“Whole Black Urad (with skin)- Urad Dal- Varai Idly (Whole Black Gram (with skin)- Black Gram Dal- Indian Barnyard Millet Steamed Idly)” served with Coconut Chutney and Adraki Chai (Ginger Tea)” … Idly chutney is a tummy filling breakfast to begin the day with … today being Shravana Masa Sunday prepared Idlies with Varai instead of Rice … try it, tastes awesome … Yummilicious …
** I have written a lot about Idly- chutney combo prepared for breakfast in most GSB Konkani Saraswat homes especially on Sunday’s. It’s Shravana Masa and GSB Konkani Saraswat married women observe choodi pooja (a ritual) on Friday’s- Sunday’s through the month and before the pooja eating of rice included items or non.veg. items are prohibited, the very reason why I prepared these Idlies with addition of Varai to avoid rice (karkateche) before pooja rituals. If you want to know more on Choodi Pooja you can always search on You Tube were plenty of information with visuals are available.
** Without running into more details as I have exhausted almost all I had to say about this wonderful healthy breakfast Item, let me straight away move on to recipe. As mentioned Varai is Indian Barnyard Millet which is often used during fasting/ upwas meals in GSB/ Amchigele homes. I will share a common link at the bottom of this recipe to all the dishes shared in the blog before where in this millet is used, you may browse through for more information and choice of dishes. Millets are supposed to be good for health, do introduce them slowly into your daily meals for good lifestyle.
** Here is my recipe for “Whole Black Urad (with skin)- Urad Dal- Varai Idly (Whole Black Gram (with skin)- Black Gram Dal- Indian Barnyard Millet Steamed Idly)” … my style, do try it, tastes awesome ….
** Ingredients:
Whole Black Urad (with skin)/ Black Gram Dal (with skin) : ½ cup
Urad Dal/ Black Gram Dal : ½ cup.
Varai/ Indian Barnyard Millet : 2 cups
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta to taste.
** Wash and soak both “Whole Black Urad (Black Gram Dal with skin)” and “Urad Dal/ Black Gram Dal” in plenty of water for about 3-4 hours. Also wash and soak “Varai/ Indian Barnyard Millet” separately in plenty of water for about 6 hours. Millets always need to be soaked a little bit longer for best results.
** Drain of the water gently from whole urad+ Urad dal and varai (separately) and rinse well and keep it aside ready. Drain off as much water as possible before grinding for best results of getting spongy- fluffy Idlies.
** Add the drained whole urad (with skin) and urad dal into a grinder with 1 cup of water and grind to a fine fluffy paste adding more water if required only. I use wet grinder you can use mixer grinder for grinding the batter too.
** Note : Wet grinder gives better results when it comes to dosa/ idly batters unlike the electric grinder. If using mixer grinder add chilled water while grinding, this arrests heat and helps urad turn fluffier without thinning out. Also cut down the adding of "Varai/ Indian Barnyard Millet" a little bit, say 1.5 to 1.3/4 cup only for better results.
** Note : The batter should become thick- fluffy and doubled while grinding, so, avoid adding water in excess in one go, always keep adding water little by little water as you continue to grind for good fluffy batter.
** Remove and pour the ground batter into a large stainless steel vessel. Add in the drained Varai and mix well with hand for 2-3 minutes. Mixing with hand helps in fermentation of batter, so do not skip this important step.
** Note : Please note that here you can add the drained varai as it is or you can just grind it a little bit if desired and then add on too. If you add it as it is you will get spongy idly and if ground a little bit smoother ones.
** Now top 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.
** On resting varai tends to settle at bottom so after fermentation, gently mix all the ingredients well adding water only if batter is too thick. The batter is ready to be prepared into Idly, Ramdan, Khotto, doddaka etc. as per your choice.
** 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 until the top or else the idly may pour out or stick to the plate separator above, so be careful.
** Remember to apply oil/ tel on inner side of molds before adding 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 Idly steamer with its lid tightly. Increase the heat and steam on high heat for 5-10 minutes; until steam escapes through the side rim of the lid, then lower the heat to minimum and steam for another 20 mins.
** The steaming time for Idlies/ Ramdan depends on the size of the molds and the number of Idly molds placed in the steamer. 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 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 removing.
** To remove the prepared Idly from steamer : Always first open the lid of the pedavana/ idly steamer 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 one by one 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 Idlies immediately as they are too hot and will break/ crumble and will not come out in one smooth go. Once slightly cooled (just 5 mins), run a blunt knife through 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.
** Note : 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.
** “Whole Black Urad (with skin)- Urad Dal- Varai Idly (Whole Black Gram (with skin)- Black Gram Dal- Indian Barnyard Millet Steamed Idly)” is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served with any chutney of your choice or sambar along with steaming hot tea or coffee for breakfast. I served it with spicy red coconut ginger chutney and adraki chai (ginger tea) for breakfast and it was a lovely combo. You can also serve these Idlies with chutney podi (gun powder), pickle or any spicy curry masala dishes, it tastes wonderful. If you are a non. Vegetarian you can serve with them too.
** As mentioned earlier, during Shravana Masa GSB Konkani Saraswat married women follow a ritual of choodi pooja on all Friday’s and Sunday’s of the month. For more information you can always google or watch You Tube channel where many have uploaded this beautiful ritual where pooja is offered before noon. The very reason why kharkate (NO Onion- Garlic- Rice- Non.Veg) is not consumed. The very reason why I prepare dishes prepared with Varai for breakfast as it is permitted. Again, millets are good for health, so do try this Idly variation and enjoy with your family and friends.
** For more “Varai” and “Millets” recipes, please browse through the common link shared below for more details …
** For more “Idly/ Khotto/ Ramdana/ Doddaka/ Appo” similar type of recipes, please browse through the common link shared below …
** Sharing a common link to all “Chutney” recipes below, you may chose any of your choice, goes well either way …
** Sharing common link to both “Tea/ Chai” and “Kapi/ Coffee” recipes below, just browse through for more information need be …
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