INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
main ingredients:
- 1 cup oats, quick cooking oats or rolled oats
- ½ cup fine sooji/rava/cream of wheat
- ½ cup fresh or sour curd
- 1 cup water or add as required
- 1 tsp eno or ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 small to medium carrot grated or ⅓ to ½ cup grated carrot, optional
- 3 tsp chopped coriander leaves/dhania patta
- salt as required
for tempering:
- ½ tbsp oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds/rai
- ½ tsp cumin seeds/chana dal
- 1 tsp chana dal/bengal gram
- a pinch of hing/asafoetida
- ½ tsp crushed black pepper
- 1 or 2 green chilies chopped or 1 tsp chopped green chilies
- 1 tsp finely chopped curry leaves/kadi patta
- 1 tsp chopped ginger or ½ inch ginger chopped
- 8 to 10 cashews, chopped
- 1 or 2 tbsp grated coconut, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
prepping:
- take 1 cup oats in a grinder or blender jar and grind or blend to a fine flour.
- peel and grate 1 small to medium carrot.
- finely chop the ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves and green chilies.
tempering and roasting:
- heat ½ tbsp oil in a pan. on a low flame, add the mustard seeds, chana dal and urad dal. stir and saute till the mustard seeds crackle and both the urad dal and chana dal become golden.
- now add the green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, cashews and a pinch of asafoetida. saute for a minute.
- add ½ cup of sooji/rava/cream of wheat. stir and saute for 2 minutes.
- then add the oats flour. stir very well and keep on stirring often while roasting the flour.
- roast for 4 to 5 minutes. take this mixture in a bowl and let it cool down completely.
- then add the grated carrots and chopped coriander leaves. you can also add steamed peas or finely chopped french beans or skip the veggies altogether.
- add ½ cup curd. you can add either fresh or sour curd.
- add 1 cup water. stir the idli batter very well. the batter should have a medium consistency. cover and allow the batter to sit for 5 to 6 minutes.
- meanwhile, grease the idli moulds with some oil or ghee. also heat water in the idli steamer or in an electric cooker or pressure cooker.
- now add salt as per taste and stir very well.
- now add 1 tsp fruit salt (eno) or ½ tsp baking soda. for a less soapy alkaline aroma you can also add ½ tsp fruit salt or ¼ tsp baking soda. the texture in this case is less fluffy and soft.
- as soon as you add the fruit salt, quickly begin to stir the whole batter.
- be quick and stir very well so that the eno is mixed evenly in the batter.
- pour the oats idli batter in a the greased idli moulds. try to use all the batter in one steaming.
- place the moulds in the steamer/electric cooker/pressure cooker. cover and steam the idlis for about 10 to 12 minutes. a toothpick inserted in the idlis should come out clean.
- allow the steamed idlis to stand for some minutes. then remove them with a spoon dipped in hot water.
- serve these light healthy oats idli hot or warm with coconut chutney or sambar.
NOTES
vegan option,
1. you can use a vegan yogurt like cashew yogurt or almond yogurt. cashew yogurt will taste better.
2. or just skip adding curd and add about ½ to 1 tsp of lemon juice to get a slight sour taste and also to help in the acid alkaline reaction.
1. you can use a vegan yogurt like cashew yogurt or almond yogurt. cashew yogurt will taste better.
2. or just skip adding curd and add about ½ to 1 tsp of lemon juice to get a slight sour taste and also to help in the acid alkaline reaction.
