There's something about playing around with Idli batter. It's like a huge canvas for me...If you browse through many of my older posts you would find me experimenting with the batter in its various avatars. Will try to link them herewith. I've even managed to have mini versions of the idlis made in ice-trays once.
That was one of my trials back in 2012. It was fun!
Some of the pics and recipes are posted on the FB page (The Inconsistent Chef) which for long has been a closed page for personal reasons. But then again one never knows when I would suddenly open it for the public. With close to five hundred recipes jotted down here, I feel a sense of accomplishment!
Today it was time to play around with the steel tumblers that were at home. I greased them well and set them aside. I read somewhere that these were Kanchipuram Idlis, Oh I could be wrong, it's just a faint memory of something I scrolled through a few years ago in the newspaper I suppose. I have no clue why it is named like so, I am still exploring! I remember seeing tumbler shaped idlis back then and was inspired to do that someday.
As seen in the first picture above, I had used all the ingredients as seen in that.
The Tempering:- Finely chopped ginger, a few curry leaves, pepper corns and cumin seeds. The spices included a bit of turmeric, pepper powder, asafoetida/hing and if you do have ginger powder do add that as well. All the spices were almost a quarter tsp. or less. Salt and green chillies is to taste so please adjust accordingly.
As I keep shuttling between the two states that I love the most, I am always less equipped in one than the other...so I didn't have my ginger powder. Sigh!
I know the tumblers aren't very pwetty to see, but with my skin allergies and not having a domestic help around, this is the best I could do. Please excuse me on that! Ensure that they are greased well and ready to receive the batter.
The usual suspects make the Idli batter. So no rocket science there!
A few suspicious characters in the guise of spices make their way into the batter-the spices mentioned above. Stir them into the batter such that they merge well.
Do a tempering/tadka in ghee or oil with the stuff you set aside for tempering. This tempering once cooled, was added into the spiced and jazzed up Idli batter. I used a colander from another vessel in my Idli steamer.
Mix the tempering well. Ensure that the spices and the tempering have all merged well. Check the seasoning and adjust accordingly.
Pour the batter into the greased tumblers. Insert them into the colander and get ready to steam them.
Please be extremely alert with these sly fellows...they may seem cooked on the outside and may scream..." take me out now, am ready to be eaten now!" But remember these are very deceptive...ensure that the these idlis are cooked through evenly. Sometimes the insides may seem raw and ooze raw batter.
Insert a skewer into each and check if it comes out clean. Ta da! then they are cooked through. If the skewer still has sticky batter on it, let them steam for another ten minutes. You don't want to spoil all the climax after all this drama in the kitchen right?
I mean come on? Why does one even want to have tumbler shaped idlis...beats me! It's just fun to be creative in your space with whatever in your field of work. Mundane is BORING!!!
Serve them piping hot with a nice white, spicy chutney and sambhar.
You can add split cashew nuts as well into the tempering. It will give a nice crunch and flavour. I forgot to add them!
http://potsnpans-peanuts.blogspot.in/2013/09/beetroot-with-carrot-sambhar-idlis.html
http://potsnpans-peanuts.blogspot.in/2013/09/triple-decker-idlis.html
I had posted this recipe a few days back on my closed page just against the pics. Just got time to update them here on the main blog. Enjoy!
 |
| Picture Source: Google, our dearest Friend |
Comments
Post a Comment