Plain Idli

Soft South Indian steamed rice and urad dal cakes, with clear soaking, fermentation and steaming cues for a first-time cook.

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This everyday South Indian breakfast uses rice and white urad dal fermented into a light batter. Allow 4 to 6 hours to soak and 8 to 12 hours to ferment in addition to the listed active preparation time. Serve with chutney or sambar; those accompaniments are not included in the ingredient list.

Ingredients

• 300 g Idli rice (parboiled rice) (rinse well; do not substitute basmati)
• 150 g Split white urad dal (rinse well)
• 0.5 tsp Fenugreek seeds (soak with the urad dal)
• 300 ml Cold water (for grinding, added gradually; use extra water for soaking and steaming)
• 1.25 tsp Fine salt (stir in after fermentation; adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp Neutral oil (for lightly greasing the moulds)

Step-by-step method

1. Rinse the idli rice and urad dal in separate bowls until the water runs mostly clear. Cover each with plenty of fresh cool water; add the optional fenugreek seeds to the dal. Soak the rice for 5 to 6 hours and the dal for 4 to 5 hours, then drain both.
2. Grind the drained urad dal in a blender or wet grinder with a little of the measured cold water at a time until it is very smooth, pale and fluffy. Pause if the machine heats up, and scrape down the sides so no coarse dal remains.
3. Grind the drained rice separately with enough of the remaining cold water to make a smooth, thick paste. Mix it thoroughly with the urad batter in a large clean bowl. The batter should be thick but pourable; add a spoonful of water only if it will not fall slowly from a spoon.
4. Cover the bowl loosely, leaving room for the batter to rise. Ferment in a warm place, ideally about 25 to 30°C, for 8 to 12 hours. It is ready when visibly puffed by at least one-third, bubbly and mildly tangy. Cooler kitchens may take longer; do not steam flat, unrisen batter.
5. Gently fold in the salt without beating out all the air. Fill the bottom of an idli steamer with water and bring it to a steady boil. Lightly grease the moulds with the optional oil and spoon batter into each, leaving a little room for expansion.
6. Place the moulds over the boiling water without letting them touch it. Cover and steam on medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not use the pressure weight if using a pressure cooker as a steamer. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean.
7. Turn off the heat and leave the idlis in the covered steamer for 2 minutes. Open the lid away from your face to avoid steam burns. Wet a spoon and gently loosen each cake from its mould.
8. Serve warm with separately prepared coconut chutney or sambar. Refrigerate any remaining batter promptly in a covered container; discard it if mould appears or it develops an unpleasant rotten smell.