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Idli
Steamed rice cakes — India’s lightest breakfast
👨🍳 Pro🌅 Breakfast🌿 Vegan🕓 735 min
The same fermented batter as dosa, mixed to a different ratio and steamed instead of pan-cooked. When the fermentation is right, idlis are cloud-light and almost weightless; when it isn’t, they’re rocks. There is little in between.
👨🍳 Pro: Fermenting, deep-frying or layering. Needs time, patience and a quiet afternoon.
Prep720 min
Cook time15 min
Total735 min
Serves16 idlis
Allergens: None of the 14 EU-declarable allergens, as this recipe is written.
Store-bought ingredients may carry traces — please check the packet.
Ingredients
0 of 4✅ All set to cook!
Method
0 of 6🎉 All done — enjoy!
- Soak the rice and, separately, the urad dal with the methi, for 5 hours.
- Blend the urad dal with a little cold water until very airy, until it turns white and foamy. Then blend the rice fine, but keep a slight grain to it.
- Mix both together with the salt by hand. The batter should be thicker than dosa batter — about like a thick pancake batter.
- Let it rise somewhere warm for 8–12 hours, until it has doubled.
- Grease the idli molds, spoon in the batter CAREFULLY, without stirring the air back out of it.
- Steam for 10–12 minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before turning them out of the molds.
Tips
- The point of no return is, again, the fermentation — and after that, the stirring. Stir the risen batter and you knock the air out of it, and you steam rubber instead of idli.
- A steamer insert with small bowls works just as well as an actual idli mold.
- Slice leftover idlis the next day and pan-fry them in tadka — that’s Idli Fry, and plenty of people like it even better than the original.
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