Idly

Idly with Coconut Chutney

Idly are a steamed cake made out of fermented rice and black lentils (which have been dehusked).
I grew up eating Idly. I remember as a kid, we would have them on the weekend. I had (have?) a sweet tooth, so I would dip them in sugar. I don't crave them sweet much more, I rather prefer them with a nice curry or coconut chutney.

Making Idly is relatively simple, but you need some equipment.

First and foremost, you need an idly mold. You can find them at south Indian stores, but they can be a little difficult to come buy. Basically, it is a small metal plate with four round molds in it, with holes at the bottom. Usually, you can buy an idly "tree", with four or five of these metal plates stacked one on top of the other.

Second, you need idly batter. Making idly batter from scratch can be a real pain if you don't have the right equipment, so I opt to purchase pre-made batter.

If you want to make it from scratch, you will need a really powerful electrical blender, a stone grinder and depending on your local climate, a warming oven. You will need de-husked black lentils, which can be purchased at an Indian store. Next, you will need to ferment the lentils and rice, usually accomplished by soaking them in water overnight. The next day, you need to grind the rice and lentil into a paste. Traditionally, this is accomplished by a purchasing an electric stone grinder (imagine you Kitchen aid with a massive stone grinder as an attachment). Needless to say, I have not found any of those here in the US. My aunt shipped one over from Kerala when she was there one summer. My mom found a massive powerful blender, the BlendTec, which works wonderful! Next, you have to let the batter ferment overnight. In a tropical climate like south India, that is easily accomplished by placing a cloth over the batter and leaving it out overnight. If you are in a colder environment, you will have to put the batter in an oven or a warming oven for a few hours at extremely low heat.

Third, a large 16 quart stock pot, preferably with a glass or clear lid. My fiancee went to India, and found an idly mold, which came with its own pressure cooker pot. The problem with it was that the lid was on so tight after steaming, that it really was a pain to take the lid off. Also, it was difficult to check when the idlys were done. I found that adding water to a stock pot and placing the idly molds in them is a better way to go, as you can check to see if the idly are done, and add water as necessary.

Again, try your local Indian store, but most will have pre-made batter that comes in yogurt sized tubs. It works really good! You could also try some dry idly powder mixes, where you simply add water and then steam. These work okay.

I find the magic number is to fill a large stock pot with 6 cups of water. Grease the molds. Traditionally, you would use a bit of ghee, but if you don't have ghee, a little bit of vegetable oil works fine (or even PAM in a pinch). Place the idly batter in the molds, place the molds in the stock pot with the water, making sure that the water doesn't enter into the filled molds and steam for 11 minutes. After 11 minutes, you can check on the idly by pressing your finger into it. If it appears spongy, then your idly is done!

I usually have my idly with coconut chutney.

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