Semolina Vermicelli Idli

Making Idli was always a scary thing for me. When we got married, we brought a grinder from India (the US version with 110v). I was all eager to make idli. When I tried it, it came out very hard. Could not believe I failed to make good idli even with a grinder. Packed the grinder and put it in storage.

Tried using the mixie to make idli. That was a bigger disaster. Dosa used to be good when I tried with the mixie batter, but never idli. Checked with my mother-in-law who told me a different ratio of urad and rice if making in mixie. Still did not help.

When she came to visit, we unpacked the grinder again. She tried with it. To my relief, it was not my fault. There was something wrong with the grinder. She could not make idli like the way she makes in her grinder. But it still was heavenly for us. You have to remember that we used to live in the Boston area which has a big shortage of good south indian restaurants. So eating out and satisfying the craving was not an option.

When we moved to UK, things were easier. We could just buy the regular grinder. My mother-in-law and I planned to get one. Hubby dear was against it. I am sure he was thinking about the one we had in storage for 4 years. But this time it worked!!!! I can now make soft idli. I made sure I watched her make it and made notes :-)

Anyways, the point of the above story is - Rava Semiya idli was my option when I could not make the real one. We still enjoy it!

Ingredients

Rava (Semolina) 1 cups (I use the thicker wheat rava. not a fan of sooji)

Semiya (Vermicelli) 2 cups

Mustard 1tsp

Jeera 1 tsp

green chillies 3, curry leaves, ginger 1 inch piece all finely chopped

Channa dal 2 tsp

Cashew 10

Hing - little

Oil and Salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Dry roast the Semolina and transfer to a vessel

2. Add a little oil and roast the Vermicelli and add to the same vessel

3. Add enough water to this and leave it for 30 min. Remember that the mix will be watery initially. But will get thicker when the water gets absorbed.

4. In a separate kadai, heat a little oil and add mustard seeds. When it sputters, add cashew and channa dal. When it slightly browns, add the jeera, green chilli, ginger, curry leaf and hing.

5. Add the tempering and salt to the batter and mix well.

6. Grease Idli plates and Pour batter into it.

7. Steam for 10 min and serve with chutney of choice. I made Tomato Onion Chutney today.