Shortcut idli recipe, with no white rice

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pepperhead212

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Sunday I stirred some frozen green beans into the leftover sambar, and had a bowl of it that I reheated. But I also tried something that I haven't made before - some idli, but these I made with some more nutritious ingredients, and no white rice.


Now I call these shortcut because they are not fermented, like the traditional idli, starting with urad dal and a white rice. I found some more nutritious versions, with whole grain flours, and whole legumes, and sometimes with greens, like this one. It really didn't take a lot of work time.

I soaked a half cup of mung beans in hot water (I actually brought it to a boil, in the MW, when it didn't seem to be softening), and made a half cup of coarse oat flour, by blending it until there were no large chunks. I also took a large handful of mizuna and steamed it in the MW - my replacement for the half cup of cooked spinach. Then this was blended with 3/4 c water, the soft beans, and a little salt, and blended until totally smooth. I whisked in the oat flour, and a couple tb of yogurt, and let it rest an hour. I took a little and stirred in a pinch each of citric acid and baking soda, and steamed one for me, to eat with the sambar, and it was good, so I stirred in a half tsp each of the citric acid and baking soda (a.k.a. ENO, or fruit salt), and steamed the rest of them. I used some ramekins - I don't have any idli molds. Yesterday I reheated them in the WM, and the sambar, in the Instant Pot, when my friends came over, plus I made a coconut chutney, to serve with them. I think she liked the chutney the most! Here's the chutney recipe I used, with some additions - curry leaves, and more peppers! Plus, I keep a jar of roasted chana dal on hand, to make these.
https://www.seriouseats.com/coconut-chutney-recipe

Here's photos of the idlis I made:
Steamed mustard greens, and soaked mung beans, to be ground for idli. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Totally ground up mung beans and greans. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The coarse oat flour, and the yogurt, added to the ground beans and greans. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Idli batter, whisked together, and ready to sit for an hour. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Idli batter in ramekins, getting ready to steam in the IP. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished idli, after 12 minutes of steaming in ramekins. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished idli, firm, but jiggly still. Should re-heat well. by pepperhead212, on Flickr





 
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Looks like something Im going to try.
I never knew what Idli were until a few years ago. I went to an Indian restaurant in Massachusetts which had a lunch buffet. It was labeled as. vegetarian dish, so I knew it was something I could eat, just didnt know what it was ( everything labeled in Indian with no descriptions). Im always up for trying new things and expanding my culinary horizons. Never got around to trying to make it. Now, trying to minimize the amount of rice I eat, this seems perfect. Now having made ( and eaten) it, are there any changes you would make ( both ingredients or technique). or other suggestions ?
 
Larry, The idli were stronger flavored than normal, given both the whole mung beans, and the mustard greens, compared to spinach, which are the greens usually used in this type of dish. My lady friend liked it the most, but she's the Indian of the two, and I figured that she would like it, since she uses whole mung beans more than any, and her parents are from the Punjab area, and mustard greens are popular up north. The strong flavors were good, since they were served with the strong flavored sambar and that chutney. If served with milder dishes, I might use the hulled moong dal, and less greens, or maybe just a few bok choy greens.

I also saw a lot of idlis with whole flours, which I was thinking of, some with several in one. There are also many with rava, which is a semolina, and is not a whole grain. And many with the urad dal - the traditional one used for the fermented versions - and instead of the usual twice as much rice, it is paired with some of the whole grains, which I will try sometime.

Many idli have some spices added, but since it is usually served with quite spicy dishes, I left that out!



 
Would it be safe to say that an idli is a vegetarian hockey puck that jiggles a bit, or maybe shouldn't?
 
I assume you don't cook (or eat) southern Indian food, bucky?

Actually, there are molds they have, to steam these in racks, but I haven't made them enough to get a rack. I just use some of my ramekins for the hockey buck shape.
 
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