Idlis – The easy way out!

I am a working mom and there are days when I get back from work just to start another 8 hour shift. There will be more than a few of you who can relate to my schedule. Apart from weekends, I usually indulge in short-cuts to cook up a supper that is both nutritious and easy to put together. Hailing from the south, we usually had either idli or dosai batter at home on any given day and my mom, who was a working mom herself, found it convenient to get a stock of batter ready for the week lest her kids should come home from school rubbing their tummies. I am sure all of you would agree with me that the best batter is delivered by the wet grinder. I was devoid of this precious commodity until last year when my in-laws gifted me one. Before then, I made idlis the ‘no-grinding’ way. Though, it was not the perfect idli, it was very close and definitely better and economical than the ready to make idli mixes. The ingredients are available at any indian store.

Rice pwd                1 cup

Udad pwd               1 cup

Idli rava                  1 cup

Fast rising yeast      1 1/2 tsp

salt to taste

Just mix these ingredients in warm water to the idli batter consistancy. Place it in the oven or any warm place overnight to rise and thats that! Its that easy. Though I dont make Idlis this way any more since i have graduated and have been awarded the ultra grinder, I thought this recipe could be useful to some of you who are yet to graduate.

Updated: 09/27

One of my friends complained that the idli she made using this recipe smelt of yeast, though the taste and texture was just perfect. I would recommend reducing the amount of yeast to about 1/2 tsp in that case. Varieties differ and some yeast may just be more active than the others!

Hyderabadi Mirchi Bajjis

After reading the post by Indira of Mahanandi on mirchi bajjis, I couldnt resist the temptation of trying out this famous snack from Hyderabad. I grabbed some long green chillies on the way back from work and waited for the weekend purely because heavy thunderstorms were predicted for Saturday. Is there a better food-weather combo? Watching the downpour (and of course the TV) tucked into a sofa with hot, spicy mirchi bajjis and garam chai….hmmm pure heaven!

I just modified the recipe a little bit. Instead of tamarind water, I added a tsp of aamchur and then made the paste adding water. I also added about 1/4th tsp of cumin seeds and flennel seeds, both ground,  with the stuffing. Though removing the seeds from the chillies involves a little bit of hard work, it was well worth the effort. Thanks Indira for the recipe!!