Rava Idly 5/5 (1)

Instant idli recipe, this phrase amazes every Indian who has ever stood in a kitchen. Though idli is the safest and healthiest food on earth, it’s equally laborious: Soaking, grinding, fermenting, and steaming. Definitely, the word instant captivates every cook in the world. Rava idli is one such recipe. It has its origin from Karnataka, as in MTR of Karnataka invented this dish during WW 2, now it has crossed borders and has become an Indian household favourite.

This steamed fluffy, flaky disc is made from Rava / semolina soaked in yoghurt/buttermilk tempered with condiments and spices. It doesn’t involve fermenting and grinding processes; so it can be prepared in a jiffy. 

 As I mentioned in my About Me, my cooking skill has been passed from my granny and my mom. If I walk down my memory lane, I remember my mom making Rava idlis to perfection. She eyeballs everything, it took me a few trials to come to this measurement. My mom’s Rava idly is a big hit amongst my friends and family.

My mom never used ENO, but the result would still be the same flaky idlis. So I too didn’t bother including it in my recipe.  

Moreover, I came across the side effects of Eno in their website itself which I’m sharing here – “Do not use if you have any of the following conditions: liver, heart, or kidney problems, high blood pressure or are allergic to sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, citric acid or to any of the ingredients in this product”. I’m not threatening you, just warning if someone is allergic to such ingredients, which they consume without their knowledge. I am concluding that my recipe DOESN’T call for ENO, I’m always against few Ingredients like MSG that pose threats to health. I even limit the usage of baking soda. I include only if the recipe desperately needs it.

This simple, instant recipe of idli becomes handy if you roast the Semolina and store it. Basically, there are DO’s and DON’Ts in each recipe. I’ll share the same for this recipe.

DO’s

Best Rava idlis can be derived from 2 major techniques – 

• Fine roasting the Rava with generous oil.
• The correct time for soaking and correct quantity and consistency of buttermilk or yoghurt.

DON’Ts

• Avoid using water, if your batter turns thick, add buttermilk to adjust the consistency. 
• Over soaking leads to incorrect consistency of Idly as Rava tends to absorb the moisture from the buttermilk and expands which may not give you the grainy texture. 
• Also, it does not need long steaming. It quickly cooks, hardly needs 5 minutes steaming in medium flame. 
• Don’t prepare large portions of batter, storing again leads to Rava absorbing the moisture and expanding. Always prepare in batches according to your need.

If you follow all the tips, your Rava idli will turn out to be the best Rava idli you’ve ever had.

Also never forget to check my kitchen secrets to manipulate with your leftover food. You’ll experience an unexpected twist of fusion cooking. I even transformed this Rava idly into Rava Idli Bites focusing the kids palette and presented to appease their appetite.

Click here to jump to recipe card!

Whip the buttermilk (thicker) with a whisk for uniform texture, then add in salt, asafoetida powder.

Add tomato sauce, mix well and keep it aside.

Heat a kadai or pan with oil and fry the rava in medium flame with constant stirring till it gets roasted well.

And changes colour slightly. Transfer it into a plate to cool down.

In the same kadai, add 1 tbsp oil and add mustard seeds, once it splutters, add cashews, channa dal, split urid dal, pepper, cumin seeds.

Later add chopped ginger, green chillies, curry leaves.

Then add peas with turmeric powder and asafoetida powder.

Let it cool and then add this to the buttermilk.

Then, add the roasted rava to the buttermilk.

And stir it well, keep it aside.

Meanwhile, take a pressure pan, add some water and let it boil. Smear the idly plates with gingelly oil (preferably). Add a few strands of grated carrots.

Mix the batter, check the consistency of the batter in the pic. It involves 5 minutes of soaking (time taken to prepare the pan and idli plates).

scoop out and fill the plates.

Once the water boils in the pan, place them in the pan and close the lid. Steam cook for 6-7 minutes.

After standing time of 2-3 minutes, open the lid and again let it cool for 2 minutes, then scoop the idlis out with a wet spoon from the plates. Transfer to the serving plate.

Light and healthy rava idlis are ready to be served with coconut chutney, coriander chutney, onion chutney, or any chutney of your choice…😋😋😋

Recipe Card

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 6 -7 minutes

Cuisine: South Indian

Category: Tiffin

Serves: 4, yields 15 idlis

Author: Manimala

Ingredients:

Sooji / Semolina / Rava – 1 cup

Oil – 3 tbsps

Thick buttermilk – 2 cups

Tomato sauce – 1 tbsp (optional)

Asafoetida / Hing – a pinch

Salt – to taste

For seasoning:

Oil – 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds – 1tsp

Channa dal – 1 tsp

Cashews – 10

Split urid dal – 1tsp

Pepper – ½ tsp

Cumin seeds / Jeera – ½ tsp

Green chilli chopped – 3

Ginger chopped – 1 tbsp

Curry leaves – a sprig

Peas – ¼ cup

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp (optional)

For garnish:

Grated carrot – 4 tbsps (optional)

Instructions:

1. Whip the buttermilk (thicker) with a whisk for uniform texture, then add in salt, asafoetida powder, tomato sauce, mix well and keep it aside.
2. Heat a kadai or pan with oil and fry the rava in medium flame with constant stirring till it gets roasted well and changes colour slightly. Transfer it into a plate to cool down.
3. In the same kadai, add 1 tbsp oil and add mustard seeds, once it splutters, add cashews, channa dal, split urid dal, pepper, cumin seeds.
4. Later add chopped ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, peas with turmeric powder and asafoetida powder.
5. Let it cool and then add this to the buttermilk.
6. Then add the roasted Rava to the buttermilk and stir it well, keep it aside.
7. Meanwhile, take a pressure pan, add some water and let it boil.
8. Smear the idly plates with gingelly oil (preferably). Add a few strands of grated carrots.
9. Mix the batter, scoop out and fill the plates. Once the water boils in the pan, place them in the pan and close the lid.
10. Steam cook for 6-7 minutes.
11. After standing time of 2-3 minutes, open the lid and again let it cool for 2 minutes, then scoop the idlis out with a wet spoon from the plates.
12. Transfer to the serving plate. Light and healthy rava idlis are ready to be served with coconut chutney, coriander chutney, onion chutney, or any chutney of your choice…😋😋😋

Notes: 

• Consistency of the batter is so important as it decides the texture of the idli. If you are taking thin buttermilk, add some curd to thicken it or if you are taking thick curd, add little water to bring to the right consistency of thick buttermilk. 
• Also, roasting the rava in generous oil plays a key role in its texture. Make sure you keep it to a medium flame and also constantly stir it. You should feel the heat when you touch the semolina grains and the colour changes slightly.
• I gave roughly 5 minutes soaking time for the rava, the quantity of buttermilk I added, exactly turns to an idly batter. If you soak for longer time rava absorbs the buttermilk and the batter becomes clumpy, then you need to add water to get back the idly consistency. 
• Never add water for manipulating the consistency, always add buttermilk to adjust. It saves your idlis texture. 
• The batter should be of like idly batter, neither too thick nor too thin. When you add rava with your seasoned buttermilk, if the consistency is right, immediately pour into the idly plates. If you find it a bit runny, just give a resting time of 4- 5 minutes by then it’ll get thickened. 
• Here in the recipe two things are optional:
  • a) Tomato sauce – I add this to give a little tanginess to the batter as my buttermilk was not tart enough. If your buttermilk is tangy, avoid using the sauce.
  • b) Turmeric powder – I add for the colour. If you prefer your idly to be white, well and good, skip it.
• I added peas in this recipe, you can skip it or if you want more veggies, you can add mixed vegetables (1/4 cup of carrot, beans, peas, sweet corn all put together). Adjust buttermilk if you add more veggies.
• This batter yields exactly 15-16 idlis depending upon the size of your idly mould. Don’t overdo the batter and store in the refrigerator because rava absorbs all the liquid and get soaked up; this results in a smudgy idly. Rava idly is supposed to be granular texture. So always prepare in portions according to your requirement.

Now time for my Kitchen Secrets...😉😍

Idlis though it has a high nutritional value and is one of the healthiest diets in the world, it may not be a kid’s delight. Especially today’s generation are more fascinated towards junk foods, pulling them back to their roots is a big challenge for today’s moms.

Here with my leftover rava idly, I come up with a different, new idly recipe. It’ll turn out to become your kids favourite dish, then feeding them idly will no longer be a hassle for you. I created this dish, Rava Idli Bites focusing the kids palette and presented to appease their appetite.