Hi Chefs!!
Dosa, Idli, Sambar, Coconut chutney.. the list of delicious south Indian dishes goes on forever once you start counting. Even as a north Indian myself, I have grown up eating a hearty breakfast of idli and vada sambar and a delightful dinner of dosa and uthappam at my home almost every weekend. Even though the origin of these dishes are in the south Indian states, most of these have a special place in all our diets and schedules. Travelling to and learning about some of the food preparation methods in south Indian states have also made me realise over time that the flavor of the same sambar and chutney differs in different south Indian states.
The best part about some of these south Indian dishes is that they become good substitutes for diet food. Diet food doesn’t have to be a boring assortment of vegetable soup and juice when you can make a steamed idli made of suji and enjoy it with a wonderful coconut chutney and spicy sambar. This is what I have attempted in today’s recipe as well. Traditionally, idli is made with batter of rice and dal which is a long and tedious process. However, I’ll show you how to make a yummy semolina idli with veggies and the perfect combination of sambar and chutney.
Ingredients:
For Sambar:
· Split Pigeon Peas ( Arhar Dal) – 1 cup
· Mix Vegetables – 1 cup
· Turmeric (Haldi) – 1 tsp
· Salt – according to taste
· Oil – 5-6 tbsp
· Mustard Seeds – 2-3 tsp
· Asafoetida (Heeng) – ¼ tsp
· Dry Red Chili – 2 nos
· Curry Leaves – 7-8
· Red Chili Powder – 1 -1/2 tsp
· Sambar Masala – 4-5 tbsp
· Tamarind Pulp – 5-6 tbsp
For Vegetable Rava/Suji Idli:
· Semolina (Suji) – 3 cups
· Thick Curd – 1-1/2 cup
· Carrot, Cabbage, Capsicum – 1 cup (finely chopped)
· Salt – according to taste
· Black Pepper Powder – 1 tsp
· Fruit Salt (Eno) – 1-1/2 tsp
· Oil – to Greece mould
For Coconut Chutney:
· Fresh Coconut – 1 cup (peeled & diced)
· Roasted Chana – 1/3 cup
· Green Chilli – 2-3 nos
· Green Coriander – ½ cup
· Salt – according to taste
· Thick Curd – ½ cup
· Water – 4-5 tbsp
· Oil – 2tsp
· Heeng – a pinch
· Dry Red Chili – 2-3 nos
· Curry Leaves – 6-7
How To Make Veg Rava Idli, Sambar, Coconut Chutney:
1. In the cooker add Split Pigeon Peas ( Arhar/Tuvar dal), water, vegetables, salt and turmeric powder.
2. Close the lid and after one whistle let it cook on low flame for 5-6 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, prepare Idli batter.
4. In a bowl add semolina (suji), curd, chopped vegetables, salt, black pepper powder and water.
5. Mix everything and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, let us prepare coconut chutney.
7. In the grinder jar add diced coconut, roasted chana, green chili and coriander with little water.
8. Grind it coarsely.
9. Add curd, salt and little water and grind it to a smooth paste.
10. Transfer it to a bowl and prepare tempering (tadka).
11. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, heeng, dry red chili and curry leaves.
12. Add this tempering to chutney when it splutters.
13. Prepare tempering for Sambar.
14. Heat oil in a pan.
15. Add mustard seeds, heeng, dry red chilli, curry leaves and let it splutter.
16. Add sambar powder, red chilli powder and tamarind pulp to the tempering.
17. Cook till it releases oil. Add it to the sambar.
18. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes on low flame after a boil.
19. To prepare Rava idli, add Fruit Salt (eno) and little water to prepare a smooth batter.
20. Heat water in the steamer.
21. Grease idli mold, and fill it ¾ with the batter.
22. Steam them on low medium flame for 20-25 minutes.
23. Serve hot with steaming hot Sambar and fresh coconut chutney.
Enjoy!!
Some Pro Tips:
1. You may use any variety and amount of vegetables in Sambar.
2. Chop the vegetables very fine while adding in the Idli batter.
3. You may use red chili powder instead of pepper powder in idli batter.
4. The batter should be neither too thin nor to thick.
5. While steaming the idli’s do not open the lid of the steamer again and again.
6. Open only after 20 minutes.
7. To check whether it is done, insert a tooth pick , if it sticks then steam for few more minutes.
Comments