If you ask me ,which is the most bubbly,soft,cute,spongy food in the whole world ;My answer will always be "IDLI".Idli ; As pure as its white color and as soft by appearance and texture like a cute edible cotton ball.
Idli is one of the most famous traditional food of South India but loved by every Indians and is definitely one of the unavoidable food from their daily menu (mostly) .In South India,Idli is a staple breakfast food item ,served with different kinds of chutneys and most popularly,with a lentil and vegetable mix curry called Sambar .Needless to say ,almost every Indian find Idli totally irresistible .
Origin of Idli
Origin of Idli is tad controversial it seems.India's well-known food historian- K.T.Achaya says Idli must have been originated in Indonesia,a country with the longest ancient tradition of fermented foods in the world.The royal chefs of the Hindu Kings ruling the kingdom during that era,invented the fermented-steamed food - idli and later brought the recipe to India during 800-1200 C.E.He also mentioned in his book,"A historical dictionary of Indian Food",the famous Chinese Traveler ,Xuan Zang specifically emphasized that India did not have a steaming vessel up until the 7th Century .A fluffy fermented steamed food,Kedli from Indonesia was ,as a matter of fact, the precursor of Indian Idli.
Reference - Wiki and TheHindu
Other food Historians claim that the Arab traders in the Southern belt brought in the Idli recipe when they married and settled in those parts and an improvised and the now famous Idli recipe came into existence since 8th century..
Food historians also claim Idli was inspired and derived from a few similar fermented-steamed foods originated in India - such as a food from Karnataka called "Iddalige" or "Iddarika" ,"Itali" from Tamil Nadu and similarly from a Gujarati food called " Idari" or "Idada"..All of them are fermented steamed food though the recipe may differ from the original Idli's recipe used today.
Different Types of Idli :
- Tatte idli - A small plate size idli from the state of Karnataka.
- Mini Sambar Idli - Mini Idli dunked in sambar .
- Muday Idli - A type of Idli from Mangalore.
- Sanna(s) - A type of Idli from Goa.
- Hittli - Konkani Idli
- Rava Idli - Idli made with semolina/Rava from Karnataka
- Nowadays there are other types of healthy version of Idli as well - Raagi Idli,Quinoa Idli etc etc
Health benefits of Idli
- Combination of rice and black lentils makes it a great combo of carbohydrates ,fiber and proteins.
- Idli is gluten free.
- The natural fermentation of the idli batter increases the bio-availability of the proteins meaning makes it quick and easy absorbing and digestion in the body and enhances the Vitamin B content of the Idli as well.
- As they are steamed,Idlis have very low fat .
- Iddly have little amount of Iron,calcium,folate,Vitamin A and Vitamin B in it as well.
- Idlis have low sodium.
- Idli is not spicy by itself ,so good for people who hate spicy food .
- Easy to digest and flush out from the body.
- Idli is good for weight loss ; So,a new trend/fad diet called Idli diet is on, which claims to help in losing weight healthily.
How Idli is prepared ?
Idli is prepared using a special Idli maker/Idli Cooker which has two trays or plates inside of it called Idli plates or Idli trays and each Idli tray has four or more mini bowl shape moulds in it for preparing idli evenly. A good idli is made with a good fermented idli batter.Idli is steamed and prepared in idli makers ,sometimes the idli trays can even fit into a pressure cooker or nowadays,even microwave version are also available for making idlis .
What are the ingredients for making idli ?
Soft and Fluffy Idli recipe in 3 ways
Makes 16-20
Ingredients
Basmati Rice - 3 cups
Split Black Lentils/Urad Dal - 1 cup
Boiled Rice - 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds - 1 Tsp
Salt to taste
Water for grinding,as needed
Water for boiling - 2 cups
Idli Maker/Idli Cooker
How to make soft , fluffy and spongy Idli without using any Idli rice - Pls watch my video that will show you step by step how to make soft and fluffy Idli without using any idli rice or any hard and fast rules and not one but in THREE ways .
I am not a huge Idli fan but my hubby is .Even though I am not crazy about it and hesitate to eat idli,the way my hubby would eat his Idli dunked in sambar and savoring bite by bite..definitely makes me drool and burp just by itself 😋🙀..not to mention, aaand the idli competition starts....
