Way healthier than the syrup soaked or ghee laden classic Indian sweets, the idli is a humble offering of South Indian cuisine where they are traditionally found on the breakfast menu in either sweet or savoury forms. I have yet to come across a savoury Mauritian idli since we do not have the habit of eating sambar or chutney early morning. The sweet fluffy idli I know is made from steamed semolina/greo instead of fermented rice. This easy recipe will allow you to master the art of making idlis after a few trials, the key is to determine how many minutes your pressure cooker takes to convert the thick, coconut flavored batter into beautifully soft idlis. I should be thanking my dear friend, Naai, who got me this idli mould as a New Year gift years ago. If you are not as lucky, you can still make idlis of any shape in ramekins, muffin pans or aluminum foil cups!
IDLI
Ingredients:
2 cups semolina
3/4 cup milk powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup coconut flakes
5 cardamom pods, crushed
1/2 to 2/3 cup lukewarm water
Method:
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and add water until the mixture turns into a thick smooth paste.
- Lightly grease the plates of an idli mould with butter or oil and fill with batter. Smooth the surface with a wet finger.
- Place idli mould in a pressure cooker filled with 2 cups water and cook over moderate heat for about 20 minutes.
- Carefully release steam and remove idli mould from pressure cooker. Unmould idlis and serve hot. Makes 20 pieces.
Fluffy homemade idli
30 comments
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October 15, 2013 at 9:05 am
tahreemah
Thanks for the recipe. Good for tea- time. Don’t you add baking soda?
October 16, 2013 at 6:34 am
prerrnamirchi
nope tahreemah only baking powder!
October 15, 2013 at 4:59 pm
yusra
thanks for the recipe and when you put water in the pressure cooker did the water touch the base of the idli mould
October 16, 2013 at 6:37 am
prerrnamirchi
hello yusra, the base of the idli mould did touch the water but I did not fill the lowest tier with batter to prevent it from being in ontact with water while being steamed
October 17, 2013 at 4:37 am
vidhisha
Awesome, was looking forward for that recipe since long ,thanks 🙂
October 20, 2013 at 4:48 am
Tahreemah
How much baking powder pls?
October 20, 2013 at 4:43 pm
prerrnamirchi
oops.. completely forgot it in the ingredient list, it’s 2 tsp baking powder to be added to the dry ingredients.
October 25, 2013 at 7:08 am
tahreemah
Tried it in microwave in my tupperware multi cook. Very nice. By the way if you need any tupperware feel free to contact me, you can view products online on http://www.tupperware.co.za and click on Mauritius.
October 31, 2013 at 8:07 am
prerrnamirchi
thank you tahreemah!
October 25, 2013 at 9:35 pm
sha
Hi Prerrna,
I made the Idli yesterday was really tasty.But I did have to add 1 cup of water instead of 3/4 and 1/2 tsp of vanilla. I did not use a pressure cooker. I used a big pot with water and steamed the idli for 20 mins… was sooo delicious and fluffy..
Thank you.
May 27, 2014 at 5:12 am
Marion
Wow, these remind me of rice cakes. I definitely will try your recipe…looks delish… by the way, please add a Facebook share button… I keep track of the recipes I want to try there… Thanks
June 1, 2014 at 3:06 am
prerrnamirchi
hello marion, thnx for the suggestion, i’ll try adding the share button to my posts.
September 28, 2014 at 3:02 pm
Bernadine
I,ve been searching for this recipe for 40 years. One of the highlights of my childhood was eating idli that a friends mom made. I searched for ‘Italy’ as i thought that,s what its called, needless to say, i kept getting details of a city! I,m really pleased to have this recipe. However, i remember idli to be pleasingly snow white with bits of dessicated coconut sprinkled on. How would i get that white colour effect? I might add that the white colour was,nt icing but rather the ‘colour’ of the cake.
Thanks in advance
Bernadine
September 30, 2014 at 7:51 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi Bernadine, this is a cheat’s version of idli that gets its off-white colour from milk and butter that go in its making. I think u are looking for the Indian Idli make from ground rice and dhal. Do not have the recipe for that one, sorry. Maybe u can search the net and find one that tastes like the idli u remember as a child 🙂
December 3, 2014 at 7:47 am
Esha
hi, 2 cup of semolina – how much in grams?
December 13, 2014 at 3:19 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi esha! 2 cups semolina roughly equals 330g.
December 19, 2014 at 12:37 pm
Esha
thanks, will give it a try
May 13, 2015 at 5:51 pm
Anusha
Hi Prerna. Thanks for this lovely recipe. I last had this years back but I’m very excited about making it today.
May 27, 2015 at 9:23 pm
prerrnamirchi
HI Anusha! Do let me know how it was 🙂
July 1, 2015 at 7:57 am
B
hello prerrna, im from mauritius too. i was trying to see if i could get a better sweet idli recipe on the net, when i came upon your site. nice photos. My recipe is exactly the same as yours hehe. We all love idlis at home. Now i’ll try doing the indian salty ones, with a chutney etc. Its much better than eating our usual fried cakes.
July 17, 2015 at 7:04 pm
prerrnamirchi
thank u dr!
June 14, 2016 at 3:26 pm
Anji
hello, can you do it in microwave? if so, what changes to make to the recipe? thanks
June 21, 2016 at 7:05 pm
prerrnamirchi
hi I dnt know if this recipe works in a microwave oven. u might need to increase the moisture of the batter with extra milk if it’s too dry.
October 6, 2016 at 12:34 pm
sonali
I love idli. Thanks
October 7, 2016 at 2:44 pm
prerrnamirchi
hope u will try it sonali n do give me ur feedback!
June 15, 2018 at 12:24 pm
wendy
hi can i use a steamer i/o a pressure cooker
August 10, 2018 at 7:20 am
prerrnamirchi
Hi Wendy yes u can use a steamer to prepare idli but the cooking times may vary.
July 11, 2018 at 4:21 pm
Sandra Pillay
Dont the batter needs fermenting
August 10, 2018 at 7:23 am
prerrnamirchi
Hello Sandra no need to ferment, you should use the batter as soon as it has been mixed 🙂
October 11, 2018 at 3:52 am
Kirti
How do i replace butter? I am not eating salt for the Navratree