IDLY AND SAMBAR

Idly And Sambar

  A simple yet healthy breakfast is idly. It is a South Indian cuisine, had as a breakfast or a savory snack. A different variations can be made doing this idli. Generally idlis are made with black gramdal and cream of rice(idly rava). There is a different variety, rava idly ,made with suji.
Idly is served with chutney or sambar or karampodi or idly podi or the combination of them.
Hot steaming idlis with butter or ghee on them tastes awesome.
I am from Vijayawada and I remember Babai hotel, famous for soft and tasty idlis. If u want to eat best idlis visit this hotel and you will be served with hot,small ,light and fluffy idlis with coconut chutney and butter.
Although everyone uses their own measurements of dal and rava here I am using the measurements my mom told me.
And now the sambar....Here i used the store bought sambar powder. How to make the sambar powder is given in my sambar powder post. However I like the sambar made with store bought powder specially for idlis.

IDLI

INGREDIENTS

• black gram dal(urad dal)                1 cup
• cream of rice(idly rava)                 2 cups
• little ghee or oil

PROCEDURE
Soak the dal and rava separately for about 8 hrs. Wash the dal thoroughly and grind to a smooth paste. Also wash the idly rava, squeeze out excess water and mix rava and dal paste thoroughly. Leave the mixture in a warm dry place for about 10 hours. By this time the mixture ferments and increases in volume. Add salt and and give a light mix. Grease the idly plates with oil or ghee and pour a ladle full of batter in the greased idly plate moulds. Now cook the idlys on steam in a cooker for 10 minutes and take out the idlis on to a plate. Serve with coconut chutney ,sambar, idly podi with butter or ghee.
TIPS

• If u r using a mixer instead of grinder to grind the dal add a pinch of baking soda to batter so that if ferments.
• Add vegetables of ur choice to the batter to make vegetable idly.

SAMBAR

Sambar

INGREDIENTS

• Toor dal                            1cup
• Tamarind                           small lemon size ball
• Sambar powder                 2 Tsp
• Salt                                   to taste
• Vegetables                       onions,tomatoes,bottle guard,drumsticks,carrots
• Cilantro                            5-6 sprigs
• Curry leaves                     1-2 sprigs
• Turmeric                          1/4 tsp
• Sugar                               2 Tsp
• Water                              5 cups
• For tadka                         ghee, jeera, mustard, fenugreek, hing

PROCEDURE
First cook the dal and mash it. Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the juice. In a thick bottomed vessel add the dal ,water, salt ,vegetables, turmeric ,sambar powder, sugar and cook the whole for 15 minutes. By this time the vegetables will be half cooked now add the tamarind juice and simmer the flame and slowly cook for another 20 minutes stirring in-between. Initially frothy layer is formed and when the froth disappears it's the sign that sambar is completed. Now add finely chopped cilantro and curry leaves. Switch off the flame. For the tadka heat ghee in a pan add the jeera mustard and fenugreek and hing and once the mustard seeds splutter pour the tadka onto the sambar mix well and close with lid so that the whole sambar gets the aroma of tadka.