"Spicy Urad dal- Chana Dal (Black Gram Dal- Bengal Gram Dal) Idly" served with Corn- Carrot- Cashew Malvani Sagu Masala ... tried out this variation of Idly with just the two ingredients, spiced it like normally done and turned out really soft … tasted awesome dunked in equally delicious sagu … Yummilicious …
** I grew up relishing Idly which is a common breakfast dish amongst south Indians so also with Konkani Saraswat's. Idly with just two pulses like Urad dal- Moong Dal was something which mom prepared every week as it is diabetic friendly and my father was one so preferred the same. Though this Idly can be prepared instant, here I have made variation with ingredients and fermented the same for a few hours to get softer textured idlies.
** For this Idly as I mentioned, I have used Urad Dal and Chana Dal in the ratio 1:2 and this is my first take off on an old Idly variation changing ratios. These Idlies ferment better if spiced with ginger and green chillies as it upgrades the fermentation process as we will not be storing it aside for more time, so do not leave out the spices, you may add less if required, but trust me they are not at all spicy and if desired can be had with fresh homemade butter too.
** Here is the simple recipe for "Spicy Urad dal- Chana Dal (Black Gram Dal- Bengal Gram Dal) Idly" … My own concoction of recipe … do try it out …
** Wash well 1 cup of urad dal (black gram dal) and 2 cups of chana dal (Bengal gram dal) together and soak in plenty of water for 3-4 hours. Drain off water and wash well with water, put it in a colander and keep it aside for the excess water to get drain off.
** Add the drained dals into a wet grinder or mixer grinder and grind to a smooth fluffy paste adding little by little water until the required texture is obtained. Do not add water in one go, but keep adding little by spoon and grinding, this gives the right consistency.
** In a small mixer grinder attachment add in one inch ginger (alle’/ adrak) cut into small pieces along with 5-6 green chillies (tarni mrisanga/ hari mirchi) also chopped into pieces and grind it without adding water to a coarse paste, remove and keep this aside ready.
** Once the batter has doubled, thickened and turned flubby, remove in a large vessel and keep aside. Add salt (namak/ meeta) to taste, coarsely ground and kept ready, ginger and green chilly paste and mix well evenly in clockwise direction.
** Cover with a tight lid and keep the batter aside just for 2-3 hours. Do not leave this batter to ferment overnight; as it will get over fermented. The maximum time frame is about 3 hours, so if needed you can then keep it in the fridge to avoid it getting sour.
** Once the batter has settled for a few hours, check out the thickness and add in little water if necessary and mix well. Now, beat it well in light motion for a few minutes, cover and let rest for 5-10 minutes after which it is ready to be prepared into Idlies.
** Note : The batter should be slightly thicker than the normal Idly batter, but of pouring consistency, so be careful with addition of water. You will get it right once you get habituated to preparation of lentil idlies, so do not lose heart the first time if things go wrong.
** To prepare the Idlies you can use any molds you regularly use, I use small vati/ donno type molds which is a common practice of preparing idlies amongst Konkani Saraswat’s. Gently pour batter with round spatula into the molds /vati to ¾ th level only.
** You should leave gap on top of the molds as the batter will rise as the idly gets steamed. I have used round 1.5 inch deep vati/ cups/ tumbler/molds here to get round shaped Idlies, you may choose whichever is suitable to you, or the plate with dents type too.
** However, remember to grease/ apply oil to the molds from within 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.
** Keep Idly steamer/ pedavana with required amount of water to heat on high level. When it reaches full steam, lower the heat, and gently place in 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 5-7 minutes or until you see steam escaping through the lid, then lower heat to low and steam for 15 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 20-25 minutes in all ie. 5 + 25 Minutes.
** When done, remove the lid first and then off the gas. Now remove the molds and place them on table let cool a little bit. Run a blunt knife through the edges on inner side of molds and gently flip over molds and tap it a bit to bring out the steamed Idly in one go.
** "Spicy Urad dal- Chana Dal (Black Gram Dal- Bengal Gram Dal) Idly" is done and ready to be served. Always serve Idly hot with any chutney or sambar of your choice though like me you can serve them with any gravy curry dishes of your choice too.
** I served these delicious soft Idlies with equally tasty "Corn- Carrot- Cashew Malvani Sagu Masala" and they both tasted great served together. Do try out various options of serving dishes and enjoy them with your family and friends, they sure will love this one.
** Note : Recently it is observed that a lot of people add in Cooking Soda to Idly, dosa batter to bring in excess fluffiness, while for some of the dishes especially if they are prepared instant it is necessary to add them, otherwise there is absolutely no need to do so.
** You will observe often that south Indians do not follow the pattern, this is so because we ferment the batter well by keeping them prepared ready aside for some hours depending upon the weather. Once you understand the pattern it is very easy to be followed.
** Remember unlike claimed, cooking soda in excess is not good for health, while in limits it is fine, it is definitely not a good practice to do so on daily basis. It is always good to eat home cooked food and not fall for those served in hotels as they add on soda for food.
** For the Recipe of "Corn- Carrot- Cashew Malvani Sagu Masala" that is served along with Idly, Please follow the link given below, it is a wonderful combo sure to be loved by all.
** For step by step pictures on procedure of preparing Idly I am sharing “Urad Dal~Moong Dal Spicy Idly” Recipe link below, you will find the same there and also sharing a common link to "Idly" recipe where in you will find plenty of variations, do try them out …
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks.