Make soft Idli using Idly Rava or Rice Rava – Mixie / blender Method. Fool proof recipe for making batter from scratch that will produce the softest idlis. Recipe for idly dosa batter.
After the post How to make Soft Idli Recipe I have been receiving a lot of comments asking how to make soft Idli with Rice Rava also called as Idly Rava . To be honest, I have never made Idli using Idli Rava. So I went on to experiment making Idli with Rice Rava. The first two tries were OK but not very satisfactory. I wanted to make an equally good batter with the Rava instead of rice. I learned a few things on the way. The mixie / blender was making the urad dal hot when ground. While warmth encourages the growth of the bacteria, heat kills it. A very hot environment can make the batter sour too soon and the taste will not be good.
Fermentation of Idli batter is carried out largely by lactic acid bacteria. Not yeast. There are two kinds of lactic acid bacteria. Homofermentive and heterofermentive.
Homofermentive lactic acid bacteria produces only lactic acid.
Heterofermentive bacteria – the Idli bacteria (Leuconostoc mesenteroides) produces carbon dioxide in addition to lactic acid.
So for good Idli, we need the rise of batter (CO2 effect) and also souring of the batter. If the batter is too hot at the beginning, it gets fermented too soon and the resulting Idlies might not be very soft. Also the Idlies may be good for the first day but hard on the second day. So how do we solve the batter from getting hot when ground? Refrigerating the urad dal over nite in the fridge helped to a big extent from keeping the Dal getting hot when ground in the blender.
This is how I do Idli batter using rice rava.
There are just 3 ingredients for this recipe. 1 part urad dal, 3 parts rice rava and salt.
Optional ingredient: 1 cup Poha.
Method:
Whole White Urad Dal – This is what I use. I use unpolished whole white Urad Dal. I prefer this dal for the sake of convenience. First wash the urad dal in water and soak it over-nite in the refrigerator.
Wash the rava and soak the rava in water and leave it over-nite at room temperature.
Next day, grind the Dal in a mixie / blender with a cup of water to a very smooth paste. Use cold water to grind so the batter doesn’t get hot. The Dal will not fluff up like it does in a wet grinder. That’s fine.
Pour the ground Urad Dal in a bowl and set aside.
Squeeze the soaked Rava by hand and add it to the ground Dal.
Add salt. Mix the batter well.
Tip on Poha:
For a really soft idli, soak 1 Cup Avalakki (Aval or Poha) in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Grind in a mixie and add to the batter. Aval makes for softest idlis. Try it if you live in cold climate or your idlis are always hard. (Aval – Thick or Thin – The size doesn’t matter).
Set the bowl in a warm place for 8-10 hours. It should have increased in volume to almost double.
Lets make some Idli. Put some water in an Idli vessel and put it on medium flame. Oil the Idli plate and gently fill the rounds with the batter. Put it inside the Idli vessel and let it steam for 6-7 minutes.
The key to good Idlis – Do not allow it to over cook. It might become hard and dry. Just keep an eye and remove the Idlis after 6-7 minutes. Do not remove the Idlis immediately. It might stick. Leave it undisturbed for 4-5 minutes and then spoon it out. Serve hot with your favorite chutney and sambar.
A good idly must be soft and tender.
I have also shared the tips and tricks for soft idli batter here below. This article also has answers for a lot of frequently asked questions. Please refer to this article and I am sure most of your doubts will be answered.
Tips and Tricks for a better idli.
- ½ cup Urad Dal
- 1½ cups Rice Rava
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- Optional: 1 cup Poha
- Wash the urad dal in water and soak it over-nite in the refrigerator.
- Wash the rava and soak the rava in water and leave it over-nite at room temperature.
- Next day, grind the Dal in a mixie / blender with a cup of water to a very smooth paste. Use the same ice cold water used for soaking the Dal so the batter doesn’t get hot. The Dal will not fluff up like a wet grinder. That’s fine. Pour the ground Urad Dal in a bowl and set aside.
- Squeeze the soaked Rava by hand and add it to the ground Dal.
- Add salt. Mix the batter well.
- Set the bowl in a warm place for 8-10 hours. It should have increased in volume to almost double.
- Put some water in an Idli vessel and put it on medium flame. Oil the Idli plate and gently fill the rounds with the batter. Put it inside the Idli vessel and let it steam for 6-7 minutes.
- Serve hot with your favorite chutney and sambar.
Tip on Poha:
For a really soft idli, soak 1 Cup Avalakki (Aval or Poha) in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Grind in a mixie and add to the batter. Aval makes for softest idlis. Try it if you live in cold climate or your idlis are always hard. (Aval – Thick or Thin – The size doesn’t matter).
Don’t we need to add fenugreek seeds?
Can we make idlies by mixing already fermented batter with wheat rawa instantly if suddenly guests drp in n we have to add the quantity ? I am underlining Wheat Rava. By the way rice n udad dal with 2-1 proportion is it ok ? . Its the proportion we have been using over the years .idlies are very good in taste
Hi Suguna, of late idli batter refuses to rise and idlis go flat after steaming. Earlier this wasn’t happening. I use whole urad dal and idli rawa in the ratio of 1:3 and I grind the dal in a wet grinder ( stone grinder). Even with 1 : 2 it doesn’t seem to raise. I am now frustrated, as earlier I had no problem . Can you help me
Try soaking 1/2 cup of Avalakki / poha and grind to the batter. Also try changing the rice rawa brand to see if that will work.
Thanks for the step by step recipe and tips Suguna, the idlis came out super soft and more importantly very fluffy.
Thank you!
Ma’am what should I do if I have used some more(approximately double of the quantity u told?) water while grinding urad dal…please guide me ma’am…
You will be still able to do dosas but idlis will be flat after it is steamed. Take care of water from next time!
Yes Suguna. I mean Idlies. Sorry, that was a typo error.
Hi…Why can’t we use split white u urad daal for making idli?
Please check my idli tips post.
Why u didnt added fenugreek seeds and poha in this method? As it is said that it makes idli softer.
You can add to have more softer idlies!
Hello suguna,
Any idea on why my batter didnt rise? It is almost 12hrs now. .Any lights?
Where do you live and whats the weather like? Mostly the batter dint rise because the temperature is cold.
Paris,france. Its summer here 🙁
Strange. What rice / dal did you use?
Please go through this post.
http://www.kannammacooks.com/tips-tricks-making-idli-batter/
Hai mam, why we keep urad dal in refrigerator. Pl. Reply me
so it does not get hot while ground in mixie. The mixie / blender was making the urad dal hot when ground. While warmth encourages the growth of the bacteria, heat kills it. A very hot environment can make the batter sour too soon and the taste will not be good.
Hi suguna, i tried your recipe for dosa and yes the results were MAGICAL!!!!. Its my first hands on experiment on batter and dosa. Got lot of appreciation for. All the credit goes to KANNAMMA COOKS!!! Thanks a ton. My next experiment would be rava idly.
Thank You!
Hi suguna do i need to add eno or soda to make idli soft n smooth .pleasw reply.
I dont add any leaveners like eno or soda. I am sure you will get good idlis if you follow the recipe to the T.
Hi suguna idli batter me kya soda ya eno milane ke jarurat hai? Ya aise he soft idli ban jati hai.please reply.
Hi Mahima, I do not speak Hindi. Can you translate your question in English for me?
I like your recipes .
Can we grind the urid dhal in the grinder?
you can!
This recipe worked very well for me. The idlis were fluffy and soft. The recipe yielded 36 idlis! That of course depends on the size of the depression in the idli stand. Do you think the idli will be fluffier if the rice rawa is coarser?
If its coarser, the texture of idli might be different I feel.
Hi Suguna
Your receipes are wonderful
And you website outlay is so convenient and awesome that anybody can access. Thanks for your receipes.
Thank you so much Kavitha. Really glad that you liked the layout.
Hi I am amazed at your passion for cooking. I enjoyed reading your posts. Appreciate your efforts at sharing such beautifully laid out page’s. All the best.
Thank you Dr.Sibu
what brand rava you are using ?
Just store bought. Not branded.
Any reason you did not add methi seeds?
Somehow it turns bitter i feel in this method.
Thank you very much for the post on making soft idilis using Idili Rava. Was very helpful.
Hi! Thanx for the recipe. Generally when I make idlis, a small portion of the idlis on the second and third plates become wet and look uncooked as the condensed steam from the upper plate drips on them. Pls can u give any suggestion to avoid this?
Can you show me a pic of your idli steamer with the plates?
Same problem for me. i have aluminium idli cooker with small holes inside the moulds where we put the batter and also holes in the corner of plates. Could you please help me out?
You can use a wet cloth ( see my thuni idli in idli tips post)
Ohh thanks a ton! Idlis came out awesomely soft and tasty! The best idli recipe using rice rava… 🙂
Thanks a lot Kannamma! Making idlis using idli rava was a mystery unsolved for me till I read your recipe! I’m soaking the ingredients now..I shall let you know the result! ☺
Sure Soumya.
can I use the same dough for DOSA?
Yes Venkat. You can use the same batter for dosa.
Very good recipe. came out well.
Hi the idlis and chutney look very soft well I usually have urad dal at home not the whole urad so would i need to make any changes in the proportion
Its better to use unpolished white whole urad dal.
can we make it in mixie will it be soft
What is rice rava ?? Is it the normal rava we use for upma ??
Its called as rice rava or idly rava. Its used for making idli batter specifically. For upma we generally use wheat rava.
Hi Suguna, thank you very much for the detailed explanation. I followed your method and oldies came super soft. This is the first time I made such nice oldies. Thank you for all your efforts.
You mean idlies!…Thank you so much Sunita.