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| California Golden Poppies (State flower) on the side walk |
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| Spring in Northern California – Nectarine tree blooming |
The fermentation series today goes to our roots in southern India with idli, sambar and coconut chutney. This is a quintessential breakfast in the state of Tamil Nadu, made in every household and available anywhere you go. You can get it from a street cart. Or from a vendor on the train selling it out of a basket (she will serve it to you on a banana leaf – be careful not to spill the sambar)! You can get it in a simple, no-frills restaurant or a high-end, gourmet restaurant. And do not for minute assume that the more expensive idli will taste any better.
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| Idlis with sambar and chutney |
The city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu known for the architecturally astounding Meenakshi temple, and its association with one of the oldest classical languages in the world, Tamil, is also famous for its idlis.
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| Details on one of the several towers of the Meenakshi temple in Madurai |
The idlis in Madurai are reputed to be as pristine white and soft as jasmine flowers, which is another beautiful thing the city is famous for. In fact, two years back when V and I visited family in Madurai, they picked us up from our early morning flight and took us straight to Murugan Idli Kadai so that we could have our fill of idlis with a variety of chutneys!
It was heartening to see that McDonalds and KFC have not yet taken a hold of Madurai unlike other Indian cities where these unhealthy American joints are spreading like a virus. Wrap your mind around this, you get 2 idlis with sambar and chutney for the equivalent of around 20 cents at a clean, no-frills restaurant. How is that for fast food that is cheap as well as nutritious?!
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| Murugan Idli Kadai in Madurai |
Idlis are made by steaming a fermented batter of rice and lentils. The same batter is used to make idli’s more flashy sibling, the dosa. However, idli has the reputation of being healthier and more gentle on the stomach than dosa.
As it was a Sunday, Amma decided to make a jazzed-up version of idli called “Kanjivaram/ Kanchipuram Idli”. Named after another temple town in Tamil Nadu, this spicy variation though not as white and pristine as the Madurai idli is fragrant and filling.
A few notes before we get to amma’s recipe. Making idlis requires planning, special equipment and some fine-tuning, but once you have it down, it is super easy:
- Plan ahead to allow time for soaking and fermenting the rice and lentils. As with my notes on tempeh, the process of rinsing, soaking and fermenting reduces the phytic acid present in rice and lentils and allows nutrients to be more readily available.
- You need an idli cooker, a steamer with idli plates, which is available online or in an Indian grocery store.
- Recipe proportions are not set in stone. You have to play with the proportion of rice to lentils (anywhere from 3:1 to 4:1) as everything from the weather to the quality of the ingredients has an effect. Below recipe is just a guide.
- You can buy all the ingredients (such as black gram daal /urad daal and fenugreek seeds) in Indian grocery stores or online.
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| Idli plates filled with batter |
Recipe for Jazzed-up Idlis with Sambar and Coconut Chutney
[Printable Recipe]
1) Recipe for Jazzed-up Idlis:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups white rice + 1 cup brown rice
- 1 cup whole skinned black matpe beans /black gram daal/ black lentils (urad daal in Hindi, ulundu in Tamil)
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi in Hindi, vendhayam in Tamil)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tbsp crushed black pepper
- 1 1/2 Tbsp powdered dried ginger
- A pinch asafoetida (optional)
- 1/4 cup roasted cashews broken in to small pieces
- 2 Tbsp raw sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp ghee
- About 1 Tbsp vegetable oil for coating the idli plates
- Wash thoroughly by kneading with your hands the rice and lentils separately and soak for 5-6 hours. Wash fenugreek seeds and soak
- Grind or blend the lentils first until it is as smooth as butter adding only as much water as you need and not a drop more
- Then add the soaked rice, fenugreek seeds and salt and grind in to a smooth batter
- Scoop with your hands (it will ferment better if you use your hands) in to a large container with a lot of headroom for the batter to rise
- Place in a warm spot (I place it inside the oven with the light on) overnight to rise
- After the batter has fermented, add the crushed black pepper, dried ginger powder, asafoetida (if using), cashews, sesame oil and ghee and mix
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| Fermented Idli Batter |
- Coat the depressions on the idli plate with a smidge of oil
- Scoop the batter into them
- Steam for around 15 minutes
- Allow to cool a bit, and remove with a sharp spoon on to a plate
- Serve with sambar and chutney
- 1/4 cup yellow lentils/split chickpeas (chana daal in Hindi, kadalai paruppu in Tamil)
- 1/2 cup grated coconut (found in the frozen section in Indian grocery stores)
- 4 green Thai or Indian chilies (or more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp split black lentils/split matpe beans (urad dal in Hindi, uluththam paruppu in Tamil)
- A sprig of curry leaves
- Salt to taste
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
- Roast the chana daal on low heat until golden brown and grind to a powder in a food processor
- Add the grated coconut, green chilies and about 1/4 cup water and blend in to a thick consistency
- Heat oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the urad dal. When golden brown, add the curry leaves and switch off the heat
- Dump the oil seasoning in to the chutney, add salt to taste and mix
- Garnish with chopped cilantro if desired before serving with idli
- 1/2 cup split pigeon peas/red gram lentils/ red gram daal (toor daal in Hindi, thuvaram paruppu in Tamil)
- 1 small ping pong ball size of tamarind (or 1 Tbsp tamarind paste)
- 2 cups chopped vegetables like potatoes, beans, egg plant, bell pepper, carrots
- A pinch turmeric
- 2 Tbsp sambar powder (available in Indian stores)
- 2 Tbsp grated coconut (found in the frozen section in Indian grocery stores)
- 2 green Thai or Indian chilies
- 1 Tbsp raw sesame oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera in Hindi, jeeragam in Tamil)
- 1 red chili, halved
- A sprig of curry leaves
- 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
- Salt to taste
- Wash and soak the lentils overnight. Drain and cook the lentils with 2 cups of water until soft and mushy. (Add more water if necessary)
- Rinse and soak the tamarind in warm water to cover for an hour. Squeeze out the pulp and discard the skin, seeds and fibers. Set aside (Skip this step if you are using the paste)
- Grind together the coconut and chilies with about 1/4th cup of water and set aside
- In a large pot, bring the tamarind pulp (or the paste) and 2 cups of water to a boil and add the chopped vegetables, turmeric and sambar powder. Bring to a boil again and then lower heat and close with a lid and cook until the vegetables are soft. Add the ground coconut and chilies and cook for a few more minutes and switch off heat
- Heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the cumin seeds and red chili. When golden brown, add the curry leaves and switch off the heat
- Dump the oil seasoning in to the pot, add salt to taste and mix
- Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving the sambar with idli and chutney
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| Idlis with sambar and chutney |
Go ahead, give dosa’s humble sibling a shot and do let me know if you have any questions! I have an expert at hand (hi amma)!