Idli/dosa ( steamed rice cake/ savory crepe)

In Tamil Nadu idli and dosa are common breakfast foods. Idli is a steamed rice cake and dosa is a savory thin crepe.  Growing up I had both for breakfast quite a bit and I always preferred dosa over idli since dosas have more oil/ ghee added to them which makes them crispy and extra tasty !  But as an adult I have come to appreciate the humble steamed idli which is better for my health and tasty in its own way. 

Ingredients:

Idli rice ( par boiled rice )- 3 cups

Whole Urad dal (dehusked black gram)- 1 cup

Salt - 1 tbsp (to taste)

Water 

Instructions:

1. Soak the idli rice and urad dal in two separate bowls overnight or for at least 6 hours. 
   
   
   
   
2. Now drain the water from the urad dal and place it little at a time into a wet grinder ( you can use an American blender but may end up with coarse batter . I have used an indian ‘mixie’ like  preethi which works really well. It likely has to do with the type of blade it has). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Grind the urad dal adding a little bit of water at time until it is a thick fluffy paste ( consistency of cake batter). This takes almost 45 minutes. Once this is ground take this out and set it aside in the urad dal bowl.
   
   
4. Now grind the rice adding a little at a time and adding a little bit of water at a time. Grind until smooth to the consistency of wet corn starch. This takes almost 1 hour. 
5. Add the rice batter to the urad dal batter and mix it well with your hands. Ensure the bowl is large so that the batter is only filling half the bowl. This will give it space to rise after its fermented.
   
   
6. Usually the batter is left out in a warm place (kitchen counter) overnight to ferment . During the winter you can ferment it overnight in the instant pot in the yogurt setting.
   
   
7. Add salt to the batter and mix well
8. Now batter is ready to use !

Idli

1. Idlis are made in a idli mould which is then put in an idli pot.2. Grease the idli mould with a little bit of oil so that the batter doesn’t stick to it.3. Use a deep spoon to get the batter and place them in the greased mould 

4. Now add water to the idli pot ( fill 1/3 of the pot ) and place it on the stove on medium heat and let the water come to a boil.

5. Now place the mould in the idli pot and close the lid

6. Allow the idlis to cook for about 15 minutes. They should be cooked by now. You can use a toothpick to check if the idli is done ( like you would cake). If the toothpick comes out clean the idlis as cooked

7. Take the mould out and let it cool.

8. You can use a spoon to scoop out the idlis 

9. Idlis are ready to eat and can be served with idli powder, coconut chutney, sambar, tomato chutney, onion chutney etc.

Dosa 

1. To make dosa take the batter and dilute it with some water. 

2. Heat a griddle pan or a crepe pan on medium heat on the stove 

3. Now pour a ladle of batter on to the middle of the pan and spread it in a thin circle as you would a crepe 

4. Put some oil on the edges to prevent the dosa from sticking to the pan. Let it cook until there are holes in the dosa (maybe about 15-20 seconds)

5. Now use a spatula to lift up the edges to see if it is golden brown.

6. Flip the dosa over and let the other side cook for a few seconds. 

7.Now take it off the pan and put it on a plate.

8. Dosa is ready to serve with idli powder , chutney , sambar etc.