Kancheepuram Idli

When we visited Bangalore two years ago i came across of a road side stall crowded with people of all ages and out of curiosity i checked out the stall and bump into this mouth watering kancheepuram idli steaming all the way in large trays. Unfortunately. the stall are too crowded and we were just after having tons of pani puri minutes ago, we skipped the chance to savour the piping hot and soft kancheepuram idli.

Back home i kept on thinking about the missed chance of tasting the idli and started to surf net for the recipe. I made this kancheepuram idli for Sunday breakfast and the girls became excited with the "new face" idli. The idli was tempered with spices for extra flavor and unlike ordinary idli i steamed it exactly like how the vendor in the Bangalore sold them in a large tray. Once cut into pieces it look like a beautiful cake. Serve with sambar and chutney.

Ingredients

For The Batter

1/2 cup raw rice
1/2 cup poha/flattened rice/aval
1/2 cup parboiled rice
1/2 cup white urad dhal
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp salt

For Tempering

1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp asafoetida/hing
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3 sprigs curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 1/2 tsp ghee


Methods

Wash and soak the par boiled rice,urad dhal,and fenugreek seeds overnight. Soak poha for 8-10 minutes.

Grind the parboiled rice,urad dhal and fenugreek seeds with a cup of water to a slightly coarse paste.  Keep aside.

Grind the poha  with 1/2 cup into a smooth paste . Add the poha paste into the urad dhal mixture and mix till combine.

In a pan, heat ghee and temper mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter add the cumin seeds,curry leaves,black peppercorns asafoetida for 1-2 minutes.

Add the tempered ingredients into the batter and season with salt.. Mix well and cover the pan with lid and let it ferment overnight or at least 8 hours.

Lightly grease a deep bottom tray with ghee and pour in the batter. Steam the idli for 18-20 minutes.

Serve with sambar and chutney

Notes

• Do not add too much water, the batter should be thick and not too thin