Rava Idli

Rava Idli in Marathi

Yield: around 15 to 18 medium Idlis
Time: 35 to 40 minutes (Prep time - 15 mins + steaming time - 20 to 25 mins)

Ingredients:
1 cup Rava /Semolina (Coarse quality)
1 tsp Oil, pinch of mustard seeds, pinch of asafoetida (hing), 1/2 tsp urad dal, 1/2 to 1 tsp chana dal, 4 to 5 curry leaves
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 cup sour plain yogurt, well beaten
1/2 cup water
salt to taste
1 tsp Eno fruit salt (Eno Soda) - original flavor (do not use flavors like cherry, lemon)

Method:
1) Heat oil in the pan. Add mustard seeds and hing. Immediately add chana dal. Let the chana dal turn pink. Then add urad dal and saute for few seconds. Add curry leaves and ginger. Now add Rava and roast for couple of minutes over medium heat.
2) Transfer roasted rava into a deep bowl. In other bowl mix beaten yogurt and water well. when rava becomes warm, add yogurt+water mixture to it and blend well (tip 2). Add salt and mix. Let it stand for 10 minutes. Consistency should be like usual Idli batter, not too thick or thin.
3) Pour about 2 to 2.5 cups of water into the Idli cooker. Put it on the stove over high heat. Light grease the Idli stand (molds) with little oil (tip 3). Add Eno salt to the batter and mix in one direction. Spoon the batter into Idli molds.
4) Once water starts boiling, put the Idli stand inside the cooker (important tip 4). Close cooker with the lid. Steam the idlis for 12 to 15 minutes. After 12-15 minutes, turn off the heat and wait for 7-8 minutes before opening the cooker.
Remove idlis with sharp edged spoon (Do not use knife, it will break the idlis)

Tips:
1) Some variations can be done in the above recipe. Vegetables like carrot, peas, cabbage can be added to the idli batter. Just put small quantity of grated carrot and 2-3 peas into idli molds and then spoon the batter over it. Another idea is you may add the vegetables to idli batter.Though, it changes the color of Idlis.
2) If you have roasted the rava a little longer, it will soak more water. So, you may need to add little more water to adjust the consistency.
3) If you have small Idli stand (8 to 12 medium molds), Do not add Eno soda into whole batter. Divide it into 2 equal portions. Add 1/2 tsp of soda into one portion. Make idlis as per above instructions. Now add remaining 1/2 tsp soda into second prortion of batter and make idlis with the same directions.
4) If using normal pressure cooker, remove the weight (Pressure whistle) and then before steaming idlis.