Colorful Cocktail Mini Idlis

Long back I used to do a weekly menu planning based on what I wanted to post on the blog. Most of the meals would be new so that I could cook of the new dishes. For a couple of months I was able to follow that menu chart and slowly I fell back and left out a lot of things that were on the list.One such dish is this cocktail mini idli recipe.

When I was about 12 or 13 we went on a pilgrimage to Tirupathi. There we stayed at a hotel. Like the previous times, I loved their room service and their elaborate thali meals esp because they served ghee in a tiny cup! After the trip I remember pestering mom to serve me lunch the same way. Mom would patiently portion out the dishes into small bowls and ghee in a smaller cup and serve me. This fancy meal would lose its fancy in a few days and start again after we come back from another trip to Tirupathi.

So, as I was saying,we used to order food through the room service and one time I saw something on the menu card that sounded very fancy and very , very new! So I ordered that expecting something very delicious and rich / with a royal touch. When the dish reached the table, I was heart broken and was in no mood to eat it. It was nothing but mini idlis!! And the name on the menu card read – Ambassador Idli!What a nice name for the humble idli!!I don’t remember what happened after that but any time I see mini idlis this incident comes to mind.

When I made this sometime back, Lil Angel tried it out bravely but Lil Dude who is still not used to my experimentation with food rejected the red and green idlis and ate only the white ones!!

I had this with rasam shots. Spicy and piping hot rasam mellowed down by soft idlis! Wow,what a treat for the taste buds!!!

This is my entry for Blogging Marathon #50, Week 1, Day 3, with the theme Colorful dishes for kids which also happens to be the theme Varada of Varada’s Kitchen is hosting as a part of Srivalli’s Kids Delight series.

Idli batter – 3 cups
Beet puree
Spinach / palak puree

Take a cup of batter in 3 separate bowls. To one add beet puree and mix.Pour into greased idli moulds.

To another portion add palak puree and mix. Pour into greased idli moulds. The other cup of batter is to be steamed as such

Place the idli stand in a steamer / pressure cooker[without the stopper / weight] and cook for 10 minutes / till done. When a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, the idli is done.Remove from steamer and let it sit out for a minute, Using a spoon , gently remove the idlis and serve.

Tastes great with tomato-onion chutney….

Note:

Tastes best and is softer when served hot / warm.
To make beet puree boil the beet, cool and puree without adding water.
For the palak puree -Blanch palak leaves, drop into a bowl of cold water, drain and puree.
The quantity of puree you add varies with the shade you need. Add more for a darker shade.
Instead of palak puree coriander/mint chutney can be added
Carrot puree can also be used for orange colored idlis.