Masala Idli

Yet another mind blowing dish loved by one and all. My kids take this to school and it is the start of the happy day for all of us. Idli is the next versatile thing after Rice and takes on the role that you assign to it. They are like that universal friend in my kitchen that you can rely on when going gets tough. you can make this masala idli by using the leftover idli you might have, coin idli's if u have that stand or simply by chopping the bigger idli's into bite size pieces. They are good as snack, for picnics, travel or just for munching.

You will need;

24-30 coin/mini idli's-- See Note on idli's

1 small onions diced very fine

1 tbspn chutney powder or gun powder podi

** you can this in any Indian grocery store-I swear by MTR brand

1 tspn Pav Bhaji masala

salt and sugar to taste

1 tbspn Oil for tempering.

Cilantro to garnish

In  wok, heat oil, then add the onion and let it sweat a bit for about a minute. Then add the Chutney powder and pav bhaji masala and then salt, let it fry for another minute. Finally add the idli's ( use either mini.coin idli's or chop big idli into quarters) and then toss it in the masala. Cover and heat for about 2-3 minutes. garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.

** You can make idli from either the ready to mix idli packet or make from scratch.

To make from scratch;

2 cups rice or idli rava

1 cup Urad dal

 Soak the rice and urad dal in water for 6-8 hours. If using idli rava skip soaking the rava; soak only the dal and then grind it fine into a smooth paste, use the water from the soaking if needed. remove this in a bigger vessel, then grind the idli rava or soaked rice and remove it in the same vessel as the grinded dal. Mix the grinded dal and rava with your hand. This is because the heat of your palms will help in fermenting the batter faster. Then cover this vessel and keep it in a warm place to ferment and rise up. Take  a bigger vessel and fill the batter only half way as the batter will rise and double in size. After the rising, add the oil and the salt to the batter and mix with a spoon. Grease the idli stand with some oil and steam these idli's for 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy the steamed idli's with sambar and chutney or make masala idli.

Love Ash.