idli vada sambhar chutney

idli vada

This sunday my MIL and I made an elaborate-Sunday-breakfast :) comprising of idli, vada, sambhar and chutney… and ofcourse tea.Earlier, I was never fond of idlis made at home because they would somehow come out very hard and tasteless. But I particularly like the idlis made by my MIL… they are very soft, fluffy and yummy. So I thought of sharing this recipe with other idli-newbies

idli

Many people use Idli rava (rice sooji) for making idlis. But in this method rice is used directly.

Ingredients

  • Urad dal - 3/4th cup
  • Rice - 2 cups
  • Poha/puffed rice - 1/4th cup
  • A pinch of salt
  • Baking soda

Method

  • Soak rice and daal in separate containers for 4-5 hours (preferably previous afternoon)
  • Just 15 minutes before grinding, soak poha.
  • Grind the urad daal to a very smooth batter (Do not add too much water, just add as much as needed).Set this aside.
  • Now grind the rice and poha. Again dont add more water. Grind this till you get a very fine rava-like consistency of the rice in the batter.
  • Now mix the 2 batters, add some salt and keep the batter overnight in a warm place.(Take care to use a big container here as the volume of the batter increases after fermentation)
  • In the morning add a little baking soda 15 mins before cooking.
  • Grease the idli-stand with a little oil and steam the idlis for about 15 minutes. Open the idli cooker after 5-10 mins and the idlis are ready !!!

Preparation time: 30 minutes + Leave overnight Cooking time: 20 minutes

vada

Idli seems somewhat incomplete without the thoot-vada (vada with hole) and so here is the recipe.

Ingredients

  • Urad dal - 1 cup
  • Green chillies - 2
  • Ginger - half an inch
  • Pepper - 4 to 5 grains
  • Small and thin slices of coconut - about 10
  • Salt
  • Baking soda
  • Oil for frying

Method

  • Soak urad daal for 2 hours and grind it to a very smooth and thick batter. Add water just enough for the mixer.
  • Grind ginger, chillies and pepper to a coarse mixture and add it to the batter.
  • Also add the coconut pieces,salt to taste and a little baking soda.
  • Take some of this batter on your left palm and make a small hole in the centre and carefully place it in the kadai with hot oil.
  • Deep fry on a low flame till a reddish brown colour is reached.

Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 5 minutes

sambhar

I use bisibele-bhat powder for making this particular sambhar. However any of the regular/homemade sambhar powder can be used for the purpose

Ingredients

  • Toor dal - 1 cup
  • Onion - 1
  • Tomatoes - 2
  • Bisibele-bhat powder/sambhar powder - 3 teaspoons
  • Green chillies - 2
  • Red chillies - 2
  • Curry leaves
  • Coriander leaves
  • Mustard - 1 teaspoon
  • A pinch of hing/asafoetida
  • Oil for seasoning

Method

  • Cut tomatoes,onions and green chillies to small pieces and pressure cook with toor daal.
  • Now add sambhar powder, finely chopped coriander leaves, salt to taste and bring to boil. Simmer for a few minutes.
  • Now for seasoning heat a little oil and add mustard. After it stops sputtering, add red chillies, hing and curry leaves in

that order and pour it over the sambhar.

Time : 30 minutes

chutney

I am sure that there is no need to write about the method for making chutney. But even then I am writing it to make the article complete.

Ingredients

  • grated coconut - 1 cup
  • Green chillies - 3
  • Tamarind -
  • Red chillies - 2
  • Curry leaves
  • Mustard - 1 teaspoon
  • Oil for seasoning

Method

  • Fry green chillies with a little oil.
  • Grind coconut,green chillies, a little tamarind and salt with the required amount of water.
  • For seasoning heat a little oil and add mustard. After it stops sputtering, add red chillies and curry leaves in that order

and pour it over the sambhar.

Time : 10 minutes