Millet Idly- Varagu Saamai Idly

Millets in May post 2- Millet Idly

Idly made using Little millet and Kodo millet. I am not a big lover of idlies. But I just had to do a mandatory idly post for all the idly lovers out here. I have borrowed this recipe from a co blogger and a sweet friend, Ramya, who blogs at Cooking from Heart. This is an amazing way to include millets in the daily diet. Best part is that the millets are completely mixed in the batter, leaving you with only the health benefits. The idlies are softer, their taste does not change much and your kids won’t suspect a thing 😉. Just like your regular idlies, you can have these with chutney, sambar, idli podi. So, when are you switching to these healthier idlies?

Health benefits of Little millet- it is high in iron content and dietary fibers. It has medicinal properties and is useful in curing liver diseases, heart burn, indigestion and menstrual problems.

Health benefits of Kodo millet- it has a lot of fiber content. Useful for diabetic people, helps in weight reduction and is easy to digest. Controls high blood pressure and keeps check on cholesterol levels.

For more information on millets, click on the link below

https://laksmiscookbook.blogspot.com/2019/05/millets-what-you-need-to-know.html

Preparation time: 10 minutes| cooking time: 10 to 15 minutesPassive time: 4 to 5 hours

Course: Breakfast| Cuisine: South Indian

Ingredients:

Kodo millet/varagu- 2 cups

Little millet/samai- 2 cups

Whole Urad dal- ¾th cup

Thick poha/aval- 1 cup

Water- as needed

Salt- as needed

Method:

To make the millet idly batter-

1.      Wash both the millets and urad dal together, 2 to 3 times, until it is fully clean. Add thick poha to them and soak them in enough water for at least 4 hors.

2.      Blend the millets, poha and urad dal in a grinder, into a smooth batter. The batter should be thick. So, use only minimum water. If you are using a mixer jar, do it in batches and use ice cold water for grinding. This is to ensure that the batter doesn’t heat up by running the mixer continuously.

3.      Remove the batter onto a large container and add required salt. Use your hands and mix the batter well. keep it in a warm place and ferment it for 8 hours minimum or overnight. After fermentation, the batter would have doubled up in quantity. Mix it with a ladle and store it in the fridge, until required. The batter should neither be too thick nor too runny.

To make millet idly-

1.      If needed, add some water to the fermented idly batter and mix well. Make sure that the batter is thick and pourable and not too runny.

2.      Apply oil on the idly molds. Fill the idly plates with the prepared idly batter.

3.      Add required water to the idly cooker and let it boil on high flame. Now set the idly plates inside the idly cooker. Steam the idlies for 10 to 15 minutes on medium flame.

4.      When you open the idly cooker, the idlies should have risen up and look cooked. Switch off the heat and let the idlies stay in the steamer for another 5 minutes. Remove the idly plates from the steamer. Wait for another 5 minutes and gently remove the idlies from the plates

5.      Serve hot with side accompaniments of your choice.

Notes:

·        It is important for the batter to ferment properly and double up for soft, fluffy idlies. Mixing the salt to batter with hands helps in fermentation.

·        Using wet grinder for grinding gives best results.

Step by step pictures

 take 2 cups of kodo millet 

2 cups of  little millet

 add 3/4 cup of whole urad dal to millets

wash and clean thoroughly

add a cup of thick poha to it 

 soak in water for at least 4 hours

grind everything together in

 a grinder, into a smooth batter

  add required salt and use your

hands and mix it well

close the lid and keep it in a warm place

let it ferment overnight or at least 8 hours

after fermentation, the batter would have 

doubled up in size. use a laddle and

 mix the batter well. add a little water if neccessary. 

the batter should be thick and pourable. 

grease the idly plates with oil. fill them 

with idly batter and steam in idly cooker.

cooking instructions given in method section

 millet idlies are ready to be served.