“Kulitha Idly ani Ramdana (Horse Gram Idly)” … A traditional steamed delicacy from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared using a combo of Horse Gram- Black Gram and Rice … you can steam them as Idlies, Ramdana, Khotto, Moodo, doddaka, appo or tava fried after steaming or just prepare them as dosas and they all taste awesome served with any coconut chutney, sambar, chutney podi etc. of your choice … try it, sure to be loved by all ... 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, Ramdana, 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, Ramdana 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. And above all this cuts down on excess workload of preparing individual idlies in smaller vaties, cleaning, clearing etc. Just steam and cut them to pieces and its done.
** However in case of appos or dosa prepared in same combination, the batter is ground smoother while for others mentioned the rice is kept on the coarser side for sponginess. That is the my way of preparing and I have posted them all before and here is Idly picture that I forgot to post earlier, so all those of you who queried about the same here it is. Do try it, 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 …
** Ingredients :
Urad Dal/ Black Gram Dal : 1 cup
Idly Rice Rava : 3 cups
Kulith/ Horse Gram/ Hurulikaalu : ¾ to 1 cup
Methi/ Fenugreek Seeds : 1 tsp
Ginger/ Alle'/ Adrak : 1 inch
Green Chilly/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 4-5
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : a few fresh leaves
Coconut/ Nariyal/ Narla Katla (Kudke/ Pieces) : 1/4 cup (Optional)
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
** Soaking of Methi Seeds : Soak methi seeds in ½ cup of water in a small cup for an hour or so, just before you start grinding batter, to be used while grinding. I do not add the methi along with the dal’s coz. When we drain off the water, the health and medicinal properties of methi seeds are also lost through it. You can use lukewarm water if you have only 10-15 mins time at hand only. It will give similar result.
** Wash and soak urad dal in plenty of water for about 4- 6 hours. Drain water, wash twice with fresh water, drain off all excess water and add into a wet grinder or mixer grinder along with methi seeds and the water in which it is soaked. Grind to a a smooth fluffy batter using water as is required only. See to it that you keep the batter thick textured, you can add more if necessary later on if need be.
** Also soak Idli Rawa/ Rice Rava (easily available in stores) in water for about 30-45 minutes. Drain off the excess water if any by tilting the vessel. Keep this ready aside for another 5-10 minutes before you begin grinding the urad dal.
** Remove and add ground batter into a large vessel along with prepared and kept ready Idli Rawa/ Rice Rava. Add ginger, curry leaves and green chillies in a mixer and grind to a coarse paste without adding water, remove and add this to the ground Idly batter and mix well with hand for 2-3 minutes. Mixing with hand helps in fermentation of batter, a necessary step, so please do not skip this step.
** Now top the batter with salt to taste (DO NOT MIX), cover and keep it aside to ferment for a minimum 8 hours or overnight (depends on weather). See to it that the vessel is large enough to hold in the batter when it becomes fermented.
** Note : I use always use table top wet grinder for grinding of dosa batter which always gives best results, however if you do not have one you can use mixer grinder too. In case your family loves dosa/ idly then it is always wise to invest in a small sized table top wet grinder as it runs smoothly for decades without issues.
** Note : If using mixer grinder, always use chilled water for grinding it helps in prevention of excess heating while grinding which results in thinning of the batter. Remember to just add on top the salt to batter and not mix it with batter.
** Note : The debate of addition of salt before or after fermentation will keep going on. I would like to mention that I follow Amma's method of adding salt just on top WITHOUT MIXING. The batter on fermentation rises and at one stage the salt on top begins to mix in slowly there by arresting excess fermentation.
** Pick, clean, wash and soak Kulith/ Horse Gram in plenty of water for 2-3 hours. Drain water, rinse well and keep aside in colander to drain off excess water. Add into mixer grinder and grind to a rava textured paste, mixing well in between a few times. Sprinkle water only if necessary for even grinding (I do not).
** On resting rice rava tends to settle at bottom, so after fermentation, gently mix all the ingredients adding in also the ground kulith batter. Add water only if batter is too thick in consistency. If adding coconut pieces/ katla kudke add now, however it is optional though traditionally while preparing khotto it is added. The batter is ready to be prepared into Idly, Ramdan, Khotto, Panna Doddaka etc.
** 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 on rising while steaming.
** Remember to apply oil on the inner side of the molds before adding in batter. Applying of oil to molds ensures that the batter/ mixture does not stick to it and comes off easily without crumbling once it is steamed and cooled.
** Meanwhile keep the Idly steamer/ pedavana with required amount of water on high heat and bring to a rolling boil. 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 3 tiered Idly steamer, where I can place four vaties in each layers in all adding to 12 Idlies. Cover the lid tightly and steam on high for 5-10 minutes/ until you see steam escaping through the side rim of lid, then lower the heat to medium and steam for 15-20 minutes depending upon the number of molds.
** 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, so be careful and check in between if need be.
** To remove Idly from steamer, first open the lid, then off the gas, otherwise the steam will bounce back on top of Idly and add droplets on cooked Idlies creating a mess. Remove the molds gently and place it 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 normal Idly prepared in vati/ mold, 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 or cut Ramdana pieces hot with any Chutney/ Sambar/ Chutney Podi or any spicy gravy of your choice. It tastes equally good served with any and this time I served it with Egg curry for lunch and the next day with chutney for breakfast, you can check my following posts. Idlies are always a delight to relish with chutney and the healthiest breakfast you can serve to your family for a good healthy lifestyle. Horse Gram plays wonders with health, so do include them in your diet chart.
** Do prepare this breakfast item and enjoy this it with your family and friends, I am sure they will love it. Do check out my post of panna doddak (tempered pan idly), prepared with same batter, it tastes excellent and is a must try. The crisp outer texture is a delight to bite on and so are the appos prepared using the same combo of ingredients. There are plenty of variations, combinations and methods of preparing these delicacies, just browse through and you will find them in plenty, try them and enjoy homemade food.
** Note : You may be wondering why I have added on the horse gram ground to coarse paste the next day, the reason is, horse gram at times gets over fermented giving out a odor 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 results when it comes to preparation of Idlies. These are easily available in stores, however, if not available at your vicinity or you do not want to use the same, then soak normal white 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 as it not only yields into larger amount of the ground batter but also gives best results of fluffy batter required for well spongy idlies. You can also use mixer grinder in which case the proportion of addition of ingredients should be altered a little bit to get perfect Idlies. You may use ratio of urad dal 1 cup for 2.5 cups of Idly rava and ½ cup of kulith/ horse gram if using mixer grinder.
** 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 … you may browse through in leisure ....
** I am sharing two links below, one is a common one to all "Chutney" dishes in blog, so that you can choose any that appeals to you and other is to “Coconut-Ginger Chutney” recipe served in the above picture ….
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