Pillow soft Idlis

Pillow soft idlis

Mint chutney and idli

  Soak for minimum 5 hrs to overnight:

• 3 cups of parboiled rice ( புழுங்கல் அரிசி )
• 1 cup of  raw rice          ( பச்சரிசி )
• 1 cup of urad dal           ( உளுந்து)     

   Procedure :

    For making the dough :

• Rinse and clean the soaked rice and dal separately and keep it aside.
• Set the grinder up with everything in place.Hook the plug.
• Add 1 cup of lukewarm water and start the grinder.
• First grind the urad dal completely.For that, keep adding lukewarm water in between and let it grind for  20 to 30 mins.Make sure you dont add too much water.By this time, if the quality of the dal is really good, it will rise up.The dough will be fluffly and soft to touch and the consistency of whipped cream.The texture and consistency depends on the quality of the dal.The ones that have been in your pantry for longtime(more than 6 weeks) will not rise properly.Try to get it fresh from the store.
• Next add the rice (both types together) and grind. The time varies for the rice to grind.Keep adding lukewarm water in between. It doent need to be a fine grind,can be a "little" coarse.
• If your grinder is big enough,dump the urad dal batter into the rice batter,add 2 tsp of salt and run the grinder for 5 mins until both the batters are mixed thouroughly.
• If the grinder cannot hold,mix by hand or a big spoon until the urad dal batter is well blended into the rice batter.If its not done properly,it will separate back later on.
• Now your idli batter is 75% done.
• Next,let it rise.It will take 3 to 6 hours on a really hot day,8 to 10 hrs on a warmer day,about 18 hrs for people who live in a cold places.
• Separate into smaller containers and refridgerate, that way you will be able to maintain the freshness of the batter.Get the amount of batter you are going to use into a separate bowl and refridgerate the rest immediately.By doing so, you can avoid, it developing a sour taste and odor.

    For making idlis :

• For making idlis, add an inch of water into the idli pan.Bring the water to a slow boil.
• Grease the idli plates with little bit of oil.Pour the idli batter into the plates.Place it into the pan and cover it with a lid.
• In exactly 12 mins, the idlis will be ready.

    For making dosai :

• Use the same batter.Add little bit more water and thin it out.
• Pour the batter on a hot dosai pan and spread it out.
• Add little bit of oil around the sides.
• Cover it with a lid.After a minute open the lid.
• Crispy dosais will be ready.