Rava idli recipe – Instant idli recipe made from coarse semolina, yogurt and eno fruit salt. These are quick to make because no soaking, grinding and fermenting process required.
As per wikipedia, rava idli is invented by the popular restaurant chain (MTR – Mavalli Tiffin Room) of Bangalore. During the world war II, there was a shortage of rice and they came up with the idea of rava idli for breakfast.
You will also find the instant rava idli packets of MTR available in market. You just need to add water and steam it. That is easy, but trust me this homemade is also easy to make with little extra effort. Of Course nothing can beat the homemade one compared to store bought.
These instant idli has soft, light and spongy texture. The addition of eno fruit salt makes it possible.
For making rava idli, I have used coarse variety of semolina. You can use fine semolina, if coarse one is not available in your pantry.
At home, we love idli-sambar as a dinner. But I am really worst at pre-planning, so you will rarely see me making traditional idli which requires soaking, grinding and fermenting the batter. I would rather prefer the instant version of idlis like this instant idli. Sometimes I do make oats idli too.
How to make rava idli recipe (Step by Step Photos):
1) To make idli batter, take sooji, salt, yogurt and chopped coriander leaves in a bowl.
2) Mix well till everything is incorporated well. Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
3) Meantime take cumin seeds and peppercorns in mortar and pestle.
4) Make coarse powder out of it. Instead you can use dry spice grinder or coffee grinder.
5) Also prepare the idli stand or moulds. Grease the moulds well using oil. Keep it aside.
6) Now heat the oil in a small pan on medium heat for tempering. Once hot add mustard seeds and let them pop.
7) Then add urad dal, chana dal and cashew nuts.
8) Saute with stirring constantly till dal and cashews turn light brown in color.
9) Then add ginger paste, green chili and curry leaves.
10) Cook for a minute or till the raw smell of ginger goes away.
11) Turn off the stove and add prepared powder.
12) Stir quickly.
13) Immediately add this tempering to the prepared batter.
14) Mix well.
15) After this 15-20 minutes resting time, you will notice that sooji absorbed most of the water. And the batter is really thick. So add the water to make batter consistency. You may need about ¼ to ½ cup of water.
16) Stir well.
17) Now prepare the steamer. Add glassful of water in the steamer or idli cooker, bring it to a simmer.
18) At the time of steaming or making the idli, add eno fruit salt and sprinkle little water on top. It will start to bubble immediately. Quickly mix it well.
19) Pour this batter into greased idli moulds.
20) Now place this idli stand into steamer or cooker. Steam for 10-12 minutes on medium heat. Or till the toothpick/knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
21) Remove the idli stand from steamer and let it stand for 2-3 minutes. Then using knife or spoon, remove the idlis from the moulds.
Serve them hot or warm.
Serving suggestion: Serve with coconut chutney or your choice of any chutney as a breakfast or brunch. It can be served with chutney podi too. To make it a light meal (lunch/dinner), serve idli with chutney and sambar.
Notes:
- Always add eno fruit salt right before steaming. Meaning add the eno to the batter, mix, immediately pour into moulds and steam. Do not let the batter sit after adding eno.
- If making bigger batch and streaming into batches, then remove the one portion of batter in another bowl, add eno to that batter only and steam. When ready for second batch, add eno to the second portion of batter and steam.
- Instead of eno, you can use baking soda. If using baking soda then add ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of it.
- Always steam the idlis on medium heat to get the soft idlis.
- To make jain idlis, skip ginger in the recipe.
- For the variation, you can add veggies (e.g. chopped carrots, beans, cabbage, broccoli or green peas) in the batter.
Rava idli recipe
Ingredients
For idli batter:
- 1 cup Sooji (rava or semolina)
- Salt - to taste
- 1 cup Plain yogurt (dahi or curd)
- 1-2 tablespoons Cilantro or coriander leaves chopped finely
- ¼ to ½ cup Water
- ½ teaspoon Eno fruit salt
Coarsely powdered:
- ¼ teaspoon Black peppercorns
- ¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds
For tempering:
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- ¼ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon Urad dal (split, skinless black gram)
- ½ teaspoon Chana dal (Split bengal gram)
- 1 tablespoon Cashew nuts chopped or broken
- 1 Green chili chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon Ginger paste or freshly grated or crushed
- 6-7 Curry leaves
Instructions
Making idli batter
- take sooji, salt, yogurt and chopped coriander leaves in a bowl.
- Mix well till everything is incorporated well. Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.
- Meantime take cumin seeds and peppercorns in mortar and pestle.
- Make coarse powder out of it. Instead you can use dry spice grinder or coffee grinder.
- Also prepare the idli stand or moulds. Grease the moulds well using oil. Keep it aside.
Making tempering:
- Now heat the oil in a small pan on medium heat for tempering.
- Once hot add mustard seeds and let them pop.
- Then add urad dal, chana dal and cashew nuts. Saute with stirring constantly till dal and cashews turn light brown in color.
- Then add ginger paste, green chili and curry leaves. Cook for a minute.
- Turn off the stove and add prepared powder. Stir quickly.
- Immediately add this tempering to the prepared batter. Mix well.
Making rava idli recipe:
- After this 15-20 minutes resting time, you will notice that sooji absorbed most of the water. And the batter is really thick.
- So add the water to make batter consistency. You may need about ¼ to ½ cup of water. Stir well.
- Now prepare the steamer. Add glassful of water in the steamer or idli cooker, bring it to a simmer.
- At the time of steaming or making the idli, add eno fruit salt and sprinkle little water on top. It will start to bubble immediately. Quickly mix it well.
- Pour this batter into greased idli moulds.
- Now place this idli stand into steamer or cooker.
- Steam for 10-12 minutes on medium heat. Or till the toothpick/knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the idli stand from steamer and let it stand for 2-3 minutes.
- Then using knife or spoon, remove the idlis from the moulds.
Sari
Can I get spongy idli without making soda or eno
Kanan
No you cannot.
You must add eno or soda
Neha
Can I make this batter previous night for my daughter’s tiffin the next morning? I’ll need to refrigerate it and get to normal in the morning? Or can I leave it out?
Kanan
You can make the batter previous night and keep in the refrigerator.
Next day morning, remove it from the fridge and bring it to room temperature before making idlis.
Prajakti
Hi! This recipe is brilliant! I could not believe how amazing, soft and fluffy the idlis were! Thank you so much!
Kanan
Happy to know that idlis came out good.
Thank you for the review.
Meena
My rava idli s were turning different color after I put soda .
Kanan
what do you mean by different color?
Anju. Arora
Well explained
Kanan
Thank you