli mold with ghee/ butter fill it with batter until 2/3 full and steam in the idli steamer / pressure cooker ( without using the weight) for 10 minutes on medium- high flame.Turn off the heat and let it cool down in the steamer for another 10 minutes before taking them out of the mold.

Serve hot with sambar/ chutney or both.

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

To make these idlis instantaneously, just add eno into the batter instead of baking soda. Make the batter and steam it immediately. When eno is added to the batter, the batter should not be kept for a long time. It loses its ability to rise.

Tip for healthy living:

Incorporating as many vegetables into all your meals not only provides you with the essential nutrients and dietary fiber, but also reduces the calorie value of the meal thereby making it healthier.

Food for thought:

Listening, not imitation, may be the sincerest form of flattery. Joyce Brothers

Please do share your thoughts. Your opinion matters!

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Mallige Idli ( Steamed rice and lentil cakes); Meatless Monday

Idlis are a staple in my home. Either every weekend or at least every other  weekend I make it. If I have house-guests, then one breakfast is guaranteed to be idli-sambar. And the idli batter has a pretty permanent place in my refrigerator. This is not because I am a South Indian. Well, yes,partly because I am a South Indian, but mostly because everyone at home likes idlis. My husband likes it with Sambhar, I like it with chutney and my kids like it with butter and honey. I like my idlis with some texture. I have spoken at length about the idli texture in my previous idli post.You can find it here. But my kids prefer the super-soft idlis that the Tamilians ( people from the southern Indian state of Tamilnadu) make. These idlis are made differently from the way we Mangaloreans make them. The lentil-ratio is different in that they use more rice and less lentil. They grind the rice to a fine paste while we use rice rawa ( cream of rice).They also use cooked rice and fenugreek seeds in their batter. The result is a homogenous batter that has a very fine puréed texture that results in idlis smooth, soft & fluffy. Now since my kids like it I make this version more often. After all, it is all about the kids!Every now and then I sneak in my version of idlis. :)

This recipe is courtesy my Tamilian friend Vasundhara Rajan, who is more like a mother to me in this country so far away from home.

Servings: makes around 20 idlis

Ingredients:

Urad dal( split matpe bean): 1/2 cup
White rice/ Idli rice: 1 1/2 cups
Cooked rice: 1/2 cup
Methi seeds: 1/2 tsp
Water:  for soaking, grinding and steaming as needed.
Salt: 1/2 tsp ( can adjust as per individual taste)

Method:

Separately soak urad dal in 2 cups water and rice, methi seeds together in 3 cups water for at least 3-4 hours. I usually soak at night and grind in the morning or soak in the morning before leaving for work and grind in the evening.

Grind urad dal with 1- 1 1/2 cups water until fluffy . Take it in a big bowl .

Separately grind the rice and methi seeds with 1.5-cups water to a fine paste. You can add a little more water if needed.

Now add the cooked rice to this and grind until well mixed. Add this to the bowl with the urad dal.

 Add salt and mix the batter well. The batter has to be thick. It cannot be runny.Allow it to ferment for 6-8 hours.

Grease the idli mold with oil, fill it with batter until 2/3 full and steam in the idli steamer / pressure cooker ( without using the weight) for 8-10 minutes on medium- high flame.

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Turn off the heat and let it cool down in the steamer for another 10 minutes before taking them out of the mold.

Idli served with cranberry chutney.

Serve hot with sambar/ chutney or both.

Idli served with sambhar.

Cooking made easy:

Grinding the urad dal in a stone grinder makes it more fluffier as opposed to grinding it in the blender/mixer. It also gives greater yield and requires lesser water to grind.

Grinding urad dal with ice cold water gives better results.

Tip for healthy living:

If dandruff bothers you, try applying a juice of one whole lemon, keep it for 30 mins and then rinse as usual. This when done regularly for at least a month, will reduce the dandruff significantly.

Food for thought:

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. Og Mandino

Kulitha Idli ( Steamed Horse Gram Lentil Rice cakes)

This is one recipe that screams "healthy". I have been meaning to try this for the longest now. Kulith means horse gram. We make a myriad of dishes with it. We make kulitha koddel, kulitha saaru upkari and kulitha upkari. The nomenclature is because this grain was fed to horses and cattle.Horse gram is extremely nutritious. My mother used to state that eating horse-gram would give one the strength of a horse! It is also one of the few lentils/ beans that are apparently not gassy and does not create bloating. Combine this great healthy grain with urad dal( matpe bean lentil) and rice and make idlis ( steamed rice lentil cakes) with this and you have bonus nutrition. The regular idlis just have the matpe bean lentil and rice, this has the additional nutrients. The down side is that the idlis don't look very pretty. They look like they have flax-meal in them! Taste wise, awesome! I love it!

So without further ado let me share the recipe with you.

 Servings: 20 idlis

Ingredients:

Kulith ( Horse Gram): 1/2 cup
Urad dal: 1/2 cup
Idli rava ( rice rava): 1 cup
Cooked rice/ poha: 1/4 cup
Water: 1 to 1 1/2 cups to grind urad dal and horse gram
Salt to taste ( approximately 3/4 tsp)

Method:

Soak kulith ( horse gram) and urad dal for 5-6 hours.

Wash idli rava/ rice rava thoroughly and keep aside.

Blend kulith and urad dal in a blender adding water little at a time until it rises to 2 times the volume you started with. Make sure you give the motor of the blender some rest in between. The consistency of the ground batter should be fluffy  and light ,not runny.

Pour the batter  in a big bowl/ container.

Now mix the washed idli rava with the  horsegram-urad dal , add salt,cover and let it ferment overnight ( 5-6 hours if in hot weather).If living in a cold region, you can keep it in the cold oven/ microwave overnight with the equipment turned off.

Next  morning you  can steam the idlis.

Grease the idli mold with ghee/ butter/ Pam, fill it with batter until 2/3 full and steam in the idli steamer / pressure cooker ( without using the weight) for 10 minutes on medium- high flame.

Turn off the heat and let it cool down in the steamer for another 10 minutes before taking them out of the mold.

Serve hot with sambar/ chutney or both.

Cooking made easy:

Well fermented batter results in soft, light and fluffy idlis. You can know this when the batter has risen a little in the container. Inadequte fermentation leads to poor quality idlis that are hard,dense and has a doughy texture.

If the batter is too thick, add a little water. The consistency of the batter should be slightly thick ( thicker than dosa batter).

The addition of little bit of poha/cooked rice helps ferment the idlis better making it soft an fluffy.

This idli can also be made with sprouted horse gram as I have made in the pictures below. Sprouting also helps with fermentation especially during winter.

Tip for healthy living:

Horse gram is extremely nutritious.

Food for thought:

The only way to predict the future is to have power to shape the future.
Eric Hoffer

Idli Usli ( Idli Upma)

Whenever I make idli batter,I generally make double the amount of batter than needed for one breakfast and make extra idlis so that I can make idli upma the next day for breakfast. It is absolutely yummy especially with lots of green chillies finely chopped and fried and the distinct appetizing aroma of asofoetida (hing).

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Leftover idlis: 12 nos, crumpled fine but not mushed.
Coconut oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves : 1 sprig
Urad dal: 1/2 tsp(optional)
Green chillies: 3 chopped very fine
Asofoetida( good quality): a pinch
Shredded coconut: 2 tbsp
Salt :1/4 tsp
Sugar: 1/4 tsp

Method:

Heat oil in a sauté pan/ wok on medium heat. Add mustard seeds and splutter them. Now add urad dal, curry leaves and slit green chilies  and sauté until the urad dal turns a little golden color ( don't let it burn). Reduce the flame to low and add the powdered idlis, salt and asofoetida. Sauté for 4-5 minutes on low heat until the idlis are a warm and you smell the nice aroma of slightly fried idlis. Now sprinkle the sugar, shredded coconut and mix well.

Serve warm. Enjoy by itself or with some chips or any numkeen.

Cooking made easy:

My husband loathes plain one texture food items. He likes his food to be colorful. To achieve this, my variation of  the above Usli is the  UPMA with the addition of cooked green peas just before adding the powdered idlis. This addition of veggies is also helpful with kids so that they get their vegetable intake in one dish.

Tip for healthy living:

Try to add as much variety into the foods. Variety means colors and colors means variety. When your plate is colorful and has variety in it you have a nourishing diet. Every color in food is significant as it contributes a different nutrient to our body. By being colorful, you get as many nutrients in one meal as possible.

Food for thought:

Life is unpredictable. ( unknown).

Idli ( Steamed Rice-Lentil Cake)

Idlis are ubiquitous in South Indian homes, restaurants, cafes. There are even roadside vendors selling steaming hot idlis for pittance.  Idlis can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

There are several ways of making idlis. The Tamilians ( people from Tamilnadu) make it soft, light and fluffy. Their batter is ground lentil and rice with/without methi seeds and beaten rice/ poha in it. Then there are the idlis that Manglorean Catholics make called sannas which are idlis with bread like texture, puffiness & lightness. This batter is made with parboiled rice and toddy is used for fermentation. Then there are idlis in between with different textures.

My mother likes soft idlis , but I never liked the idlis she made. The idlis taste like a lump of steamed batter of urad dal for me. It is one of the very few things that she makes that I don't like :(

I like my idlis soft but not mushy. I like them to crumble nicely with some texture. Not a lump of steamed batter! The way I make my idlis is  easy with less work( grinding).

Here is my version of idli that my household absolutely loves!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Urad dal: 1/2 cup
Idli rava ( rice rava): 1 cup
Water: 1 to 1 1/2 cups to grind urad dal
Salt to taste ( approximately 3/4 tsp)

Method:

Soak Urad dal for 5-6 hours.

Wash idli rava/ rice rava thoroughly and keep aside.

Blend urad dal in a blender adding water little at a time until it rises to 3 times the volume you started with. Make sure you give the motor of the blender some rest in between. The consistency of the ground urad dal should be fluffy  and light ,not runny.
Pour the blended urad dal in a big bowl/ container.

Now mix the washed idli rava with the  urad dal , cover and let it sit overnight to ferment. If living in cold region, you can keep it in the cold oven/ microwave overnight.

Next  morning add  salt to the batter and mix well.

Ensure that the batter has fermented well. You can know this when the batter has risen a little in the container. Inadequte fermentation leads to poor quality idlis.

If the batter is too thick, add a little water. The consistency of the batter should be slightly thick ( thicker than dosa batter).

Grease the idli mold with ghee/ butter, fill it with batter until 2/3 full and steam in the idli steamer / pressure cooker ( without using the weight) for 10 minutes on medium- high flame.Turn off the heat and let it cool down in the steamer for another 10 minutes before taking them out of the mold.

Serve hot with sambar/ chutney or both.

Cooking made easy:

The urad dal to rice ratio is 1:2 for raw rice rava and 1:2.5 for parboiled rice rava. This is the ratio that had worked for me .

The urad dal when ground in a stone grinder is fluffier and lighter. The fluffier the urad dal, the lighter the idli.

You know the idli is done( well cooked) by testing it with a toothpick. Insert a toothpick into the center of the idli. If it comes out clean, the idli is cooked well.

Once you remove the idlis, place them in a airtight container/ hot box as idlis left uncovered tend to develop a dry hard crust  on the top.

I generally make double the amount of batter than stated above as I make idli Upma or fried idlis the next day for breakfast or evening snack.

Tip for healthy living:

Idlis are inexpensive but a complete food with a perfect combination of carbohydrate and protein complementing each other. When served with chutney and sambar, it is a balanced meal providing you with all the essential dietary nutrients while being low in calories;unless of course one tops it with a dollop of butter or ghee(clarified butter).

Food for thought:

Speech is silver, but silence is Golden. ( unknown).