Idli is a very popular South Indian breakfast recipe and absolutely easy to prepare. Once you have got the rice to urad dal ratios correct, the idlis turn out super soft and tasty. Idli is one of the low calorie breakfast items and is very healthy compared to the other breakfast recipes. Urad dal has the required protein content and rice contributes to carbohydrates. As idli is steam cooked, it has zero oil – making it quite healthy for breakfast. Today, my recipe is about Kanchipuram Idli which is very different from the usual idli. For those of you who think that idli is a bit bland, Kanchipuram idli is the recipe. The rice urad dal ratio is very different for this idli and once the freshly made batter is fermented, it is tempered with a whole lot of spices. Kanchipuram idli is quite flavorful and tasty as it is. When I was looking for a recipe, I found many variations of it and this is my adaption of the recipe. It is said that this idli is served as Prasadam in Kanchipuram Varadaraja Perumal temple and hence very popular. Another interesting aspect of this idli is that it comes it different shapes – usually in small cylindrical forms. I used couple of very small steel tumblers to make this idli, but one can prepare it in usual idli mould as well.
To prepare kanchipuram Idli Makes – ~20 idlis Time to prepare – 3 hrs soaking time + 8 hrs fermentation time + 10mins cooking time What I used –
Idli Rice, 1 cup (Par-boiled rice) Dosa Rice, 1 cup ( Raw rice) Ural Dal, 1 cup (Whole Urad Dal) Fenugreek Seeds, ½ tsp Gingely Oil/Sesame Oil, 1.5 tbsp Ghee, 1 tbsp Mustard Seeds, 1.5 tsp Urad Dal, 2 tsp Chana Dal, 1.5 tsp Asafoetida, ¼th tsp Coarsely Crushed Black Pepper, 1.5 tsp Dry Ginger Powder, ½ tsp Curry Leaves, a few Salt, as required
How I made –
Note –
I used mixer grinder to make the batter as the quantity is very less for using a wet grinder. The use of gingely oil/sesame oil and ghee gives a very good flavour to this idli and is highly recommended. This idli can be prepared in usual idli mould or in small steel tumblers. Alternatively, steamed as a large cake by using a flat dish and then cut into desired shapes. The batter stays good for 3days in the refrigerator but not more than that. The taste of this idli is quite different from the usual idli, with urad dal dominating the taste with the flavor of the tempering.
