Rava Idlis

These instant idlis are quite popular now at home but I distinctly remember not liking these earlier on... maybe because it was from a package and not home-made. Even my mom liked the ones I made and said it was far better tasting than the packaged ones. Normal Idlis require all the grinding and fermenting but these just require some mixing and maybe 5 mins of sitting time before they can be steamed and consumed.... :) Perfect with chutney of your choice.

RAVA IDLI

Ingredients:

Fine Rava (Sooji) - 2 cups

Curds (Yogurt) - 2 cups

Carrot - 1 , grated (optional)

Curry leaves - 2 stalks, chopped

Coriander leaves - 2-3 tbsp, chopped
Grated coconut (fresh/frozen) - 1 tbsp

Ginger - 1/2 inch, grated
Green Chillies - 3, chopped finely.

Cashews - 8 to 10, cut into small bits

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Channa dhal - 1 tsp

Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp

Salt, to taste

Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp + 1 tsp

Method:

1) Heat the 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add mustard, urad dhal, channa dhal and cashews. Then add the chopped ginger, g. chillies and curry leaves, followed by grated carrot. Add some salt and cook till the carrots soften a bit.

2) Spread the rava on a plate with salt and baking soda and add the above fried mixture to this. Also add the 2 tbsp of oil and mix well.

3) About 15 minutes before serving, beat curds well and add coriander leaves and grated coconut. Mix this gently with the rava mixture. Adjust curds and add a little bit of water so the mixture is not too thick. It should be like idli batter or slightly thicker than that. I once used sour cream (instead of yogurt) blended with some water to thin it down and it resulted in great rava idlis. Let this mixture rest for about 5 minutes.

4) Meanwhile grease idli moulds and pour this batter. Allow to steam cook for 8 minutes or till done. The above measurements make about 18 - 20 idlis.