Friday, May 8, 2020

Kulitha Idly ani Ramdana (Horse Gram Idly).


“Kulitha Idly ani Ramdana (Horse Gram Idly)” … A delicious Idly/ steamed delicacy from Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared using Horse Gram along with Black Gram and Rice … tastes awesome when served with any coconut chutney … Yummilicious … 

** Here is a simple but tasty and nutritious Idly ie steamed dish prepared using lentils and rice that is mostly served with chutney during breakfast. I am very fond of kulith/ horse gram and dishes using this lentil be it in the preparation of dosa, idly or curries is common in my home. I have posted may dishes to date with this healthy gram and will be sharing a common link at the bottom of this recipe for guidance. You can just click on the same and reach any dish that you would love to try out. The batter used here is the same as for Idly, Ramdan, panna doddak or khotto, the difference being only in the molds used for preparing. Idly usually is prepared in small vati ie bowls or in a semi circular dented plate that is available in stores. Khotto is the name given to any Idly prepared in Jackfruit leaves baskets which are prepared at home pinning the leaves up with wooden sticks derived from coconut leaves. 

** Again, Ramdan is the name for Idly that is poured in larger bowl similar to cakes, say about a diameter of 8-12 inches depending upon the size of the steaming vessel/ pedavana being used. The batter is the same, while the consistency is kept slightly thicker in case of khotto, so that the same does not get leaked out easily. However in case of appos or dosa prepared again in the same combination, the batter is ground smoother while for the others mentioned above the rice is kept on the coarser side for sponginess. Well, that is the way I prepare and I have posted them all before, but I guess I forgot to post the Idly picture and when one of my friend queried about the same asking for the blog link, on searching I found that I had not, so posting the same in Idly form just for the sake of those who would like to get to know how the same looks like. Do try them out, they are not only easy but are healthier too. 

** Here is my simple method of preparing “Kulitha Idly ani Ramdana (Horse Gram Idly)” … My own tried and tested method … 

** Soak 1 cup of Urad dal/ Black gram dal for 4-5hrs. Wash well, drain off all excess water and then grind to a fine paste (I use wet grinder) adding water sparingly to get a thick fluffy batter. 

** Before you start grinding of the dal, soak about 3 cups of Idli Rawa/ Rice Rava (easily available in stores) in water for about 30 minutes. Drain off the excess water if any by tilting the vessel. Keep this ready aside for another 5-10 minutes before adding on. 

** Remove the prepared urad dal batter into a large sized vessel and add in the prepared Idly rava and mix well. The batter should be thick but pouring consistency. Add salt to taste, cover with a tight lid and leave it overnight or 10-12 hours to be well fermented. 

** Pick, clean, wash and soak ¾ to 1 cup of kulith (horse gram) in plenty of water overnight or for about 4-5 hours. Wash well with water, drain off the water, and grind to a semi coarse textured paste in mixer grinder. Sprinkle water while grinding only if necessary. 

** Add ground kulith to fermented Urad- Rice batter and mix well. You can add in coarsely ground 1 inch piece of ginger (adrak/ alle’) and 4-5 green chillies (hirvi mirchi/ tarni mirsanga) if desired along with some small piece of coconut/ katla kudke (Optional) and mix well. 

** Note : You can also add the ginger (adrak/ alle’) and green chillies (hirvi mirchi/ tarni mirsanga) while grinding itself which is what most of the people do. The choice is exclusively yours, as some people do not like it if the chillies or adrak get into mouth on eating. 

** Mix the batter well to get an evenly mixed batter, all ingredients should be mixed in well and the batter should remain thick the consistency of that which we normally keep for Idlies. The batter now is ready to be prepared into Idly, Ramdan, Khotto etc. whichever way you want too. 

** To Prepare the Steamed Idly/ Idlies: I have used round 1.5 inch deep vati/ cups/ tumbler/molds here to get rounded shaped Idlies, you may choose whichever is suitable to you. Add batter only to ¾ level and not till the top or else the idly may pour out or stick to the plate separator above. 

** Remember to apply oil on the inner side of the molds before adding in the batter. Applying of oil to the molds ensures that the batter / mixture does not stick to it and comes off cleanly without crumbling once the Idly is steamed and cooled a bit. 

** Meanwhile keep the Idly steamer/ pedavana with required amount of water to heat on high level. When it reaches full steam, lower the heat to minimum, and gently place in the steel vaties/ molds one by one in a single layer, then keep the separator and place some more vaties in layers and so on. 

** I have a three tiered Idly steamer, where I can place four vaties in each layers in all adding to 12 Idlies. Cover the lid tightly. Increase the heat and steam for 5-10 minutes or till you see steam escaping through the side rim of the lid, then lower the heat to medium and steam for 20 minutes. 

** The time for steaming process here depends on the size of the molds. Smaller one’s take lesser time while larger one’s should be steamed a little bit more for evenly cooked Idlies. If using larger molds you can steam for about 35-40 minutes in all ie. 10 + 25-30 Minutes. Never over steam the idlies or else they will not remain soft and turn hard on storing. 

** To remove the prepared Idly from steamer, first open the lid and then off the gas, otherwise the steam will bounce back on top of the Idly and add droplets on the cooked Idlies creating a mess. Remove the Idly Vati gently and place it on even row on a table/ platform without toppling one each other and allow it to cool a little bit, say for about 5 minutes. 

** Do not try removing the Idlies immediately when they are too hot else they will not come out in one smooth go and break up. Once slightly cooled, run a blunt knife through the edges on the inner side of the vaties/ molds and gently flip over Vati and tap it a bit to bring out the steamed Idly in one go. Keep it aside ready. 

** To prepare the Ramdana/ Tatte Idly : The procedure is the same as that of the Idly, here the usage is just of a large mold, say about 8-12 inch in diameter depending upon the size of your Idly steamer/ pedavana. All method is same as that for Idly using vati without any changes. 

** “Kulitha Idly ani Ramdana (Horse Gram Idly)” is done and ready to be served. Always serve the Idly hot with any Chutney or spicy gravy dish or sambar of your choice. It tastes equally good with all, thought I served it with Egg curry for lunch and the next day with chutney for breakfast. Do prepare and enjoy this dish with your family and friends. 

** Note : You may be wondering why I have added on the horse gram ground to coarse paste the next day. Horse gram many a times gets over fermented giving out a smell that is not very appealing when left aside or a few hours and keeping it overnight actually creates problems. The urad batter needs to be fermented, so I prepare such batters in two parts and get perfect, fluffy, delicious Idlies. 

** Note : I have added Idly Rava/ Rice Rava to the batter as it is easier and gives perfect Idlies. These are easily available in stores. However, if they are not available at your vicinity or you do not want to use the same. Then soak sonar masoor rice in water for 3-4 hours. Drain and wash well, grind to a grainy texture and then add to the ground Urad batter and it is done. 

** Note : I would like to mention here that I use table top wet grinder for grinding of Urad Dal/ Black gram dal always and it yields into larger amount of the ground batter than when used mixer grinder. In case you are using mixer grinder for grinding of the batter, then the proportion should be cut down to get perfect Idlies. Use urad dal 1 cup for 2.5 cups of Idly rava and ½ cup of kulith/ horse gram. 

** For "Kulitha Khotto/ Horse Idly steamed in weaved jackfruit leaves baskets” Recipe, please follow the link given below … 

** Also sharing a common link to all “Kulith/ Horse Gram” dishes in the Blog below … 

** I am sharing two links below, one is a common one to all "Chutney" dishes in the blog, so that you can choose that which appeals to you and the other is to the “Coconut-Ginger Chutney” Recipe which I have served the Idly and doddak with ….

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