INGREDIENTS:- 3 cups, idli rice 1 cup, Poha (beaten rice) 1 cup, urad dal ( split white lentils) salt as per taste water as required oil for greasing METHOD:- Clean, wash rice and soak it along with poha with enough water. Clean, wash and soak urad dal in enough water. Rice and daal both should be soaked seperately and minimum for 5 hours. When rice and dal are ready for grinding, strain the water from dal and reserve it for grinding. Grind dal to smooth fluffy consistency using the reserved dal water. Pour the dal batter in container having more than double the volume of the the batter. Drain the water from the rice. Add rice in a grinder and grind it to a smooth paste. If water is required for grinding rice, use little reserved dal water. Mix both the batter very well. you may add little water if the batter is too thick. The batter should have medium pouring consistency that coats the back of the spoon. Cover the batter lightly and keep it in a warm place to ferment for minimum 8 hours. Do not cover the batter with tight lid. After the batter is fermented well, it will rise to more than double in volume and bubble will appear on the surface. Add salt to taste and gently swirl the batter, do not over mix it. Add some water and allow it to boil in either pressure cooker or idli maker/steamer Grease the idli mold and pour the portion of batter in each mold Place the mold in the idli steamer or pressure cooker. Alow it to steam for approx 12-15 minutes Check the idlis with tooth pick, if it comes out clean, then yummy spongy idlis are ready Take out the mold and let it rest for 3-4 minutes. Scoop out the idlis from the molds Enjoy hot steaming idlis with coconut chutney, peanut chutney or tomato chutney and sambar. NOTE:- Fermentation time for the batter depends upon the weather. If the climate is cold, fermentation time will increase. If you are using pressure coooker for steaming the idlis, remove the vent weight/whistle from the lid while steaming them. You may add ¼ tsp of soda while mixing the batter before fermentation process. If idli rice is not available, you may regular sona masuri, basmati or any other rice that you use for daily meals You may also use the ratio of 2 cups of idli ice + 1 cup of regular rice + 1 cup of poha : 1 cup urad dal
