A Rava Idli recipe that gives you an incredibly light, sweet and flavorful rava idli. Being an idli and dosa lover, I never say no to the different types of idli. For this instant rava idli recipe, I have found the perfect combination of ingredients to make these savory cakes which are chewy, delicious and soft.
What is Rava Idli
Rava Idli is a chewy and soft steamed savory cake made from rava or suji and is a popular variation of the traditional South Indian idli which is made with fermented rice and lentil paste.
Rava, also known as “suji” in Hindi and “cream of wheat” or “semolina” in English, is generally granulated wheat.
It is made by combining ghee roasted rava (sooji or cream of wheat) with curd (yogurt), spices, herbs, cashews, water, and a leavening agent like baking soda or eno (fruit salt) to make a nice paste of medium consistency.
Ingredients
For frying and roasting
▢ 2 tablespoons of Ghee (clarified butter)
▢ 14 cashews cut in half
▢ ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
▢ 1 teaspoon chana dal (shelled and split bengal gram or split and shelled chickpeas)
▢ ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
▢ 10 curry leaves – chopped
▢ 1 pinch of asafoetida – optional
▢ 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
▢ 1 green chili – finely chopped
Also Read: Overnight Oats
For the batter
▢ 2 tablespoons finely chopped carrots – optional
▢ 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
▢ ½ teaspoon of salt or add as needed
▢ 1 cup or 175 grams of rava (sooji, semolina, cream of wheat)
▢ ½ cup of sour milk (yogurt)
▢ ½ to ¾ cup of water or add as needed
▢ 1 teaspoon of eno (fruit salt) or ¼ teaspoon or 2 to 3 pinches of baking soda
Instructions
Frying and roasting
- Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee in a saucepan. Keep the heat on low or medium-low. Add the cashews cut in half. Fry the cashews, stirring often until golden brown. Remove the fried cashews with a skimmer, draining the ghee and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the mustard seeds and let them start to crackle. Keep the heat low or medium-low
- When the mustard seeds start to crackle, add the chana dal. Stirring often, fry the chana dal until they look golden and crisp. Then add the cumin seeds and brown for 4 to 5 seconds.
- Now add the chopped curry leaves, asafoetida, finely chopped ginger and green peppers. Mix well and fry for 10 seconds. Keep the fire to a minimum.
- Then add the rava (cream of wheat, suji, semolina).
- Mix well and stirring often, roast the rava until it becomes aromatic, changes color a bit (but should not brown or brown) and the grains appear separated. Roasting rava will take about 5 to 7 minutes depending on the heaviness and thickness of the pan, and the intensity of the flame. Once the rava is roasted, set the pan aside. Let the rava get hot.
Making batter
- To the roasted rava, add 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro leaves, 2 tablespoons of finely grated carrots and ½ teaspoon of salt or add as needed.
- Then add the curd (yogurt) and water if needed. Depending on the quality of the rava and the thickness of the curd, you can set the water from ½ to ¾ cup. If the curd is runny and contains whey, add ½ cup of water. Add ¾ cup of water if the curd is very thick. Basically you need to get a paste of medium consistency.
- Mix well and let the batter rest, covered, for 20 minutes. The rava idli paste is neither thick nor thin and has a medium consistency.
- Brush with oil or ghee over the idli molds. Place a cashew nut cut in half in the center of the molds. Also heat 2 to 2.5 cups of water in a saucepan. Keep a small trivet stand or rack in the pot. Heat the water until it boils.
- After 20 minutes, it is the consistency of the batter after standing. If, in case the batter looks thick, the rava idli batter looks thick, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to get a medium consistency. Rava absorbs water, so the paste can thicken after 20 minutes. If the curd is thick, you may also need to add more water. If you added more water at the start, you may not need water at this stage.
- Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of eno or ¼ teaspoon of baking soda evenly over the batter. Mix well quickly.
Steaming
- Pour the batter into the idli molds. Put them in the hot water pot. Cover with a lid and for 10 to 12 minutes, steam rava idli.
- To check doneness, a toothpick inserted into the rava idli should come out clean. Carefully remove the idli plates and let them sit for 3 to 4 minutes. Then with a spoon take off the rava idli.
- Serve the steamed rava idli hot with sambar and your favorite coconut chutney.
