Rava Vermicilli Idli

Ingredients : Rava: 2 cups Vermicilli: 2 cups Curd :2 1/2 cups(can add more if the batter becomes very thick and dry ) Soda :A pinch Salt :1 tsp ( according to taste ) Mustard seed :1 tsp Udad Dal :1 tsp Cashews:4-5 broken Raisins :Few Oil :2 tsp Hing :A pinch Ghee :2 tsp Green Chillies :2-3 finely chopped or grated Coriander leaves: 1/4 cup Curry leaves :Few OPTIONAL : To add a cup of peas; finely chopped carrot and onion. Heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan and roast rava till golden brown. Keep aside. Now roast vermicelli in another tsp ghee till golden brown. Allow it to cool a little. Take a wide mouth bowl. Put the roasted rava and vermicelli in it and add the curd and salt. Mix well and leave it undisturbed for 30 mins. Add more curd if the batter becomes dry or very thick. Heat a kadai and add 2 tsp oil for tempering. Add mustard seeds, udad dal. When the seeds splutter add curry leaves, green chillies, hing, broken cashews and raisins and saute a little. Now if you are adding the OPTIONAL items you can add it in the same kadai and saute for a minute. Take off the kadai from the stove and add all these items in the batter. Add baking soda and coriander leaves and mix well. Now grease the idli stand with oil and pour this batter in idli moulds and steam for 10-15 minutes as we do for normal idlis. Remove the idli from the idli moulds after 5 minutes. Tasty Rava Vermicilli idli is ready to be served hot with sambhar or any chutney of your choice.

Bajra idli
Ingredients 3 cups broken bajra/pearl millet/kambu 1 cup blackgram dal (urad dal) Salt to taste 1 tsp fenugreek seeds 1 tsp oil Soak the broken bajra in warm water for an hour. Soak the blackgram dal and fenugreek seeds seperately for 1/2 hour. Grind the dal first till smooth paste and then add the soaked bajra. Grind for a few minutes. Add salt and mix well. Ferment for 6-8 hours. Grease idli plates with a few drops of oil and pour the batter in the plates. Steam for 10-12 minutes till fork comes out clean when pierced in the idlis. Serve hot with chutney/sambar of your choice.

Broken corn idli

Ingredients 1 cup blackgram dal (urad dal) 2 cups broken corn kernels (cornmeal) Salt to taste Soak the dal for 1/2 hour. Soak the broken corn kernels in warm water for an hour. Grind the dal till smooth paste and then add corn kernels. Grind again for a few minutes. Add salt as required. Ferment the batter for 4-5 hours. Grease the idli plates with a bit of oil and pour a ladle full of batter into the plates. Steam the idlis in the cooker. After a few minutes, pierce the back of a small spoon to check if it comes out clean...else steam cook for a few more minutes. Serve hot with spicy sidedish.

Ragi Idli
Ingredients (Translation) 1 1/4 cup ragi flour (Finger millet) 1/2 cup blackgram dal Salt to taste Soak the flour in little water and blackgram dal for 2 hours seperately. Grind the blackgram dal first to a fine paste and then add ragi flour. Mix well or else grind for a minute with the blackgram dal paste to get consistency similar to that of usual idlis. Add salt. Ferment overnight. Grease idli plates with little oil and pour the batter into it. Steam for 5 to 10 minutes. Try putting a knife in the center of the idli and if batter doesnt stick to it, the idlis are done. Cool for 2 minutes and serve immediately with chutney and sambhar.

Bajra dosa
Ingredients 3 cups broken bajra/pearl millet/kambu 1 cup blackgram dal (urad dal) Salt to taste 1 tsp fenugreek seeds Oil Soak the broken bajra in warm water for an hour. Soak the blackgram dal and fenugreek seeds seperately for 1/2 hour. Grind the dal first till smooth paste and then add the soaked bajra. Grind for a few minutes. Add salt and mix well. Ferment for 6-8 hours. Heat the tava and pour a ladle full of batter..Spread it to make a dosa and add some oil in the corners. Cook till slightly brown and turn. Cook on other side also and serve hot with chutney/sambar of your choice.

Ragi Dosa
There are two methods here- one is an instant one while the other requires fermentation. For instant ragi dosa Ingredients (Translation) 1 cup ragi (Finger millet) flour (i used sprouted ragi flour) 1/4 cup rice flour Salt to taste A bit of asafoetida 3 tbsp buttermilk Finely chopped green chillies and cumin seeds(optional) Oil Mix all the ingredients together to get a batter which is a bit thinner than normal dosa batter. Let it aside for 10 minutes. Heat tava and spread out a big ladle of batter in an ciruclar manner. Spread a little oil in the corners and cook for a minute. Turn it and cook on other side as well. If the dosa is not soft, then it requires more water. Serve hot with chutney and sambhar. Method 2 : Fermented batter Ingredients (Translation) 1/2 cup blackgram dal 1 1/4 cup ragi flour Salt to taste Oil The batter is same as that of ragi idli. Check out the batter here. Heat tava, spread out the batter in an circular manner and cook on both sides. Serve hot..these would be more softer than the instant ragi dosas.