Sooji Idli -

After many trials, I have finally managed to make sooji idlis just like my mom. Me and the husband, we both love Idlis. He likes it with sambar or chutney and I can have it plain with green chutney. Anyway I will not chit chat much and let the recipe talk. This is quite easy to make with just 3 main ingredients. A good quality sooji is needed first of all. I am in Hyderabad and we get so many varieties of sooji here. Nothing works for me except the Bombay Rava we get here. We are not supposed to use the fine variety of Rava for this recipe. The result will be a disaster. I tried using it and got soggy idlis. Secondly, use only fresh curd to make this. Try using just the thick part of the curd, not the watery part. The Idli batter needs minimum 1 hour fermentation, maximum two hours. Fermentation is important here. But if you don’t have time and want to make this in a hurry, than make sure you add more eno than the mentioned quantity to get the perfect Idlis. Lets now check the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups sooji/Bombay Rava

Fresh curd as needed to bind sooji and make a thick batter (check picture below). I used approx 1 cup.

1 sachet eno

Salt to taste

Water as needed to make smooth batter consistency

Method:

In a big mixing bowl, take sooji and start adding curd to it. We have to make a very thick paste so add curd accordingly. Please check the picture below to get an idea about the consistency. Combine sooji and curd nicely. Leave it covered for an hour or more, not less than that.

Before you start making the final batter, grease the idli plates nicely with oil. Keep the steamer/ idli stand ready before you you start using the batter to make idlis.

After an hour, take out the idli batter, it must have dried a little. Start adding water to it (little at a time) to make smooth consistency (check picture below to get an idea). Once you get the desired idli batter consistency, add salt to taste, mix well. Now add eno to it. Mix nicely and pour the batter in idli trays. Steam it for 20 minutes in low flame. Once done, take the trays out and let it cool down a little (for atleast 5 minutes) before demoulding the idlis. Serve with sambar or chutneys.