15 November, 2006

Rava Idlis

If you are a South Indian then one thing which will always follow you everywhere is Idli-Sambar. Be it a small hotel or gaadiwala or some ‘sagar’ hotels, the white, soft and fluffy Idli’s with big bowl of mouth watering Sambar and Coconut Chutney will take your breath away.
Here I’m posting a recipe another version of idli called Rava Idlis. The only common thing between Rice idlis and Rava idlis are their shape and the way they are steam cooked. The ingredients, method of preparing the batter, colour and taste everything is different from one another.

Rava Idlis with Coconut Chutney and Onion Sambar


Ingredients:
2 cups of Rava/Semolina
¼ tsp Cooking Soda
1 cup Butter Milk/Sour Curds
1 tbsp Ghee/Oil
1 tbsp Mustard
1 tbsp Urad Dal
1 ½ tbsp Channa Dal
1 tbsp chopped Curry Leaves
1 tbsp finely chopped Green Chillies
10-12 Cashew Nuts
2-3 tbsp Raisins
2 tbsp chopped Coriander Leaves
¼ cup grated Carrots
Salt to taste

Ready to steam cook

Ready to cook in Microwave

Method:
Heat ghee in a pan and add cashew nuts and channa dal. Fry them till they turns slightly golden colour.
To this add urad dal, mustard, chopped curry leaves, green chillies and raisins. Fry them till mustard starts spluttering.
Now add the rava/semolina and fry them in a low flame till semolina turns golden and switch off the gas. Let the mixture cool down.
To this add salt, cooking soda, butter milk, chopped coriander leaves, grated carrots and mix well.
Add enough water to make a batter of idli consistency (little thicker than dosa batter) and keep aside for half an hour.
Pour a ladle full of batter into idli plates and steam cook them for 15-20 minutes till they are done.
You can also make idlis in microwave using idli container and cook them for 7-10 minutes as per instruction. Serve hot rava idlis with Onion Sambar and Coconut Chutney.

Colourful Rava Idlis

Tip:
You can prepare and store this rava mixure in air tight container for 1-2 weeks and can be used as and whenever required to make rava idlis.

Rava Idlis served with Onion Sambar & Coconut Chutney

22 comments :

  1. Looks very colorful. I also throw in some veggies into the batter. So delicious and nutritious at the same time.

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  2. yes lakshmi, they not only look colourful but also have high nutrition content. great dish for breakfast or brunch.my mom used to make them this way so that we kids will eat veggies and dry fruits in indirect way:)
    cheers
    supriya

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  3. Wow!!!! Great recipe & lovely pix. Well done.

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  4. hi pushpa,
    thanks for stopping by... u have got so many baking recipes, i'm amazed... will need ur guidance with baking coz 'm a novice in that case:)
    cheers
    supriya

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  5. Hey Supriya

    If you and Trupti (not to mention all the foodies out there) carry on making lovely dishes as your rava idlis...what will happen to my lovely slender figure...~lol~..ah well one only lives once...~smile~...lovely stuff Supriya...you rock..

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  6. Ohhhhh...You have a microwave Idli maker?? I gotta look for one now,cos I don't like cleaning up the steel ones..*bleghhh*.

    Your recipe for Rava Idli is great, I like Idlis better than Dosas anyday. Wish you lived closer!
    Cheers!Trupti

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  7. hi dilip,
    this is the best diet food u can have. other than the ghee i used for frying seasoning and rava there is not a extra drop of oil. and there is just steam cooking which retains all the nutrition intact:) so no need to woory about ur slender figure:)
    cheers
    supriya

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  8. hi trupti,
    girl the idlis steam cooked in steel idli maker tastes 100% betterthan the one made in microwave. the softness of the idlis steam cooked cant be copied with microwave made. i know its bit of a head ache to wash up the vessels but my sweetheart takes up that job, so i dont have to worry about washing up the vessels;)
    and i too wish we were staying closer:) thanks to blogger which has brought us closer:)
    cheers
    supriya

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  9. Hi Supriya,
    Just now I finished my B'fast Idly and sambhar and I see your pic.It makes me think 'adadadaa, we would have tried rava idly sometime'. Great pictures.

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  10. Hello Kannada girl! Mosaranna is yummy.I have one too! Idlys have beautiful color,chutney and sambhar ,what can I say? I love all your recipes, my kannada sistah:)

    Have fun cooking!

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  11. hi lakshmi,
    u can have it anytime:) best thing about them is not much of preparation requied as i make rava and store:)
    let me know when u make them...
    and hey... i'm not able to access ur blog...
    cheers
    supriya

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  12. namaskara asha:)
    tumba dhanyavadagalu:)
    yeah, we kannadigas can never stay away from idli, vada n sambar:) i'm planning to cook idli and vada for weekend.. will keep u updated:)
    cheers
    supriya

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  13. Supriya,
    everytime I check your blog you have not one but two posts! Man where do you get the time? I love rava idli. Shall try it and let you know.

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  14. praveena,
    i'm hooked to blogging... even if i'm dead tired after long day of work i cant resist staying away from it:)
    do let me know hoe ur rava idlis turns out:) happy cooking and happy blogging:)
    cheers
    supriya

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  15. Hi Sia,

    Thanks a lot yaar for the lovely rava idli recipe.Yup u are right preparing from scratch sounds easy and flexible.From now on I wd make rava idlis this way.
    Thank you once again.
    madhuri

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  16. Such pretty food. I kept being distracted by the smooth coconut chutney :)

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  17. hii,

    your nutricious food and blog look g8t,

    your pictures look brighter and beautiful than on any blog,

    you have a cute blog not overcrowded by anything,

    you have excellent recipes in there,i came married here 1 month ago and your blog helps mee cook something,

    we live in york where do u live in UK.hope to see many recipes here.thank u so much

    love priya

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  18. Hi sia,
    Thanks for a nice recipe.I have a query,plss answer it as i need it the most:)I tried making rava idli in microwave idlimaker.The taste was good but the idli was rather hard and sagging in between unlike soft idlis we get in normal cooker.I donot have normal idli stand and I have to bank on this microwave idli maker only:( I would like to know if normal idlis come soft in MV idli maker and what r the tips to get soft idlis in a microwave idli maker??Does they come out well or should i avoid making idlis in it?
    Thank you,
    Pushkala

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  19. @satheesh,
    sorry for the delay in replying satheesh as i was away on hol.
    u r right, MW idlies are not as soft as the one u cook using a steamer or pressure cooker. i have tried few things to get softer idlies and the one which worked for me is to no water, just butter milk while making the rava idli batter when cooking in MW. if u r making a normal idlis then add a handful of beaten rice/avalakki, left over rice and a cup of sour curds while making the batter. it helps in making soft idlies if not as soft as the one u get from steaming.
    and one more thing, i hope u r using enough water in a MW idli maker while making the idlies as the steam from this water helps in making the soft idlies.
    i would always recommend to make the idli in traditional way. if u have a pressure cooker but no idli stand then try using small katori/bowls to make idlis.
    i hope this info is useful to u. i will see if i can get more info on getting soft idlies using MW and will update it in my blog.

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  20. Wooow this luks yummy. Gonna try this out today. Lovely pictures, wana try and make everything. Luv your blog. :)

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  21. I heard there was a way to make idli by putting the batter in a muffin tray, putting foil over the tray, and popping them in a gas oven to steam for about 7 minutes. Could you tell me, by your estimate, what temp. would be best to steam these in a gas oven? The recipe that I'm trying to use doesn't say!

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  22. @Kaila Hubbs, sorry for the delayed response as I was busy with Diwali prep. I have net used making idlies using muffin trays and sorry I cant comment about the cooking time involved! i use my pressure cooker without its weight and steam cook the idlies. sorry that i can't be of much help here!

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