Kancheepuram Idli

I have never been a great fan of Idli's.. But Darshini( Small eat outs in Blore) were always welcome..I dono whether it was the chutney which did the trick, but i can never say No to them..Not that i wouldn't eat them at home, but not one of my favorites :)..Coming to this idli, as the name suggests, it got famous from its place of origin 'Kancheepuram' - the famous place, known for its silk saris in TN, India.. This idli is mildly flavored with spices like pepper, cumin/jeera & ginger powder(Sukhu podi).

Kancheepuram Idli, again was not a regular feature at home..my granny would make it very rarely, but its a regular feature at my in laws place.. Ideally i think i should rename this week as MIL week, i guess.. Almost all the recipes, i have learnt from her :) and her proportions work perfectly for me! In fact every time i make dish, i always land up asking S 'Does this taste like how your mom does it?'..I get a big smile back & thats about it, but it doesn't stop me from asking him :)..One day, i hope to be an expert like her!

Each house has a different way of making it & in ours they make it as one big idli,then chopped into big chunky slices :)..What i really like about this dish is its mild flavors & how ginger is added to aid digestion..very thoughtful right?? Try this recipe and i am sure, you can't go wrong with it :).. Off to the recipe now!

Ingredients

1. Idli rice - 3 cups

2. Urad dal - 2 cups

3. Ghee - 1/4 cup

4. Oil - 1/2 cup

5. Peppercorns - 1 tsp

6. Cumin - 1 tsp

7. Ginger powder - 1/2 tsp

8. Salt - 2 tsp or to taste

9. Water - 3/4 cup

Preparation Time!!

One cup must be taken as a standard and that will be used for all the measurements.. For ex, i took 1/3 cup, which can hold 79 ml. Now using this, i took the ingredients  like rice, dal, ghee & oil..

So take any cup you want & use that as a standard, for ingredients measurement!

* When i say oil 1/2 cup.. its 1/2 of the cup you have taken to measure rice & dal

** 1/4 cup ghee.. its 1/4 of the cup you have taken to measure rice & dal

1. Soak idli rice and urad dal in water for almost 4 hrs

2. Drain water and combine both and grind them in a mixer with half cup water(118 ml) and grind to a semi-coarse mixture ( can you see the grainy texture in the second pic??)

3. Let the batter ferment overnight.. I keep it in the oven with the light on


4. Take pepper & cumin & powder it and keep aside, the next day


5. To the fermented batter, add the pepper-cumin powder and 1/2 cup water

6. Add the ginger powder, oil, ghee & salt and mix really well. The batter is now ready

7. Take a big bowl, take a plastic paper or cling wrap and place it on the vessel. Grease with oil or spray oil over and pour half the batter

8. Place it in a cooker and steam it on medium flame for 1/2 hour, with out the weight..After 20 -25 minutes, you will know thats it done, thanks to the aroma :)..You can do the tooth pick test..if the pick comes out clean, you know its done..

9. Close it and let it rest for 5 minutes and then remove with help of the edges of the cling wrap & invert it.. Idli is ready!!

We slice it generally into 4 pieces and have it with Molagai Podi.. the best combo with this idli! Serve hot..


This is quite a heavy dish and keeps you fuller..so makes a wonderful & ideal breakfast..rather than dinner!


Pointers
1. Instead of plastic paper, they use banana leaf..It increases the aroma too! Since i don't get it here, i use plastic sheet..My blogger friend Sadhana pointed out that using Platsic sheet releases toxins.. so grease your plate & pour batter directly to It & then remove.. thanks sadhana :) point taken!
2. Using 1/3 cup i got 2 such big cake type idli..
3. You could pour it like your regular idli in idli plates and make it too or cut them like burfi's to small pieces too.. Since, this is how its been done at our place..i continue the tradition :D

Sending this to Gayatri's WTML hosted by Jayanthi

 Can you see the grainy texture??

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