Soft and healthy daliya (cracked wheat) idlis, served with fresh green garlic chutney!
Ingredients
- Daliya (cracked wheat): 2 cups
- Urad dal (black gram): 1 cup
- Pohe (beaten rice): 1/2 cup
- Rajgira (amaranth seeds): 1/2 cup (optional, but very healthy)
- Methi (fenugreek seeds): 1/4 tbsp
- A pinch of baking soda (optional)
- Salt: as needed
Ingredients for the tempering (optional)
- Oil: 2 tbsp
- Rai (mustard seeds): 1 tbsp
- Jeera (cumin seeds)
- Hing (asafoetida): 1/2 tbsp
- Curry leaves: 8–10
Method
- Soak the daliya and rajgira seeds for 2 hours, and the urad dal for 4–5 hours, in separate bowls.
- Soak the pohe in just enough water in another bowl for 15 minutes before grinding.
- After 4 hours, drain the soaking water, but do not throw it away. Use it for grinding.
- Grind all the ingredients to a very smooth batter.
- Pour the batter into a vessel and mix it thoroughly.
- Leave the batter overnight to ferment. Use a large bowl, otherwise the batter will overflow as it ferments.
- Add salt to taste and mix the batter gently.
- For the tempering, heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing and curry leaves. Let it cool for a while, then add it to the idli batter. The tempering is optional; I make plain idlis.
- Grease the idli moulds and pour in the batter.
- Steam the idlis in a pressure cooker (without the weight) or in a steamer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Serve the steaming hot idlis with tomato chutney, coconut chutney, green chutney and sambar.
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