Soft And Spongy Idly Batter

Idly is my favourite food in the world. I could survive with idly for thr rest of my life. I learnt how to make soft and spongy idly from my mother. They key is not to over steam the idly, which could land in rock hard idly. As much as the steaming, the measurent and grinding process are important too. Eventhough, it might look simple to prepare, but without proper technique and measurement, making idly has become a nightmare for many. Make sure you give ample time for the batter to ferment atleast, 8-12 hours for a beautiful texture. You may store the batter in an airtight container, refrigerate for 4-5 days and it will never turn into an usual sourish idly we tend to get in restaurants. The batter will stay as good as freshly ground. This idly batter is my fail proof recepi which yield perfect,beautiful,soft anf fluffy idly each time 😁.

Ingredients

4 cups idly rice
1 cup urad dhal
1/2 cup poha/aval
2 tbsp fenugreek seeds
2 tbsp salt

Methods

Wash and soak idly rice,urad dhal,poha and fenugreek separately for atleast 4 hours

Grind the fenugreek with little water to form a fine and smooth paste. Add the urad dhal. Slowly, add 1/2 cup of water and grind for 30 minutes till the mixture doubles in volume and fluffy. Transer the mixture to deep bottom pan to avoid the batter from overflowing during the fermentation.

Grind the soaked idly rice with just enough water for grinding and grind for 30 minutes. Pour the ground rice into the urad dhal batter and mix well to combine. Add salt and mix well.

Let the batter to ferment on room temperature atleast for 8-12 hours for the batter to doubles in size. Once fermented, mix the batter well.

Lightly grease an idly mould with vegetable or gingely oil and fill the mould with the prepared idly batter

Steam for 6-7 minutes. Remove from steamer and let the idly to rest on for 5 minutes. Use a spoon to unmould the idly by loosening the edges and bottom.

Serve with gravy of your choice and sambar.