Soft Rice Idli Recipe | How to make Soft Idli

Idli and dosa are one of the most popular south Indian recipes all over the country. In fact in many north Indian homes too idli dosa has become kind of staples. I first tasted rice idli when I got married and we were visiting my husband's friend's home { bit reluctantly }, only because hubs was going gaga over the softness, taste, chutney etc. To cut the story short, I ate one and since then I am hooked.

Younger teen is in love with soft and pillowy rice idli dunked in a hot steaming bowl of sambhar to the extent, that she can eat them for breakfast every day. Sometimes this becomes quite a difficult task when you do not have a batch of batter ready in the fridge or during winters when idli batter just refuses to rise/ ferment. I tried to work with instant idli powders, mixes and even ready batters from the supermarket, but each one of them was rejected promptly.

A few days ago, I found another ready to use idli batter on my regular supermarket shelf and bought it on a whim. The form this one came out beautifully soft and pillowy. Teen loved these rice idlies and was not any wiser that this was not the homemade version.

Though nothing can be better than homemade health-wise (as you know what exactly went into a particular dish ) but still it is good if you have some alternative for a backup.

Making Idli is not difficult in itself but requires a little bit of patience and an optimum temperature for the fermentation of batter.

Here are few of my tried and tested tips to make soft idli

1. Quality of rice and dal is very important, I always use special Idli rice (parboiled) for making idli and good quality organic Urad Dal.
2. Add about 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds and few tablespoon of rice poha (flat beaten rice) along with rice which helps to make soft idli.
3. Soaking time is important, you must soak rice and dal separately for at least 3-4 hours before grinding to make a soft idli batter.
4. Grind the batter very smooth, dal should be ground until light and fluffy and rice should form a smooth paste.
5. Fermentation time varies from season to season, in summer you should ferment the idli batter for minimum 7-8 hours whereas time in winters changes to somewhere from 16-24 hours. But if you wrap it in a warm blanket and keep it in a warm place, idli batter should be ready in 10-12 hours.
6. The batter should be neither too thick nor too runny for making a soft idli. A runny batter does not usually yield fluffy idli so this is must take care step after grinding.

If you are idli lover like me you may like to try this recipe of  Soft Rice Idli and Coconut chutney that is served with it.  Kanchipuram Idli or Fried Idli and Podi Idli , Chana Dal Idli , Ragi Idli are another variations of Idli recipes. If you like to know about different varieties of Idli and history about origin of idli, you may want to read this article on Idli Varieties and History of Origin of Idli 

If you cook this recipe and find it helpful please share it on facebook, twitter or pin it on Pinterest this may help others too and keeps me motivated to write more.

Click a pic and post it with hashtag #MyTastyCurry — I love to see your recipes on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter!

Rice Idli Recipe

An easy soft idli recipe and few tips of making soft rice idli at home. Tried and tested method of making soft idli batter.

No ratings yet

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: south indian

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 day 20 minutes

Author: Rekha Kakkar

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw rice
• 1 cup rice par boiled
• 11/2 cup dal split urd (white)
• to taste salt
• 1 tablespoon Fenugreek seeds methi dana

Instructions

• Wash and soak urd dal and rice in separate vessel minimum 4-5 hours. After that first grind rice in the food processor or mixer grinder. I use one of these because I still don’t have space for wet grinder. Rice paste will be little coarse to touch.
• In the same grinder add urd dal and grind it to smooth paste. When it is very fine and smooth to touch remove the batter and mix it along with rice batter. Add salt mix it well and set aside to ferment overnight during winters and 5-6 hrs in summers.
• The next day, after fermenting, stir the batter well if it is too thick add little bit water and adjust the consistency.
• Grease the idli pan and with the help of ladle pour idli batter in idli pan, stack all the plates like this
• Place it in a pressure cooker or idli cooker with little water take care that water should not touch idli pans plate otherwise idlies on lower plate may become soggy. If you are using pressure cooker don’t forget to remove the weight as I did 😉 when I made idlies for the first time,or else steam them in a steamer.
• To check them prick a fork in the middle if it is clean idlies are done after cooling them for 3-4 minutes take them out of pan with a spoon and serve hot with Sambhar and coconut chutney or make veggie fried idlies like I do.