Dish · indian
Idli
Steamed cakes of fermented rice and lentil batter, soft and slightly tangy, cooked in small molded trays. A common South Indian breakfast, usually served with chutney and sambar.
Where it comes from
The dish comes from South India, where soaking and grinding rice with urad dal, then letting the batter ferment overnight, made the grains lighter and easier to digest. Flattened rice, or poha, is sometimes worked in to soften the texture further.
What cooks argue about
Cooks argue over the rice-to-dal ratio, since more dal makes a fluffier idli while more rice makes it firmer and holds shape better. Fermentation depends on ambient warmth and can stall in cool weather.
Versions
Nobody has published a idli here yet. When somebody cooks one from a video and publishes it, their version appears in this list, with a link back to the original.
What goes in it
Each one opens everything else made with it.
urad dal