Rava Idli | Instant Idli

Living in a far-off land made me miss my hometown. Along with it I
missed mom’s cooking. I yearned for hot, fluffy idli .To top it all, I
was stuck in the harsh winter where the idli/dosa batter refused to
raise.That’s when I remembered mom preparing rava idlis when she ran out
of the regular idli batter!! But that recipe called for curd. Curd,
which used to be one of my favorites, was a distant dream now. So I
hunted the dairy section of the supermarket and to my dismay all I could
find was sweetened or flavored yogurt.But my craving for idlis kept me
on the lookout and luckily ,I found a yogurt maker in one of the malls
and my dream came true!!!

Rava idli is a variation from the
traditional idlis.It comes in handy when you have unexpected guests or a
hungry kid or you have run out of idli batter . The addition peas and
carrots not only make the idlis colourful but is also useful in feeding
fussy kids who hate veggies.

This was the intro I wrote for  the previous post
on Rava Idli that I posted almost 8 years ago.It was the year I started the blog
and the same year we moved to China with 8 month old Lil Angel in tow.

And this was the idli that we used to have there quite often and many of hubby’s Chinese colleagues fell in love with this idli. So I always made it a point to carry back a lot of Suji as I could not find this and most of the Indian groceries. And buying them from an Indian store based in another far off province was like paying the hubby’s pay check to get a few supplies!!!

And Rava Idli was kinda forgotten once we came back as we were back to our regular idli and I used to make this very rarely.

Last month I had a sudden craving for this idli and thought it would fit the theme for Blogging Marathon #48, Week 4,Day 1 under theme- revisiting old recipes with new pics….

I used:

Rava / Suji /Semolina- 1/2 kilo
Sour yogurt-2 cups / as needed
Carrot -1,grated
Eno -1 sachet
Salt to taste
Water as needed

For seasoning:

Oil-1 tablespoon
Roasted peanuts- a handful
Mustard-1 teaspoon
Chana dal-1 teaspoon
Urad dal-1 teaspoon
Curry  leaves- a few, chopped

Roast the rava in a pan till a nice aroma arises. transfer it onto a large bowl and add the yogurt. Mix.Add more yogurt / water to get a batter of pouring consistency.

Heat oil in a pan and add the seasoning ingredients. When the mustard splutters and the dal turns brown, add the carrot and saute for a minute.Pour this into the prepared batter. Add salt and mix

Add eno and a teaspoon of water .It will bubble up. Gently mix it and pour into greased idli pans. Steam for 15 minutes/ till done. If you insert a skewer, it should come out clean.

Remove from steamer and let it cool for a minute. Remove from idli plates and serve warm with a side of your choice.

Note:

• Adding carrot is optional.Also carrot can be added as such without sauteeing.
• If you prefer, finely chopped beans, peas can also be added along with carrot.
• Instead of Eno,baking soda can be used.
• Fried whole cashews can be used instead / along with groundnuts.
• If cooking this in batches, add eno to each batch separately. Do not add eno and leave the batter to rest.
• Use sour yogurt for best results.

Bon Appetit…