September 9, 2020

Rainbow Idli

Spread the taste

The humble, yet nutritious and quintessential south Indian breakfast – the idli. A simple and wholesome steamed lentil / rice pancake.Historically, the idli goes back to 920 AD, with its roots in Karnataka, and was made with urad dal soaked in butter milk. There was no mention of rice in that recipe. Eventually, during World War II, when there was a scarcity of rice, ravva idli, made with semolina, was invented.

Fun fact – March 30th is celebrated as World Idli Day.

Let me take you through ‘ Color my Idli’.

Rainbow Idli

Enjoy the colorful, flavorful and nutrient dense idli as healthy breakfast.

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Prep Time 12

Cook Time 15

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Equipment

Idli maker with idli plates
Blender/Indian stone Wet grinder

Ingredients

1 cup urad dal
2 cups idli ravva
1/2 cup poha
salt per taste
1 cup spinach
3/4 cup grated beet root
3/4 cup grated carrots

Instructions

Idli batter preparation-

Drain water from the urad dal and grind using a wet grinder/blender, and add water as needed but avoid making the batter runny. Take the batter to a big bowl. Use your hand to squeeze ravva/poha and add it to the batter. Mix it thoroughly and let it rest for 8-10 hours to ferment. The batter will rise well in a warm location.

Coloring batter-

Now, take about 1/2 cup batter in 3 different bowls to add the colored ingredients. Steam the carrots and beetroot and grind them before adding them to two of the divided batter portions .Blanch the spinach and puree it to add to the third batter bowl. Take care not to add water while pureeing the spinach, carrots, and beetroot. Add salt as needed to each of these colored batters. Alternatively, you can microwave the carrot and beetroot with a little bit of water for 1-2 min before pureeing.
Ginger and green chili paste can be added as well to the batters per taste preference. (optional)

Cooking Idli-

Now, grease the idli pan, and fill each mold to 2/3rd with the colorful batters. For more fun, add layers of three batters side by side in one mold. Steam for 8-10 min on medium. Turn off the stove and wait 5-10 min before taking the idlis out of the molds. The carrot idlis will be orange, the beetroot idlis will be a gorgeous dark pink, and the spinach ones will be green.

Tempering-

Tempering with mustard seeds, red chillis, curry leaves, and grated ginger in addition on top of the idlis will add aromatic flavor. This can be done with minimal or even no oil for optimal health .
Serve hot with sambar/chutney/idli podi.