“Barley- Urad- Tandla Idly (Jau- Black Gram Dal- Rice Idly)” served with Coconut Garlic Chutney and Ginger Tea ... be it served with any type of chutney, sambar or curry, Idly is here to stay for a long time as a healthy breakfast item … there are plenty of varieties of mix and match that can be experimented and tried out and here is one with the inclusion of barley … all of you are aware of the innumerable health benefits of barley, so do try including them into your diet often for a healthy lifestyle … these soft spongy Idlies taste awesome served with any chutney of your choice … Yummilicious ...
** It’s Idly again, this time I am sharing with all of you another mix and match combo of ingredients and the outcome was soft spongy delicious steamed idlies that were truly majestic served with equally tasty coconut garlic chutney. About Idly, nothing much to pen which I have not already mentioned in my end number of posts before so let’s move on to barley, which I must confess I am adding on to Idly making for the first time.
** While I have always had barley water or by including it with other juices or preparing khichidi along with other ingredients, I am not sure why I never tried out more options using barley especially in preparation of Idly and Dosa. I am sure you will find a lot about those pearl looking like “Barley/ Jau” on net. I followed Amma’s advice a few years back when she suggested I have it for body heat issues and I must say it’s a great remedy.
** Moving on to idly, I think this healthy idly is definitely something that should be on your to do list for sure. Very easy to prepare, ferments so well and taste is something I needs to catch up on if you have never eaten barley. But with inclusion of garlic chutney, they both complemented each other too well and we enjoyed this delicious dishes as our breakfast for two consecutive days, try it, its loaded with health benefits.
** Here is my own recipe for “Barley- Urad- Tandla Idly (Jau- Black Gram Dal- Rice Idly)” … my style, tastes awesome dunked in coconut chutney …
** Ingredients :
Barley/ Jau : 1 cup
Urad dal/ Black Gram Dal : 1 heaped cup
Idly Rice Rava : 3 cups
Methi/ Fenugreek Seeds : 1 tsp
Green Chilly/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Marchi : 4-6
Ginger/ Adrak/ Alle’ : 1 inch piece
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10 fresh leaves
** Wash and soak urad dal in plenty of water for 3-4 hours. Wash and soak barley separately in 1.5 cups of water along with methi seeds for about 2 hours.
** Soaking of Methi : Soaking methi/ fenugreek seeds separately in water is just my method of doing so for dosas. I use it later along with the water in which it has been soaked while grinding the dosa batter as I believe that if methi is added to dal while soaking, the nutrients, and medicinal properties of methi seeds are lost when being washed again after the soaking period. The same goes for barley too, the water in which barely is soaked overnight is consumed as a health promoting drink, the very reason why I have soaked both of them together so that I need not throw away the soaked water, there by discarding the healthy nutrients in them.
** Wash and soak Idly Rice Rava in water and allow to rest for 5 minutes. When the rice rava settles to the bottom, gently tilt the vessel and drain off the excess water on top taking care not to spill the rava, now let it rest aside for 20-30 minutes.
** Note : I prepare the above mentioned step for idly rice rava just before I begin to start the grinding process of Idly batter which gives it enough rest and soak in the water. There is no need to soak it for more time.
** Drain off the water from urad dal and rinse with fresh water well. Now drain off excess water completely and add it into a wet grinder or in mixer grinder whichever you are using for grinding. I always use wet grinder for grinding batter.
** Add in the soaked barley and methi along with the water in which it is soaked and grind all the ingredients together adding more water only if required. The batter should be smooth and fluffy, thick and blended well, so be careful with water.
** Note : Always add water little by little water while grinding be it in wet grinder or mixer grinder to get good fluffy batter. Here is a tip for those of you who are using mixer grinder for grinding batter. Always use chilled water for grinding urad in mixer as mixies always tends to get heated and the result will be flat thinner textured batter. Using of cold water reduces the friction and cuts down on heat, try it, it works.
** In a mixer grinder add green chillies and ginger cleaned and cut to pieces. Add curry leaves and grind to a coarse paste WITHOUT adding water. Do not grind it to a smooth paste we just need all the ingredients well crushed coarsely.
** Note : Addition of spices are a step followed for some type of Idly and Dosa only. It does bring on additional aroma and taste to the dish, however, it is optional and if not desired by you or your family, you may skip the same.
** Remove batter into a vessel large enough to hold the batter and there is still excess space for the batter to rise on fermentation. Add in the prepared and kept Idly rava, the coarsely ground spice mixture, salt to taste and mix well.
** Note : Remember to always use hands for mixing of the batter well as this enables in fermentation as the heat from hands pass on to the batter. In my community we all follow this method, just see to it that you wash your hands well before doing so.
** Check the thickness of the batter and add more water only if necessary. The batter should be thick as that of our normal Idly batter, so be careful. Cover and keep it aside overnight or for about 8-12 hours to let the batter ferment well.
** Note : The fermentation period depends upon the weather of the place. In cold weather it may need more time duration. You can check out the texture of the fermented batter in the picture included in collage.
** After the fermentation procedure, mix the mixture well with a spatula once again as the Idly rice rava tends to settle down. Once again check the consistency of the batter, if too thick you can add some water and mix well (check pic. In collage).
** Now gently pour batter with the help of a rounded spatula into Idly molds (as shown in picture) to ¾ th level only leaving a gap of minimum ¼ level on top of the molds as the batter will rise when being steamed (step by step picture included).
** Note : Always remember to apply oil to any of the molds your are using to prepare Idly, before adding in the batter. Applying of oil to the molds ensures that the batter does not stick to it and comes off cleanly in one go without crumbling once the Idly is steamed and cooled a bit, this is a must and easy procedure.
** Keep the Idly steamer with required amount of water to heat on high level. When it reaches full steam, lower the heat and gently place in the stand or steel vaties/ katori which ever you are using and cover the lid tightly. Cook on high heat for 5-7 minutes and then lower the heat to minimum and further cook for another 15-20 minutes.
** Note : You must remember here that the cooking time depends upon the utensil used for preparing Idlies. If small sized vati or flat type one’s are used it takes lesser time as compared to the larger molds, so check if need be by inserting a wooden stick or knife in center of mold, if it comes out clean its, done. If not, ie if still its sticky then continue steaming for another 5-10 minutes and it will be done.
** When done, remove and let cool a little bit, say 3-4 minutes. Run a blunt knife through the edges on the inner side of the vati/ katori and gently flip over and tap it a bit to bring out the steamed Idly in one go. You can use the remaining batter if any in the same molds and they will work fine. Only if you want to repeat in the same mold for more than three times then you must check out the condition and clean if need be.
** “Barley- Urad- Tandla Idly (Jau- Black Gram Dal- Rice Idly)” is done and ready to be served. These idlies taste best served with any coconut chutney of your choice though you can serve it with sambar if desired. However, I served it with garlic chutney and it was fantastic combination, I recommend you try the combo too. I am sharing link to chutney recipe below, for reference, you may browse through and try it out.
** Important Note : I always use table top wet grinder for grinding of the Urad Dal which not only gives fluffy batter unlike mixer grinder but also yields in larger portion of ground batter, the very reason why variations of mixing of ingredients are needed. Please note that, If you are using mixer grinder for grinding of urad dal, always use cold fridge water while grinding as it gives better results and also decrease the amount of addition of Idly rice rava, say for this recipe add about 2.5 cups to get perfect soft Idlies.
** For those of you who want to avoid excess oil consumption, idlies are always better than dosa or other items for breakfast and they are not only healthy but tummy filling too. You should make it a point to introduce these dishes to children at young age so that they continue it through lifetime and thereby for generations to come. Amma always said that home cooked meals are the best gift you can give to your family after all health is that which should always be of top priority as the rest will always follow with time.
** Note : In case you do not want to use Idly Rice Rava for any reason or if not available in your vicinity then just soak raw rice in plenty of water for about 3-4 hours. Drain, rinse well and then grind it to a coarse rava textured paste without adding much water and add the same to batter along with ground urad and barley. Just use 2.5 cups of rice for soaking unlike 3 cups of rava as when you grind the rice will increase in volume.
** For “Coconut- Garlic Chutney” recipe, plz. follow the link given below …
** For "Ginger Tea/ Adraki Chai" recipe, Please follow the link given below ...
** Idlies always taste best served with either chutney or sambar, however in my home we love it more with spicy chutney and there are plenty of varieties shared in Blog. Check out the common links shared below for more choices of “Chutney/ Sambar” recipes to enjoy with idlies with your family in your home ….
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