Brown Rice Idli

I have elaborated my love so much for South Indian dishes till now but I don’t make them very often. Why don’t I ? Well, unfortunately S is not that big a fan of South Indian food and hence I am the only one remaining to consume every tit bit I cook till it gets finished. Its frustrating sometimes too, especially when I prepare a full bowl of Dosa/Idli batter and then have it whole week. Not to mind I can happily do that but then I have to cook something else for his Breakfast for Office. So, I usually keep sandwiches for him and Idli for me.. As a rule of thumb it has been practised in our household since the day I have started working. Well, not every day though, sometimes I cook  Pasta as well at least once in a week for breakfast and I loved it too. :)

Coming back to Idlis, the batter never used to get fermented well enough for me. I always had to open the container with a huge sigh, ohhoo !! not again. Fortunately, I got lucky this weekend and the batter was well fermented, god knows what exactly happened since I followed the same method I follow each time with a hope to get that fluffy batter I see on net. Nothing was changed, but the vessel. I used a steel container this time, may be that helped. Whatever, I was so happy to see the beautifully rose batter that I made a full batch of Idlis for myself.. Puff !! Now what , another week of Idli breakfast again. But hey, S  tried it and loved this Brown Rice Idli ( oops, did I mention I used Brown rice and Whole Urad Dal this time ) so much that I had a companion this week. :)

Brown rice has its own benefits and we all are familier with them. Being rich in Fibre it should form an important part of diet, but due to its grainy and nutty texture not everyone likes it. This Idli would serve as a great breakfast and an evening snack too when recooked as Idli Upma. While in India, I never could get the real Brown Rice specially in those street shops. And now when I can have a reach, I want to include it more into our lives and food. Do you have some more ideas ??

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Brown Rice
• 1/2 cup White Rice ( I used Basmati )
• 1/2 cup Black Urad daal ( with skin on )
• 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds
• A fistful of cooked rice / beaten rice ( poha )

Method:

• Soak Brown Rice and White Rice sperately overnight. Combine fenugreek seeds and Urad daal and soak sperately overnight. Please note that since Brown rice and Black Urad daal are denser than the usual alternatives, its essential that we soak them overnight. Its even better if you soak them in warm water and keep at a warm place.
• Next morning ( or later ) grind all the three ingredients seperately to a fine batter. I usually grind them all seperately and then mix everything and give a pulse or two in food processor again. Then I mix it well with my hands.

  

• Keep it to ferment for 12-24 hours. I keep it for more than 24 hours some times in the oven, keeping the oven light ON. This time I wrapped the Steel container with a Towel and kept in inside another large container and then placed it inside the Oven for 24 hours. May be that helped in the good fermentation of the batter this time.
• When its good and risen, steam it as the usual idlis in the Idli Maker for 10 min on medium flame and 5 min on low flame.
• Let the Idlis rest in the steamer for a min and then take them out gently.
• Enjoy with your choice of Chutney or Podi.

NOTES:

• You might find these Idlis different in taste and little denser than the usual ones. They should be fluffy but not light
• Plaese remember that these Idlis will be heavier than their White counterpart and hence you will feel fuller for longer.

Off to Srav's Vegan Diet , Ruth Dairy Free Breakfast of Breakfast Club, Ayeesha's Healthy Morsels -Pregnancy, PAri's Only - South Indian.

Linked to the events - 
South Indian cooking started by Anu's healthy kitchen and hosted by Nivedhanams.